Baked beans have certainly grown on me over time. When I was small, I would do everything in my power to not touch the stuff, but with age I gained some wisdom along the way; and I finally discovered the beauty that is the baked bean. I love love love this recipe, and I’m so happy to share it with all of you. I think the key with this recipe was to develop great flavors. With a little bit of spiciness, yet a little bit of sweetness, this recipe is sure to please at your next BBQ. Sweet and savory baked beans: everything you could want in a picnic favorite! They may take up about 8 hours of your day, but don’t worry they are completely from scratch (except for the “growing the beans” part) and it will be more than worth it in the end. Besides, 7 of those 8 hours take no effort from you what-so-ever!
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What I love about this recipe is the beer factor! Not only are we going to drink beer with food today, but we are going make food with beer too! This makes me very happy if you couldn’t already tell. If you are trying to think of a good beer to put in this recipe, I think you could go any way and it would be a good decision. We went with Deschutes Brewing’s Red Chair Northwest Pale Ale both for the beer pairing and for the beer we added to the beans. One of the reasons I went this route was because we have SOOOO much of this beer. Not that it takes away from the deliciousness of it because it is for sure absolutely delicious. This beer isn’t your everyday pale ale. It’s a special kind of pale ale. It has hints of hoppiness (I wish they would just add this word into the dictionary – it most definitely should be a word by now), but it also has hints of maltiness which makes it the craziest (yet most amazing) pale ale I’ve ever had. It also has a super pretty color! … So win, win!
Another thing I love about this recipe is the use of dry beans instead of canned. Any other time I’ve ever made “homemade” baked beans, I’ve used canned. I know that the use of dry beans can be scary to some. They were definitely scary to me for the longest time. They really aren’t difficult to use. You just have to be patient. They take a little bit of extra added work, and yes you will have to soak them for quite a while. The reason we only soaked our beans for an hour for this recipe was because we were baking them for so long afterwards. It is very important to soak, so don’t forget to do it! You may end up with a broken tooth (or 12) on your hands.
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We are making a super herbaceous chicken salad tonight for dinner since our herbs are growing out of control and we really need to use them! Can’t wait to share this with all of you!
Have a great evening!
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These sweet and savory baked beans from scratch combine all the great flavors of a picnic favorite with a little twist!
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb dry lima beans
- 1/2 lb dry great northern beans
- 8 cups hot water
- 5 strips of bacon, sliced
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 can crushed tomatoes (15 ounce can)
- 4 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 bottle of beer (12 ounce bottle)
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon molasses
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 cup monterey jack cheese, grated
Instructions
- Combine the lima beans, great northern beans and water in a 5-quart dutch oven. Over high heat, bring the water and beans to a boil. Remove from heat and cover. Let sit for 1 hour. Drain the beans through a colander and rinse with lukewarm water. Set aside.
- In another 5-quart dutch oven (or the same one you used for the beans), fry the bacon over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add the onion to the bacon and saute for about 10-15 minutes or until the onions are tender. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. At this point, add the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, chicken broth, beer, apple cider vinegar, molasses, dijon mustard, lemon juice, ketchup, brown sugar, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper to taste and chili powder. Stir all of the ingredients together. Add the beans to the dutch oven and turn the heat up to high. Bring the mixture to a boil then lower the heat to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes.
- Preheat your oven to 275 degrees F.
- Transfer the beans to a 9x13in baking dish and cover with aluminum foil (or an oven safe lid if you have one). Bake the beans at 275 degrees for 5-6 hours. Every 45 minutes to an hour, give the beans a stir.
- When you are ready to serve, top with monterey jack cheese and enjoy!
Notes
Hardware: * Cutting Board * Sharp Knife * 9x13in. Baking Dish * Bowls * Cheese Grater * Measuring Cups * Measuring Spoons * Foil * Colander * 2x 5 Quart Dutch Oven with Lid *
