In my book, baked beans are just the perfect addition to summer food off the grill. Whether its hot dogs and hamburgers, BBQ chicken, or pork chops, baked beans will always compliment a grilled meal! And beans pair nicely with a cooling item like coleslaw or a pasta salad.
I must warn you that what follows isn’t a strict recipe as my baked beans are never the same twice, but I do have a general method to my madness. I start with canned baked beans, which is cheating right off the bat, but it turns a full day or even overnight process and into a 30-45 minute breeze of a project.
The following ratios are based on using a 28 oz. can of vegetarian baked beans. I usually buy the store brand but Bush’s are tasty too. Then I add about…
1T of something sweet like molasses or brown sugar
2T ketchup
1T of yellow mustard or 1t dry mustard (I like Colman’s)
2T diced onion or 1t onion powder
1-2t black pepper
1-2t Worchester sauce (don’t add if you want to keep them vegetarian)
1T of something vinegar-y like apple cider vinegar or if you want some heat the vinegar with peppers in it.
Sometimes I add pinches of things like dried oregano, cumin, or chili powder.
I stir all the ingredients together and bake it at 325-350 for an hour or if you need it sooner you can up it to 375-400 and aim for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally. None of the ingredients need to be cooked so it is just a matter of the flavors having time to meld. Baked beans are best if they are bubbling but not getting dry and crispy around the edges.
The dinner....was hot dogs, which are Hoffman's natural casing tasty dogs that we love. And we always steam our hot dogs and then toss the buns on top at the end to steam a bit too. We topped these with canned Hormel chili (no beans), shredded cheddar cheese, and mustard.
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