“Beefed Up” Baked Beans
Aunt Judy can’t really confirm that these cowboy baked beans were really eaten by cowboys. She once had a dream where she saw a pot of these beans cooking over a campfire and served from the chuck wagon. Traditional cowboy food had to be hearty in order to quell their huge appetites…and usually involved beef. Therefore, she beefed up the traditional baked bean recipe.
Although I’ll share her recipe using ground beef prepared in a frying pan, I like to kick up the cowboy flavor a notch by making hamburger patties and grilling them over mesquite smoking chips. Then, once cool, I crumble them into the bean pot. One of these days I’m going to add shredded smoked beef brisket instead.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 1 medium onion, diced and divided in half
- 2 jalapeno peppers, deveined, seeded and diced
- 2 28 oz. cans of baked beans (Bush's is a good choice)
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Cook half the onion until tender.
- Stir in the ground beef. Cook and stir until the meat is brown and crumbled, about 10 minutes. Drain meat.
- Place all ingredients except half the onions in an oven suitable baking dish. Bake covered for 45 minutes at 275-degrees F.
- Uncover and continue to cook for another 15 minutes.
- Remove from oven and stir in the remaining onions.
- Allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Enjoy your beans and always remember…admire the fire!
What Ribs Ya Be Eatin’ Wit Dem Beans?
There’s only one thing that needs to be served with a good pot of baked beans, and that’s a great slab of ribs. If you’re stuck for ideas, here’s a few:
Champion Ribs
Aren’t these pretty?
Jalapeño Glazed Lamb
A little heat is neat!
Korean Beef Ribs
Oh, so tender!
What’d Ya think?
I’d love to hear your thoughts…good or bad. Leave a comment below and don’t forget, you can stalk me at Twitter or Facebook.
