My Savory and Sweet Cowboy Beans

Some of you might ask, “what’s the difference in your baked beans and your Cowboy beans?” There’s a big difference.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Traditional baked beans usually only contain small pieces of salt pork or bacon and one kind of bean, like pork and beans or navy beans. The flavor leans heavily into a simple, very sweet tomato or molasses flavor. Baked beans serve strictly as a side dish at a cookout.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cowboy Beans strike a great balance between sweet and savory. They’re not as sweet as traditional baked beans, but not as savory as the kind of beans I typically cook and serve over rice. They consist of a mix of several beans like pinto, kidney, butter beans and northern beans. They have a mix of ground beef, bacon, barbecue sauce, and some kind of sweetener like brown sugar, molasses, or even maple syrup, all simmered together in a Dutch oven.  Where baked beans are usually served as a side dish at a cookout, Cowboy Beans are so thick and filling they can double as a full main meal. 

 My Savory and Sweet Cowboy Beans

 1 medium yellow onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

8 ounces sliced bacon, sliced into ¼ inch pieces

1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1 tablespoon chili powder

A pinch of 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)

1-pound lean ground beef (85% lean)

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 cup water

1/4 cup tomato-based barbecue sauce

1/4 cup packed light or dark brown sugar

1/4 cup ketchup

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Place the bacon in a skillet or Dutch oven and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until browned and crisp, 7 to 10 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate. Remove all but 1 tablespoon of bacon fat from the pot; discard the remaining fat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Add the onion to the pot and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic, 1 tablespoon chili powder, and 1/8 teaspoon cayenne if using, and stir to combine. Cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add the ground beef, salt and pepper. Cook, breaking up the meat into small pieces and scraping up the browned bits at the bottom of the pot. Continue to cook until the meat is no longer pink and is cooked through and browned, 4 to 5 minutes.

 

Add the beans, fried bacon, 1 cup water, 1/4 cup tomato-based barbecue sauce, 1/4 cup packed brown sugar, 1/4 cup ketchup, and 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard. Stir to combine and bring to a simmer.  

Cover and transfer the pot to the oven. Bake until the flavors meld and the sauce is thickened, about 45 minutes. 

 In the meantime, make your cornbread. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Remove lid from beans and taste. Add more seasoning to taste.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Slice your cornbread into quarters and serve with your beans. Serve with desired toppings.

 

 NOTES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Make ahead: Cowboy beans taste great the day after they’re made, once the flavors have had a chance to meld. Let cool and refrigerate in an airtight container. Reheat on the stovetop over medium heat.

 Storage: Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to four days in an airtight container or frozen for up to three months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.

Bacon. Opt for plain bacon here. Avoid flavorings like maple, although a smoked variety adds great depth of flavor. You can use thick- or thin-cut bacon.

Ground beef. I use 85% ground beef. 

Mustard:  You can swap yellow mustard for the Dijon. 

Barbecue sauce.  I use Sweet Baby Ray’s but you can choose the sauce you like best. Want it spicy?  Use a spicy sauce, or try a smoky sauce to play up the flavors of barbecue.

Beans. Cowboy beans are all about variety. For me, pinto, kidney, and cannellini beans bring slightly different flavors and textures to each bite. Using canned beans eliminates the need for lengthy pre-soaking and speeds up cook time.
 
Chili powder. Chili powder is a blend of several different spices, giving you a big hit of flavor from a single ingredient. Use mild chili powder here — not the hot stuff.

Feel free to play with the mix of beans in this recipe. If you love kidney beans, use more of those. If you’ve only got black beans on hand, that’s fine too. You can even swap in baked beans for an extra hit of sweetness.
If the idea of sweetening your beans does not sound appealing, just skip the brown sugar.

 

Photography is the property of and copyrighted to Welcome Home.