Smokey Barbeque Beans

I've always wanted to make my own baked beans. Ever since I was a kid and my mom brought home a copy of the "Cowboy's Cookbook" from her school library. It was written by a guy who went around interviewing little old men who used to be the chuckwagon cooks on the cattle drives in the wild west. That book, with its ugly yellow 1970's cover, did a great job of conjuring up images of smokey late-night campfires and pots of boiling coffee and beans. Here I am some 20 years later, finally making my own baked beans.

And just in time for the Summer Barbeque Challenge too. Lucky me.

These beans have a deep smokey sweet flavour that can only come with long (bloody long if you ask me!) cooking. They need a solid day to make. Don't worry about the beans going mushy, haricot beans simply don't do that very easily. After even 8 hours of solid simmering they are still perfectly shaped and a little al dente. If you really like your beans mushy, be prepared to cook them longer, or use smaller white beans such as great northern beans.

These were so yummy, this huge batch disappeared in a matter of minutes.

Lex's Smokey BBQ Beans

(serves a lot! close to 10 or 12 as a generous side dish)

• 700 grams (1.5 pounds) dried white haricot beans
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup italian parsley, finely chopped
• 1 small red capsicum (bell pepper), chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 x 796 ml (28 oz) can diced stewed tomatoes
• 1 x 156ml (5.5 oz) tin tomato paste
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 200 ml dark soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon dried hot chilli flakes
• 1 Tablespoon ground cumin
• 2 tablespoons hot English mustard
• 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 450-500 grams smoked duck or goose wings (I used goose)
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 2 cups beef stock

Soak the beans overnight in plenty of cool water. Drain and rinse.

Chuck it all in a big ole pot (at least 8 litres/quarts!), bring it to the boil and let it simmer for 7 to 9 hours. Check on it periodically. If it looks like the liquid is getting thick, add an extra few cups of water. You'll probably have to do this a few times during the cooking process.

Towards the end, use tongs to fish out the smoked bird pieces. Strip the meat off the bones, dice the meat quite small and throw it back in the pot.

Comments

[Dianka]

What a great recipe! I've always wanted to make baked beans myself, looks so good! Just in time for summer BBQ's.

~Dianka
http://na-zdravi.blogspot.com/

[Alanna]

Yum! I made baked beans for the first time a couple of weeks ago. They are the DEFINITION of slow cooking ... but worth it, in the end! YOURS look/sound fabulous ..

[Bron]

Me too! I have always wanted to make my own baked beans and your recipe looks like a great place to start.
With the slow all day cooking, I think they will be the perfect thing to entertain myself with, on one of the cold and drizzly days we are expecting, whilst you enjoy your hot summer bbqs in the northern hemisphere!

[Gabriella True]

Duck or goose! WOW. that is very creative and sounds so good. Sort of American baked Beans meets Cassoulet.

My husband will go nuts for this. And I just found another recipe I want to try with duck for appetizers so I can use the whole duck and try two new recipes!!!
http://mylifeasareluctanthousewife.blogspot.com/

[lobstersquad]

You´ve convinced me to try baked beans again. I´ve hated them all my life, they remind me of school in Enland. In Spain they´re unheard of, but this looks so good, I´ll forsake fabada and all the rest.

[BBGrill Covers]

these look awesome!