Baked Barbecue Beans

 It is easy to grab a can of those commercial beans at the supermarket and toss them into a sauce pan and heat them up.  I'm not knocking it; we all have done that at one point of other in our busy lives while preparing meals for our families.  But if there is extra time available, why not prepare baked beans with a little more love, and a lot less sugar than is contained in our favorite store-bought brands?

It starts with the choice of beans.  I mean after all, they are the star of the show! You can use any kind of bean variety that you like, though the canned variety most often use Great Northern beans.  I prefer red beans personally, because they have a bit more texture and heft to them, which means more flavor to me.  I prefer them dried and soaked in water overnight, but if pressed for time, a couple of low sodium canned red beans, liquid drained are a suitable alternative.  If using dried beans, don't salt the soaking or the cooking water, because that can toughen up the red beans.

Preparations:

Drain the soaked beans and place them in a pot of fresh water, bringing them to a boil in a medium large pot.  Some folks like to add pork shoulder or some type of smoked meat with onions in this step, but I prefer to control the amount of fat.  But that's an option available.  Turn down the heat and simmer for about an hour.  While the beans are simmering, the ingredients for the sauce may now be prepared.

You'll need:

1/2 medium onion, diced

1/2 red bell pepper, diced

1 jalapeno pepper (optional), seeded and diced

3-4  strips thick cut bacon, diced

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup molasses

1-1/2  cups of barbecue sauce, any variety (less sugar varieties are best)

1/4 cup ketchup

1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce 

1 tbsp yellow mustard

1 tbsp smoked paprika

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Sauté the diced bacon in a large pan until the fat renders, then add the chopped onions and peppers, heating until the onions are clear.  In a separate bowl combine the wet and dry ingredients and stir to combine, then pour the prepared sauce into the pan, stirring until incorporated.  Let it come to a simmer, but do not reduce.

Drain the beans and pour them into a large casserole dish. Pour over the prepared sauce from the pan and combine well in the dish.  The sauce will appear a little thin at this point. If you are adventurous, strips of bacon may be laid over the beans, but it's totally optional. Place the dish in the oven, uncovered for about two hours, or until the sauce has reduced.

At the end of this time the casserole dish may removed.  The excess liquid should now be reduced and the beans nestled in their thick sauce.  Spoon out and garnish with parsley next to your smoked or barbecued meat of choice.  It's so much better tasting than the old canned standbys!