Saveur Barbecued Baked Beans

If you've been reading this blog for a while you know that my family loves pulled pork and chicken. I tend to make pulled meats at least once a month and it's one dish that I can guarantee that the leftovers will be eaten. Since I make so many pulled pork and chicken recipes, I am always looking for new sides. I can only make cornbread or corn so many times before I long for something different. I have tried a number of baked bean recipes over the last couple of years, some have been great, some less than stellar. As I was flipping through a recent issue of Saveur magazine I came across a recipe for Barbecued Baked Beans, which looked delicious and perfect as a side with pulled pork sandwiches.

This recipe has 14 ingredients. It makes 6-8 servings and takes approximately 2 and a half hours to prepare and bake. There are a number of ingredients in this recipe, but they were all very easy to find at my local grocery store. Normally I would have used leftover pulled pork that I had made myself, but this was a week that I took the easy road out and bought pre-made pulled pork. I prefer homemade, but there are actually some decent brand of pulled pork available at our local grocery stores, which I buy when I run out of time (or don't feel like cooking all day). To crush the tomatoes, I use a ziploc bag, seal and then crush by hand. It saves the mess and makes clean-up a snap. It's also a great way to crush graham crackers or saltines for recipes. I would have used dried beans, instead of canned, except I have never been able to find dried navy beans at any of the grocery stores in my area. Since most people use pinto beans, they are the most readily and abundant beans available. Make sure to wait until the beans have cooled for 15-20 minutes before serving. The recipe suggests waiting 10 minutes, but I found waiting 20 minutes helped for the beans to completely thicken after standing. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

I hadn't made homemade baked beans in a long time and this was a big hit with my family. My two boys liked the sweetness and thought they tasted like 'candy beans'. The only complaint I received was from my husband, who wasn't a fan of the texture of the bacon. That's to be expected from him though, he has to have his bacon almost burned to get it crispy enough for him to eat. The leftovers heated well for a dinner later in the week, and my boys ate multiple bowls as snacks. This recipe makes a large amount of beans, more than enough to take to a potluck or to have plenty of leftovers for future meals. Overall, a delicious baked beans recipe.

For the recipe go to Barbecued Baked Beans.