best baked beans!

Yum! These were, by far, the best baked beans I've ever had. And I've tried my fair share of bean recipes. I even tested them out on my dad... let's just say that there weren't any left to use in a photo op for this post (photo credit: averiecooks.com)

Now, I've modified a few things in this recipe because it originally called for quite a bit of sweet stuff... which is delicious but hard on the blood sugar levels (especially over the holidays!). So I've modified. 

These definitely take a bit of time - inactive time - but you need to plan ahead. The recipe is gluten free, dairy free, and vegetarian. We paired it with a simple green salad + balsamic and olive oil dressing and some pickled beets. Yum!


INGREDIENTS:
1 pound dry Jacob Cattle Beans
1 cup bourbon
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 cup barbeque sauce 
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1.5 cup water
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup yellow mustard
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce (if keeping vegan substitute with Bragg’s Liquid Aminos or tamari sauce)

DIRECTIONS

1. Rinse and sort dry beans in a colander over the sink.
2. Add beans to a large pot and cover with 8 cups water and let soak overnight (about 8 hours).
   OR to save time:
3. Use the 1 hour rapid soak method. Bring beans and 8 cups water to a boil. Allow beans to boil rapidly for 5 minutes, uncovered. Shut the heat off, cover the pot, and let stand for 1 hour.
4. In either the overnight soak method or the 1 hour rapid soak method, drain soaking water and rinse beans well under running water in a colander over the sink.
5. Return beans to pot, cover with 6 cups water, and allow to simmer on low heat for about 45 minutes, or until quite tender; cooked about 80% of the way (you'll know they are good when you remove a few beans from the pot and gently blow on them... if the skin naturally peels off you're golden)
6. While beans are simmering, combine all remaining ingredients in the slow cooker, and whisk to combine until smooth.
7. After beans are done simmering, drain them, add them to the slow cooker, and stir.
8. Cover and cook on low heat for about 8 - 10 hours (start checking at about 6 hours), or until beans are tender, the sauce has thickened and reduced dramatically. The smell in your house will be intoxicating! If after 10 hours your sauce is still on the soupy side, remove the lid, increase the heat to the highest setting, and cook uncovered until thickened to desired level. Note – Because slow-cookers and temperatures vary greatly, you can tinker with the temperature settings as you see fit. You could possibly cook on medium for 10 to 12 hours, or cook on high for 8 to 10 hours, or do a combination of settings until your sauce has thickened and beans are tender.
9. Serve immediately. Beans will keep airtight in the refrigerator for up to 1 week, and taste better on days 2 and 3 as the flavor marry even more.

** This recipe was adapted from the website: averiecooks.com and the photo is also credited to that website.

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