BBQ Baked Beans

Inspired by Mighty Quinn’s - New York, NY

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BBQ Baked Beans were a staple at most every cookout I ever attended back in Texas. Back home the pinto bean reigned supreme as it is both common to the region and popular throughout Mexico as well. Once I moved up North I started seeing a larger variety of beans and came to appreciate the mildness of Navy and Great Northern beans which do a great job of letting other flavors shine through in a dish.

This recipe is inspired by the BBQ Baked Beans at Mighty Quinn’s. While Mighty Quinn’s may not be Texas BBQ, I’ve been pleased to see places like them sprout up throughout New York during my time here, allowing me to find some familiar flavors far from my Texas home. Like Might Quinn’s, I use a variety of beans. However, I was sure to also use my beloved pinto and find that doing things from scratch, while incorporating a hybrid of ingredients have helped me create something I would be proud to showcase with even the most critical of Texans and BBQ enthusiasts.

INGREDIENTS

BBQ BAKED BEANS:

  • 1 lb dry beans (equal parts pinto, great northern, and navy beans)

  • 12 oz thick cut bacon, cut into ½ inch strips

  • 1 ½ cups diced white onion (about half a large onion)

  • ⅓ cup diced jalapeños, stemmed and seeded

  • 3 large garlic cloves, minced

  • 2 cups chicken low sodium stock

  • 1 ½ cups organic or low sugar ketchup

  • ⅔ cup light brown sugar

  • ⅓ cup honey

  • ¼ cup molasses

  • 2 TBS yellow mustard

  • 1 TBS apple cider vinegar

  • 2 TBS BBQ dry rub

  • 1 TBS Worcestershire sauce

  • Salt to taste

GO FOR IT

BBQ BAKED BEANS:

  1. In a large bowl, cover dry beans in lots of water (they will quadruple in size) at least 8 hours or overnight

  2. When beans have soaked, drain and rinse, then set aside

  3. In a dutch over or large or pot, add bacon, the heat on medium until fat has rendered (about 5 to 10 minutes depending on thickness)

  4. Remove cooked bacon to paper towel, leaving bacon fat in pot

  5. Add onions to pot and cook in bacon fat until onions are soft and slightly browned (5 to 7 minutes)

  6. Add in jalapeños and garlic and stir for additional 1 minute

  7. Add in 3 cups of water, 2 cups of chicken stock, and reserved beans

  8. Turn heat to high, bring to a boil, then down to a simmer and simmer uncovered for 1 hour, stirring occasionally

  9. After 1 hour, stir in ketchup, brown sugar, honey, molasses, mustard, apple cider vinegar, dry rub, and Worcestershire sauce

  10. Cover beans and place in 300°F oven (if pot is not oven safe, place in baking pan and cover and foil beforehand) - leave lid or foil slightly ajar to let a little bit of steam escape without leaving enough surface area to burn top of beans

  11. Bake beans for 4 hours, stirring each hour and (leave uncovered for final 30 minutes to caramelize the top of your beans)

  12. Remove from oven and let cook at least 15 minutes before tasting and adding salt if desired (I didn’t need any)

NOTES:

I made these for a cookout my friend held this past weekend after buying a new smoker. To further add some flavor, we placed the beans in the smoker with the meat and let it soak up some smokiness for a couple hours before serving. If you have the means, feel free to do the same. We even added a bit of brisket burnt ends as well.

You can certainly find quicker methods for making baked beans than what I’m providing here but you will absolutely see a difference when you take the time and care to put these together as they were meant to be. Feel free to sub in your own favorite types of beans to the ones I use here but I am an advocate for a good variety within your dish over a single bean.

You don’t need to use my BBQ dry rub, you can use whatever your favorite is as I know there are many great ones you can find out there for purchase. However, I do recommend using organic or sugar free ketchup as normal ketchup can have a high concentration of sugar and corn syrup and can make your beans far more tart than necessary. Some people like that but I find the brown sugar and other ingredients add just what you need without going too overboard. Also, if heat isn’t your thing, substitute the jalapeños for a green bell pepper. Or, if it’s your preference, you can also use a Spanish onion over white. However, you will need thick bacon as the thin stuff will not hold up over such a long cook time.