I have actually made this recipe a few times over the last several weeks because we like it so much. Even though it may seem like a good summer side dish, I think good baked beans can go well with any type of beef or pork dish at all. I actually made these as part of my birthday dinner when we made pulled pork and I made them again just this past weekend for a family party we were going to. The recipe is from Cook’s Illustrated and you do not need a ton of ingredients. All you really need is a lot of time in the oven or you can make them ahead of time if you know you have any occasions and refrigerate and reheat them.

Barbecued Baked Beans

4 slices bacon, chopped fine

1 onion, minced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 pound dried small white beans (2 cups), rinsed and picked over

8 cups water

1 cup black coffee

1/2 cup barbecue sauce, plus extra for seasoning

1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

4 1/2 teaspoons brown mustard

1 tablespoon molasses

Tabasco sauce or hot sauce, for seasoning

Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 300 degrees. Cook the bacon in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until it is beginning to crisp, about 5 minutes. Stir in the onion and cook until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes.

Stir in the garlic and cook until the garlic is fragrant, about 15 seconds. Stir in the beans, the water, the coffee, the barbecue sauce, the dark brown sugar, the mustard, the molasses, 1/2 teaspoon of Tabasco or hot sauce, and 1 1/4 teaspoons of salt. Bring the entire mixture to a boil,scraping up any browned bits. Cover the pot and transfer it to the oven. Bake, stirring every hour, until the beans are tender, about 4 hours.

Remove the lid from the Dutch oven and continue to bake, uncovered, until the liquid has thickened to a syrupy consistency, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Season the beans with additional barbecue sauce, Tabasco or hot sauce, and salt and pepper to taste before serving.

This makes a lot of beans, with the serving recommendations of 6 to 8 people, but I think it can easily feed more than that, so if you know you are having a crowd than this is a great side dish you can plan on using. I think it goes great with pulled pork, ribs, hamburgers and hot dogs, steak or even just is a great side for sandwiches. I used Navy beans for the recipe, but any white bean here will do and make sure you use dried beans for this and not canned. The canned beans will just turn to mush because of the long cooking. You do not need to pre-soak the beans either for this recipe since they are cooking for such a long time and will get tender on their own.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for some more recipes to try. With the new year creeping up on us, I will have lots of new things to try out and share along the way. Thanks for following along and reading. Enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!