How to Make Alton Brown’s Baked Beans

One of the most classic barbecue side dishes is baked beans and in my opinion this is one of the best recipes available. It’s cooked in a cast iron skillet for a few hours and everytime I make this recipe it reminds of a baked bean recipe that a cowboy would be eating sitting out next to his horse on a campsite. This baked bean recipe is from Alton Brown’s show on Food Network called “Good Eats.” This Alton Brown’s Baked Beans recipe requires soaking your beans overnight and then baking them for about 6 hours. It might sound like a lot of work but it is well worth it.

Step By Step Instructions for Baked Bean Nirvana

The first step is to soak the beans overnight. I make sure to fill the bowl with enough water to allow for the beans to expand. This turns out to be about 1 inch of water over the beans.

The next day you chop the bacon, dice the jalapenos and onions and add them to your pan. Alton Brown recommends a cast iron dutch oven. I don’t have a cast iron dutch oven but I do have a 4 qt cast iron skillet. I used this and it turned out just fine. This baked bean recipe would also work well in a crock pot as long as you do the initial sautéing in a regular frying pan. Over medium heat sautee the onions, jalapenos and bacon until the onions are soft (about 5-8 min).

After the onions are soft, add the tomato paste, brown sugar and molasses to the skillet.

Stir Patiently, You’ll Be Rewarded

Stir this around for a little bit and then strain the beans and add them to the skillet. Save the water the beans were soaking in and then add 4 cups of this water to the skillet. It may seem like a lot of liquid but all this liquid will reduce by quite a bit. Add the cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper and bring this to a boil over high heat.

Once the beans are boiling, cover the skillet and place it in a preheated 250 degree oven for 6-8 hours. After 6 and a half hours my ribs were ready and so were my beans.

This is a really nice bean recipe to accompany your BBQ. Just look how nice it goes along with my ribs!

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How to make Alton Brown’s Baked Beans

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American, BBQ

Prep Time 25 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Servings 12

Calories 254kcal

Ingredients

• 1 pound dried Great Northern beans
• ½ pound bacon chopped
• 1 onion chopped
• 2 jalapenos chopped
• ¼ cup tomato paste
• ¼ cup dark brown sugar
• ¼ cup molasses
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt

Instructions

• first step is to soak the beans overnight. I make sure to fill the bowl with enough water to allow for the beans to expand. This turns out to be about 1 inch of water over the beans.
• The next day you chop the bacon, dice the jalapenos and onions and add them to your pan. Alton Brown recommends a cast iron dutch oven. I don’t have a cast iron dutch oven but I do have a 4 qt cast iron skillet. I used this and it turned out just fine. I would imagine this baked bean recipe would also work well in a crock pot as long as you do the initial sauteing in a regular frying pan. Over medium heat sautee the onions, jalapenos and bacon until the onions are soft (about 5-8 min).
• After the onions are soft, add the tomato paste, brown sugar and molasses to the skillet
• Stir this around for a little bit and then strain the beans and add them to the skillet. Save the water the beans were soaking in and then add 4 cups of this water to the skillet. It may seem like a lot of liquid but all this liquid will reduce by quite a bit during the cook. Add the cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper and bring this to a boil over high heat.
• Once the beans are boiling, cover the skillet and place it in a preheated 250 degree oven for about 6-8 hours

Nutrition

Calories: 254kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 12mg | Sodium: 565mg | Potassium: 745mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 133IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 89mg | Iron: 3mg