I never have to look far to find a reason (excuse???) to invite people over for a party. Someone’s birthday? Let’s party! The house is clean? Let’s party! It’s above zero degrees? Let’s party! Taxes are done? LET’S PARTY!
The tough thing about having people over, especially a larger group, is that I’m busy. Really busy. We are all really busy. And parties usually happen on days that are already packed with a bunch of craziness. Doing as much food prep in advance helps, as does hiring a personal chef.
Oh, wait! That’s me! Guess it’s time to get my act together, rally the sous chefs (named Crockpot and Pressure Cooker) and get this party rolling!
Beans are usually an after-thought. I get thinking we should have one more item on the table, so I open a can or two of Bush’s beans, doctor them up a bit, and there you go. But I’ve wanted to make them from scratch for a long time. This particular party seemed like the perfect opportunity.
The day before the party, I speed-soaked 2 pounds of navy beans. Dry beans should always soak before cooking. Either cover them with water and allow them to soak overnight, or bring beans and plenty water to a boil, turn off the heat, and let them stand for an hour. (Make sure you sort thru the beans – they are usually pretty clean, but I’ve found a few funky things like pebbles mixed in.)
Drain the beans, return them to the pot, cover with at least an inch of water, and simmer for 30 minutes. While the beans are cooking, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper, and bake bacon until crispy. Drain bacon on paper towels, reserving some of the bacon grease, and slide the mess into the garbage for easy clean-up.
Here’s the deal with the bacon — If you add it to all the ingredients in the crockpot, the bacon will cook into soft nothingness and flavour the entire pot. If you add the bacon for the final hour of cooking, it will still have some form and texture, but the beans won’t have the same amount of smoky richness. That’s why I add “Liquid Smoke” to taste at the very end. Choose your method – either way makes amazing results.
Using the reserved bacon fat, cook the onion over medium-low heat until they are very soft. Don’t let them brown! Then add the garlic and cook another 2 minutes.
Drain and rinse the cooked beans, and dump all the ingredients (including the bacon fat that you’ve cooked the onions in – it is full of flavour!) into the crockpot. Boom!
Now it cooks on low for 10-12 hours. Because my crockpot runs hot – even on low – I stir it every 2-3 hours. About an hour before serving, remove the lid, add the bacon and Liquid Smoke, and allow everything to thicken up. It’s time for a party!
If you have any leftovers, this freezes very well. I use smaller containers so they thaw in the refrigerator. Microwaving beans – even just to thaw them – can make a nasty explosive mess in the micro.
Print
Big Batch of Bourbon Baked Beans
Ingredients
- 2 pounds dry navy beans
- 2 pounds thick-cut bacon
- 2 onions, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup water
- 1 1/2 cup barbecue sauce (we like Sweet Baby Ray’s)
- 2 cups packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 1 cup bourbon
- 3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 3 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
- 2 Tbsp dry mustard
- 1 Tbsp Liquid Smoke
Instructions
- The day before, sort and rinse beans. Add beans to a large pot, cover with water, and soak overnight.
- If you don’t have time for that, bring water and beans to a boil, cover and remove from heat. Allow beans to soak for 1 hour.
- Drain and rinse beans. Return to the pot, cover with at least 1″ water, simmer for 30 minutes, then drain.
- While beans are cooking, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and lay bacon on the sheet without overlapping. Bake until crispy. Drain bacon on paper towels, and reserve 1/4 cup bacon fat.
- Put half the bacon fat into a skillet over medium-low heat, and cook onions “low and slow” until they are translucent and very soft, adding bacon fat as needed. Add minced garlic for the final 2 minutes of cooking.
- In crockpot, stir together the barbecue sauce, water, brown sugar, ketchup, molasses, bourbon, dry mustard, apple cider vinegar, and worcestershire sauce. Add the onion and garlic, along with the fat they cooked in, and the drained cooked beans.
- Cover and cook on low for 10-12 hours, stirring every 3 hours.
- One hour before serving, stir in the bacon and Liquid Smoke. Leave cover off for final hour of cooking.
Remember that this takes a long time to cook, but the result is totally worthwhile! Splitting the cooking time up over 2 days works, and the longer the beans sit in the juices, the more tasty they become. Have fun!
