Baked Beans from Scratch

BBQ Baked Beans from Scratch     Nancy Harrison

Ingredients

·         1 pound dried great northern beans, rinsed and drained (you can substitute canned beans here if you don't have a day to soak and pre-cook the dried ones. It would be about 6 cups of canned beans, rinsed and drained)

·         8-12 slices of bacon

·         1 medium to large onion, chopped

·         2 cloves of garlic, minced

·         1 1/2 cups ketchup

·         1/2 cup molasses

·         3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

·         1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

·         2 teaspoons yellow mustard

·         1 teaspoon chili powder

·         2 tablespoons Magic Dust

·         1 1/2 cups water

Directions

If using dry beans, start the night before. Start by pouring dry beans out onto a cookie sheet and sorting through them, picking out any foreign objects. Rinse them in a colander, then place beans in a large saucepan and cover with salted water by 2 to 3 inches. Soak the beans overnight.

The next day, drain and rinse the beans.

Return them to the saucepan and cover with fresh water by about 4 inches. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until the beans are tender, but not bursting open.

While the beans are cooking, whisk the ketchup, molasses, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, chili powder, Magic Dust, and water together in a large bowl.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon. Drain the bacon on paper towels, crumble it, and set aside. Drain HALF the bacon grease. Add the onion to the remaining bacon grease and cook for a couple of minutes, stirring constantly. Add garlic, continue to cook and stir until garlic is fragrant, but not brown. Remove from heat.

Pour drained beans into the bowl with the sauce. Add the bacon, onion, and garlic and stir to combine well.

Pour into a 9"x13" baking dish and bake, uncovered, for one hour or until bubbly.

Will keep, refrigerated, for up to 1 week.

I also made my beans earlier in the day - all the way up to the last step before putting them in the oven, then covered them with plastic wrap, and hour before we were ready to eat, I popped them in the oven.

Magic Dust

Ingredients

·         1/4 cup paprika

·         2 tablespoons coarse salt

·         2 tablespoons granulated sugar

·         1 tablespoon mustard powder

·         2 tablespoons chili powder

·         2 tablespoons ground cumin

·         1 tablespoon ground black pepper

·         2 tablespoons garlic powder

·         2 teaspoons cayenne pepper