Belle of the BBQ Homemade Baked Beans

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When I was in my early twenties I loved to cook as much as I do now, but didn’t have the skills yet. When the company I worked for was having a pot luck BBQ I wanted to bring something fantastic. My aunt said that I could have her baked beans recipe and I was so excited to show off my skills! My excitement quickly turned to disappointment when she told me to use Pork and Beans. I thought that I was going to be making a real crowd pleaser from scratch, not from a can. I didn’t have anything else planned, so I proceeded with the cheater beans. Turns out they were still a hit with all the hungry truck drivers. My feelings on it though, were weather they were a hit or not, you can’t just add BBQ sauce to canned beans and call it homemade. I didn’t make this recipe again for over a decade. Canned baked beans are pretty good too. Then the other day some friends of ours with more kids than we have called and said they had a couple of tri-tips they wanted to grill with us. I didn’t have anything to go with it, so I went pantry diving to see what I could put together at the end of the month a.k.a. tight on funds for such a big crew. Turns out I had everything I needed to make my aunt’s cheater beans. Our friends and my husband were all impressed with the beans simply because they weren’t from a can.I still felt guilty though. So, I went to work perfecting my own baked beans from scratch! And guess what! They were an even bigger hit than the pretend beans. The key is the beans. No matter how busy you are, make your own beans! I used navy beans and here are a couple different ways I suggest to prepare them. The first one is more traditional and the second is much quicker for those busy families out there like us.

• The traditional way is to soak the beans over night with salt and then boil. I am not sure of all the details on this method because I can never remember to start them the night before. The one thing I do know is that every package may have a different preparation suggestion, so be sure to follow what it says.
• The quick way has been a God Send to me. I got an InstaPot for Christmas and I’ll admit that I didn’t get the hype about it. I struggled with every recipe I tried until I started using it for beans and grains. Now I’m an InstaPot believer. Just add 1 lb of beans, 6-8 cups of water, a bay leaf, and a pinch of salt to the InstaPot. Set the InstaPot to manual high for 30 minutes, adjusting for altitude. When it is done wait for the steam to release naturally, and drain. Don’t let the beans sit for too long. They get soggy and soupy. Also, leaving some of the juice in is good, but too much will dilute the beans.

Putting it all together Get the bacon cooked right off the bat. You’ll need the grease for the next step. I prefer to cook my bacon in the oven. There is less mess that way and I’m free to prepare the rest of the recipe rather than having to be frying bacon the whole time. I line a cookie sheet with tin foil and bake for about 20 minutes or until crispy, depending on the thickness of the bacon, at 350° F. Drain a few tablespoons of the bacon grease into a medium sized pot. Saute the onion and garlic in the bacon grease until the onion is translucent.   Add the tomato sauce, BBQ sauce (click here for my Blackstrap BBQ Sauce Recipe), liquid smoke, Worcestershire sauce, mustard powder, brown sugar, and pepper. Stir the ingredients until well blended. Fold in the beans, and then crumble the bacon into large chunks and mix in. Let the mixture simmer until it starts to reduce down and thicken. This takes about 5 minutes. If mixture looks a little dry, add a few more tablespoons of BBQ sauce. Then pour everything into a large casserole dish and bake at 350° F for an hour.   Let cool some before serving to allow to thicken for easier serving. I usually double this recipe with the size of my crew, but this recipe should feed about 15 people.