I keep fiddling with the original Alton Brown's baked beans. For me it does turn out well.
Twist to Alton Brown’s classic baked beans.
Ingredients
1-2 pound dried Great Northern beans, I prefer navy white beans and use 4-8 cups.
1 pound bacon, chopped
1 onion, chopped (Use one large sweet onion)
2 jalapenos, chopped (optional)
1/4 cup tomato paste (Replaced with ketchup)
1/4 – 1/3 cup dark brown sugar (I use 1/3 cup)
1/4 cup molasses (I prefer good maple syrup)
Vegetable broth (or water) if needed
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons kosher salt
¼ cup of good spicy brown mustard (optional)
No lodge Dutch oven option:
Currently I don’t have a good Dutch oven and my lodge pans are not suitable (non-sealing lid) for making baked beans. So I use a ceramic bean pot that work quite well. For the most part the amount of beans needed is really dependent on the size of pot used in the baking the beans.
Directions
Soak beans in a plastic container overnight with at least 2” of cold water to submerge them completely. If the top layer of beans has dried out, add additional water and soak for additional 8 hrs. If time is ‘short’; use the rapid method to soak the beans at the end of this recipe.
Heat oven to 250 degrees F.
Place a cast iron Dutch oven over medium heat and stir in the bacon, onion, and jalapenos until enough fat has rendered from the bacon to soften the onions, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste (ketchup), dark brown sugar and molasses (maple syrup) and optional mustard. Once mixture is heated up; stir in remaining dry spices; stir a few times and take mixture off the stove. This sauce will be used in between layers of beans in the Dutch oven or bean pot.
In the Dutch oven or bean pot make a layer of beans followed by a layer of bacon/onion mixture. Build up layer by layer in the cooking bowl until about ½ way thru. At this point add additional slices of bacon. Resume filling up the bowl keeping the final layer with beans. Add the 4 cups of bean water; add more if fluid does cover the bean mixture. Place lid on bowl making sure that the outside of the bean pot is clean. If I have any extra uncooked bacon I will had one or two slices between layers of beans and the bacon onion mixture.
Place the Dutch oven in the oven for 6 to 8 hours, or until the beans are tender.
One method to help speed up the baking of the beans is to adjust the oven temp approx. ½ way thru the baking session to 300 degrees.
At high altitude I start the taste testing about hour 4 of the baking time. About once each hour I will start to test the mixture to determine if the beans have been fully cooked and the texture is acceptable. Depending on soaking method the total baking time can significantly vary.
Once the bean mixture is fully cooked, take out of the oven and let it rest until ready to server.
Note: The bean mixture will have an extra bit of fluid on top, but this fluid will be slowly absorbed by the bean mixture in another 6 hrs.
This version will be slightly sweet and have a bit of a bite due to the peppers used. The bean mixture works well served cold to hot as a savory part of any meal. Minor adjustments can be performed by added a bit of pepper, brown sugar or even ketchup to adjust the sweetness of the mixture.
Quick “soak” beans: Add nothing to the water, esp salt
Using quick soak methods for the baked beans can be used to reduce total time in the oven. Place beans in a pot; bring up to a quick boil and soak for 2 hrs. Rinse beans add fresh water and cook for 30 mins. This method should produce a somewhat softer bean in the final baking session. At this time the beans are considered “soaked” and should produce a somewhat softer bean in the final product. This method may reduce the overall baking time in the oven.
