We had an impromptu cookout last weekend for Memorial Day before we headed over to Fenway Park to watch some good ol' American baseball (the Phillies were in town. Our resident Philly Phanatic got tickets for both games.). While brainstorming about what sides we could make for the cookout, we hit upon Meaghan's baked beans recipe. Part of me feels like a traitor making non-Boston baked beans in Boston, and the other part of me figures that the rules are probably a little different in Cambridge. Anyway you make them, baked beans seem like a pretty quintessential cookout side dish, so I figured we could give them a go.
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| What's better at a cookout than baked beans? |
Here's a confession: I've never made baked beans before, Boston or otherwise. I watched Dad make them quite a bit when I was a kid, and mainly remember that his recipe existed only in his head and was less of a prescription and more of a suggestion. I'm pretty sure there was some brown sugar involved, and maybe some mustard? So as a baked beans newbie, I was surprised by some of the ingredients in Meaghan's recipe - beer, soy sauce, chipotles in adobo. Who knew?
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| Partial list of ingredients, soon to be deliciousness |
The recipe calls for six cans of beans, and makes 8-10 servings. I decided to scale it down for our needs (impromptu cookout means small cookout - I guess not everyone is just sitting around waiting for us to invite them over. Huh.), and halved the recipe. The halving wasn't an exact science (I learned that from Dad) but I tried to keep the proportions about right. The recipe calls for a dark beer; I used a porter since Matt offered to drink what wasn't used in the baked beans. What a sacrifice.
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| Ready to add the beans! |
The beans came out great! They had a nice heat, but not too hot (I probably could have put a little more chipotle in) and a nice depth of flavor. I substituted regular brown mustard for dijon, since I hadn't realized I was out of dijon, but I think it worked out in the end. And they got rave reviews! The only thing was that since they bake uncovered, the beans on top dried out a bit. The ones underneath were perfect, and I'm considering either covering the pan for part of the baking time or periodically stirring them while they're in the oven (I had left them untouched). Matt and I are excited to make them again, especially now that I've finally broken the barrier on baked beans!
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| Just out of the oven! |
Like all good hosts, we shooed our guests out the door so we could make it to the baseball game on time to watch the Phillies lose miserably. But at least it was a great day for a game (and for baked beans)!
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| Look who's excited for the game... |
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| Fenway park from the cheap seats |
Hot & Smoky Baked Beans
serves 8-10
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 1/4 cups BBQ sauce (I just used a standard BBQ sauce - I suppose you could switch up the flavor by using honey or spicy or some other BBQ sauce)
3/4 cups dark beer
1/4 cup light molasses
3 Tbsp dijon mustard
3 Tbsp packed dark brown sugar
2 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp soy sauce
4 - 6 tsp canned chipotle chiles, minced
6 15-oz cans Great Northern beans, drained
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk to blend first 8 ingredients. Whisk in chiles. Stir in beans. Transfer to 13x9 glass baking dish, and bake, uncovered, until bubbly and thick, about 1 hour.
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