Smoky, bacony, spicy baked beans - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 26, 2022, 12:31:54 am
content: This is one of my personal recipes I've adapted from others and tweaked over time. My aim was to create some deliciously smoky (and just a little bit spicy) baked beans, but with a fraction of the sugar of other recipes.I measure liquids in grams (instead of in volumetric measures) as I can get more accurate measurements on my kitchen scales.Whenever you do any stirring in this recipe,be gentle(particularly after the beans go in). If you're too brutal, you'll just end up making a gloopy mess. I prefer to use a silicone spatula over a wooden spoon.For a big batch of Halcyon beans you'll need:1x Large-ish oven-safe heavy based pot, dutch oven or similar (we won't be using the lid).175 grams streaky bacon, rind removed, small to medium dice/chop.150 grams white onion, finely diced (you could use French shallots, red or brown/yellow onion).50 grams jalapeno chilli, finely diced (feel free to add more or less to your taste).18-20 grams (about 3 large cloves) of garlic, finely chopped.325 grams of a good quality tomato sauce/ketchup.*70 grams of treacle/molasses (if you like it a bit sweeter, use 100 grams).**30 grams Worcestershire sauce.30 grams yellow mustard (just your bog-standard American mustard, no fancy dijon or grainy stuff).15 grams habanero chilli sauce (or hot sauce of your choice).***20 grams unfiltered apple cider vinegar (or you could also use the normal, clear, filtered variety).5 grams smoked paprika.10 grams liquid smoke.2x 425 gram cans of cannellini beans (with the canning liquid reserved).4x 425 gram cans of cannellini beans (drained and rinsed).Black pepper (to taste).200-300 grams water.1. Preheat a fan forced oven to 175°C (165°C for a conventional oven). Make sure you have enough space on the shelf to place your cooking pot.2. Heat pot over medium heat then add bacon (if your bacon isn't very fatty, you could add a small amount of olive oil at this point). Render the fat and stir every few minutes for about 10 minutes. The bacon should be slightly golden-brown, but not crispy or dry. Don't worry if you get some stickage or brown bits on the bottom of the pot, we'll address this in the next step.3. Add the diced onion and stir to combine, then just leave it for a few minutes (the enzymes in the onion will lift any stuck bits from the bottom of the pot). Adjust the temperature if needed, we shouldn't be doing any kind of crazy frying, keep everything at a low sizzle to avoid burning. Low and slow is better than rushing. After a few minutes, stir in the jalapeno and garlic and cook for another 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally. We're just looking to soften the vegetables slightly.4. Add the ketchup, treacle/molasses, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, habanero/chilli sauce, apple cider vinegar, paprika, liquid smoke and a good amount of fresh black pepper. Stir everything together. Add all of the beans (including the reserved bean juice) and 200 grams of water. Give everything a gentle stir together. There should be a bit more liquid at this point than would be in the finished product, but it shouldn't be absolutely swimming. If it looks a bit thick, add another 50-100 grams of water (I ended up using about 300 grams in total). You can always adjust it later if it's still too thick. (I've included a photo of what mine looked like at this step.) It also comes down to how saucy you like your baked beans, I prefer them thicker than the stuff you buy in a can, so it doesn't fall off toast as easily.5. Bring everything up just as it's starting to simmer then place the whole pot in the oven with the lid off. Bake for about 90 minutes, gently stirring every 20-30 minutes. After about 90 minutes, everything will have reduced a little but it should still be saucy. If it's too thick, add a little more water. They will continue to thicken as they cool and over the next day in the fridge.6. It's delicious right away, but over the next day or two in the fridge, the flavours will really come together. Even if you think that it's a bit too spicy now, the heat will mellow over the next 24-48 hours. If you like it spicier, you can always add more chilli to the mix. Even if you aren't a big fan of chilli, I urge you to consider adding just a little bit. Chilli will bring out a lot of the flavour in this dish, it's not just about adding heat.Notes:* Look for a nice ketchup with proper ingredients, like actual tomato (not concentrate), onion, apples, spices, that sort of thing. Avoid using your normal tomato sauce you would have with hot chips/fries.** These beans are not designed to be sweet. Most of the sweetness will come from the tomato ketchup and treacle/molasses. If you have a sweet tooth and like it even sweeter, you could add a tablespoon or two of brown sugar at Step 4.*** My habanero sauce is quite spicy, if the hot sauce you're using isn't quite as hot, double this amount to 30 grams (or to your taste).

author: beanflying
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 31, 2022, 03:24:29 am
content: Really must dig out my take on Shakshuka from my Cafe recipe book like I threatened in an earlier Egg and Beans threadThe really great thing with this sort of recipe is tweak it until you get to what you like or want in itGoogle Shakshuka Recipe SearchWith mine the basic smokiness came from the mix of Paprikas in the recipe keeping if Vegan. The rest is sort of similar to your but no mustard and just a little raw sugar for sweetness. Base ingredients were good soil grown Tomatoes as hydroponic ones suck on every level and we used a mix of Soaked dried Beans (Generally Cannellini, Kidney and one or two others) to keep the costs down. Also Chick or Black Eyed Peas would go well too.We then dropped the Bacon or more usually Chorizo on top or Mushrooms for the Vego option with a couple of poached Eggs.EDIT:forgot to add make a LARGE batch and portion it up to freeze. Keep the portions smallish for home and microwave defrosting is quicker for a no fuss meal.

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 31, 2022, 11:53:03 pm
content: That's a great suggestion and that photo looks divine. I'll have to try it.

author: sarge
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: November 06, 2022, 12:21:41 pm
content: I may have a go at making this one day! Looks and sounds delicious.