I came up with these beans for the PLNA annual board barbecue. I’ve been working on a baked bean recipe for several years, but haven’t yet hit it… until now! They take some time and love to make, but are well worth the effort.
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| Tom Tilley and Matt Gingerich – not cowboys. |
You can almost imagine these beans being served to a rancor of cowboys, sitting around a campfire after a long day on the trail. Cookie had some bacon and a couple of smoked ham hocks in the larder, some dried beans and molasses that he whipped into this sumptuous meal served on tin plates, maybe with some johnnycakes on the side to sop up the juices.
This recipe is for two pounds of dried beans and should serve about twenty. Since you are taking the time to make them, why not make enough to have leftovers? They’ll keep for several days in the refrigerator. I don’t know if they freeze well.
Ham Broth
2 smoked ham hocks
4 medium onions
4 bay leaves
Place ham hocks, onions and bay leaves into a stock pot with four quarts of water. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer uncovered for about three hours. Keep water just under a boil.
Let the broth cool, then remove ham hocks, onions and bay leaves. Reserve ham hocks and discard the onions and bay leaves. Strain the broth through a sieve and reserve. Pull the meat from the ham hock bones and refrigerate.
Beans
2 pounds of dry pinto beans, rinsed and sorted
3 quarts of ham broth from above
Sort and rinse the dry pinto beans, then add to the cooled ham broth. Refrigerate and let beans soak overnight.
Next day, place beans on stove and bring to boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for about two hours until the beans are tender, but still slightly al dente. If they break in to small pieces when you bite them, they need to cook a little longer.
Bean Sauce
1 lb. thick sliced smoked bacon, cut into 1/4 inch wide pieces
4 medium yellow onions, chopped
4 garlic cloves, mashed through garlic press
2 cups tomato sauce
1 1/2 cup cider vinegar
3/4 cup brown sugar
4 tablespoons chili powder
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons celery salt
2 tablespoons prepared yellow mustard
1 1/2 tablespoons black pepper, fresh-ground
2 tablespoons corn syrup
While the beans are cooking, prepare the bean sauce. Cook the bacon pieces over medium heat in a large skillet until they have rendered all their fat. Remove from the skillet with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towel. Try not to eat to many of the little morsels!
Pour off all but two tablespoons of the bacon fat. Add the onions and sauté slowly for ten to fifteen minutes to begin to caramelize the sugars. Add the garlic and continue to sauté for another minute or two. Add all the remaining ingredients to the skillet, stir well and bring to a simmer for fifteen minutes, then turn off the heat.
Put It All Together
When beans are done, pour off and reserve about half of the ham broth. Add the bean sauce, bacon pieces and reserved ham to the beans and stir well. Pour the bean mixture into a Dutch oven.
At this point the beans can be refrigerated for a day or two, or can be put directly into the oven. If baking immediately, place into a 350 degree oven for about an hour, until the beans are bubbly and the sauce thickens. If the beans seem too dry, add some of the reserved ham broth. If you refrigerate the beans, baking them will take about two or two and a half hours.
Serve piping hot from the oven.