Spicy Baked Beans
Here's a bean recipe with the just the right balance of sweet and heat! Of course you can always add a couple jalapenos if your taste is for something a bit hotter.
Ingredients:
1 pound dried beans
1 pound chopped bacon
1 onion, chopped
2 jalapenos, chopped
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
4 cups of vegetable broth
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons salt
Directions:
In a colandar, thoroughly rinse the beans then soak them overnight in enough water so that the beans are completely immersed. Change the soak water after a couple of hours. Before cooking, drain the beans and discard the soaking liquid.
Place Dutch oven over medium heat and stir in the bacon, onion and jalapenos until the onions soften (about 5 minutes). Stir in the tomato paste, brown sugar and molasses. Add the beans to the Dutch oven and stir in the vegetable broth. Bring the mixture to a boil, add in the spices and stir the mixture. Cover the dutch oven and bake at 300° for about 4 to 6 hours or until the beans are tender. Use 20 charcoal briquettes for the outdoor cooking of this recipe with charcoal as your fuel. Place 13 lit briquettes on top and 7 underneath your Dutch oven. Replace your coals about every 30-40 minutes. You may need more coals in windy or cold weather.
Serves 8 to 10