Bourbon Baked Beans

Say that three times fast. And then dig in because this is dayummmmm good! I've been wanting to make home-made baked beans for forevahhh-no offense to Bush's (which are actually quite good) but there is something so appealing about beans that have been slow cooked for hours with fresh ingredients. And let me tell you something, you need to make these. Yesterday. The flavor of these beans are UNBELIEVABLE! I knew they would be good but I was shocked by just how good they were. Now, you may get intimidated by the length of the cooking time but OH LORDY it is worth it! Now, I am going to give you the instructions as you should do it but when I made it I tried to take the lazy route and cook them on top of the stove thinking it would cook quicker. Bad idea. Terrible. I put them up at 3pm. By 11 pm they were still happily sitting in their sauce smirking at me as they stayed raw. Baked beans are meant to be baked and I apparently broke the cardinal rule. By the time we got to eat them  let's just say it was time for morning prayers. So, lesson learned, next time I will be baking them like a good girl and enjoying them for dinner instead of breakfast.



1 lb white beans (I used Navy)
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 cup Ketchup
1 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup Honey Bourbon (or regular Bourbon)
1 Tbl granulated garlic
2 Tbl vinegar
6 cups water (plus more if necessary)
2 heaping Tbl Dijon Mustard
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup pastrami fat back, cubed (optional)


Soak the beans with water to cover overnight and then drain. Preheat the oven to 350. In a heavy duty oven safe pot (Le Crueset is my  fave) brown the pieces of pastrami until the fat renders out. Remove the pastrami and drain all but 3 Tbl of the fat.  Alternatively, if you are not using the pastrami, heat 3 Tbl olive oil. Saute the onion in the fat or oil until translucent and add the bourbon. Let the bourbon cook for 2 minutes to release the alcohol  and add the beans. Add the brown sugar, ketchup, mustard, garlic, vinegar and water to the pot and mix well. Bring to a boil and transfer to the oven. Bake covered for about 3-4 hours checking every 45 minutes if more water is needed until the beans are tender. Leave the lid open for the last half an hour to allow some liquid to evaporate.

Yes, it looks like Chulent but Chulent only wishes it could taste this good!