Ingredients
Scale
- 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.
