Happy Independence Day! I’m hoping you are able to celebrate with family and friends today. What’s on the menu? One of my guilty food pleasures is a right-off-the-grill hot dog. I know, not the most gourmet of foods, or the healthiest, but everything in moderation, right? And what goes better with hot dogs than baked beans? Now you could just open a can of baked beans and plop them in a saucepan, but where’s the fun in that? Make your own!
Baked Beans
- 1/2 pound dried white beans, soaked overnight in 6 cups water (or use 2 cans of white beans, reserving some of the canning liquid)
- 5 slices bacon, diced
- 1 onion, diced
- 3/4 cup ketchup
- 1 tablespoon mustard
- 1/4 cup BBQ sauce (optional, but I like the smokiness – you could also try a few dashes of liquid smoke)
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
- If you are using canned beans, skip to Step 2. If you are using dried beans: Drain the water from the beans you soaked overnight. Put the beans in a pot, cover with about 4 cups of water and a lid, and cook over medium heat for about 2 hours. You don’t want to cook off all the water, so check in on them every once in a while. When they’re done, save about a cup of the cooking water to use in the baked beans, in case you like them a little “saucier” than I do.
- In a Dutch oven or very heavy-bottomed pot, fry the bacon. When it’s about halfway to crunchy, add the onion. When the bacon looks done, add the beans. Turn the heat down to low and stir everything together for a few minutes.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and stir to combine. Give it a taste and see if you need to adjust the seasonings. It likely won’t need salt, but you may like some pepper.
- Cover and cook on low heat for half an hour. Check the consistency – if it’s too thick, add some of the bean cooking water; too thin, take the lid off and let simmer. Serve hot.
To view even more of Dana’s unique recipe, you can visit her at Frugal Girlmet!
MMMMMMM 🙂