Delicious Baked Beans

Matt's mom makes a mean pot of baked beans.  The trouble is that she doesn't have a recipe.  Like most good cooks who have a specialty, she does it simply by look and feel.  She once wrote down what she thought was her recipe, but no matter what we do, we can't seem to replicate it.  So, tonight, we gave it up & decided to make our own batch/recipe of baked beans in the Dutch oven.

Matt said he felt a little like he was cheating on his mom (or at least his mom's baked beans).  Cheating aside, this is probably the best batch of baked beans we've ever made. 

After finding a basic baked bean recipe that required baking in the oven, we tweaked it adding by a few more ingredients, changing a few ingredients, and then instead of baking in the oven, we cooked them over hot coals outside.

The result was a perfect picnic or camping baked bean.  Sweet and tangy, a little smoky, and nice and thick.  Here is the recipe:

Delicious D.O. Baked Beans

10" Dutch Oven

8 coals on bottom, 14 on top; plus extras for cooking onion & bacon

4 slices thick cut bacon, cut up into 1/2" squares

1 onion, diced

1/4 cup & 2 tablespoons thick, Kansas City style barbeque sauce (or whatever flavor you like, just make sure it is a thicker type)

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

2 tablespoons molasses

1 heaping tablespoon prepared spicy brown mustard
1/2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
3 15 oz cans pork & beans (just the plain ol' pork & beans; we used Van Camps)

With a handful of hot coals (delay heating up all of the coals a bit so they don't go to waste while cooking the bacon & onion) placed underneath a D.O., cook the onion and bacon together until the onion is translucent and the bacon is starting to get crispy.

Meanwhile, combine the barbeque sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, molasses, mustard, and Worcestershire.  Drain most (but not all) of the liquid off of the pork and beans.  Using the lid to keep the beans in the can, pour off the liquid on the top.  Add the cans of beans to the sauce mixture. 

Once your onions & bacon are done, add the beans and sauce to the Dutch oven.  DO NOT drain the onions and bacon- the grease is essential for the flavor.  If you must, you could spoon some of it off, but leave some some of it in there.

Place the lid on the pot, and bake with 8 coals on bottom and 14 on top for 35-45 minutes.  There isn't really any need to rotate the D.O. during the cooking time because you will periodically stir the beans during the cooking process.

They sure turned out great and were an excellent side dish to grilled, barbeque chicken.  We are so glad that spring is here and cooking outside can resume.