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Louisiana-Style Baked Beans

Ingredients:

Baked Beans

  • 1 (1-pound) package Camellia Brand Great Northern Beans, rinsed and sorted
  • 1/2 pound smoked slab bacon
  • 1/2 pound tasso, chopped into 1/2 inch cubes
  • 1 to 2 links andouille sausage
  • 1 cup chopped yellow onion
  • 1 cup chopped red bell pepper
  • 1 cup chopped green bell pepper
  • 2 cloves (about 1 tablespoon) minced garlic
  • 6 cups chicken stock
  • 2 1/2 cups BBQ sauce, recipe follows

BBQ Sauce

  • 4 cups ketchup
  • 3 tablespoons Creole mustard
  • 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/4 cup hot sauce
  • 1/4 cup cane vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons cane syrup
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 2 teaspoon Cajun or Creole seasoning (we use Slap Ya Mama)
  • 3 teaspoons smoked paprika
  • 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter

Directions:

  1. Make the BBQ Sauce: In a medium pot over medium-low heat, combine hot sauce, cane vinegar, cane syrup, black pepper, garlic powder, cayenne and Cajun/Creole seasoning and bring to a simmer. Whisk until incorporated.
  2. After simmering for 5 minutes, add in the stick of butter and whisk until melted. Simmer for another 5 minutes until the butter is incorporated into the BBQ sauce, then turn off the heat. Let it cool and set aside 2 ½ cups of the BBQ sauce the baked beans. (Reserve the remainder to use as a marinade or basting sauce for grilling.)
  3. Turn up the grill to high heat.
  4. Butterfly the andouille sausage.
  5. When the grill is super-hot, place the slab bacon and butterflied sausage on the grill; sear the slab bacon on all 4 sides and the sausage on both sides, turning every 30 seconds or until you see nice charred grill marks. (Note: Do not cook the bacon or sausage through. The goal is to gain a nice char and extra smokiness for the beans.)
  6. Remove slab bacon and sausage from grill and let them cool until they are easy to handle, then chop them both into ½-inch cubes.
  7. Place the cubed slab bacon into a Dutch oven over medium-low heat. Cook and stir using a wooden spoon for about 8 minutes or until a decent amount of fat renders out and there is some brown coloring to it. Once there’s a nice layer of fond and rendered fat on the bottom of the pot, remove the slab bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside on a paper-towel lined plate.
  8. Preheat oven to 325°F
  9. Add the chopped onion, red bell pepper and green bell pepper to the Dutch oven and cook and stir over medium heat for about 8 minutes or until they are extremely soft to the touch. The vegetables should deglaze the bottom of the pot and gain a nice, deep color.
  10. Add the minced garlic; cook and stir for 1 minute.
  11. Add the beans and stir until everything is mixed well.
  12. Add the slab bacon, andouille and tasso to the pot and stir until everything is combined.
  13. Add 2 1/2 cups of the BBQ sauce and the chicken stock and stir to combine.
  14. Increase heat to high and bring beans to a boil for 10 minutes, then remove from heat, place the lid on the pot and transfer it into the oven; cook for 4-5 hours or until the beans are tender.
  15. When beans are tender, remove the pot from the oven, remove the lid and transfer pot to the grill; continue to simmer until beans reach the desired consistency. If it becomes too thick, stir in a cup or 2 of water.

Chef Isaac Woo of Catahoula Catering in Denver, Colorado is a Louisiana native whose mission is to bring authentic, expertly prepared Cajun and Creole dishes to social events large and small. He is a graduate of Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, which means he knows how to throw a really good party.

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