Cambridge Cooks: Howard's Baked Beans Cambridge Cooks: Howard's Baked Beans

Photos: Debra Pearlman

My birthday was this past Sunday. To celebrate, I invited some friends over for my now famous dry-rub BBQ ribs. I requested that my brother make his baked beans. These are not your usual baked beans and folks could not get enough of them. All asked for the recipe so here it is:

HOWARD'S BAKED BEANS:

What you need:

1 Lg. Onion, chopped ( 1 cup)
1 Clove Garlic, chopped
1 Tbsp. Butter
1 Bottle Chili Sauce
1/2 Cup Maple Syrup
1/2 Cup water, more if needed
3 Tbsp. Dark Rum or Bourbon
1 Tbsp. Cider Vinegar
2 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce
2 tsp. Dry Mustard
1/2 tsp. Curry Powder
1/4 tsp. Salt
1/8 tsp. Freshly Ground Black Pepper
4 16- ounce Cans Assorted Beans, Drained ( now only 14.5 oz)
MIX AND MATCH : WHITE BEANS, RED BEANS, PINK BEANS, PINTO BEANS, KIDNEY BEANS, LIMA BEANS, BLACK BEANS, BUTTER BEANS
3-4 Strips Bacon

What You Do:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

2. In a large skillet, saute the onion and garlic in butter over medium-low heat for three minutes until softened

3. Add the chili sauce, maple syrup, water, rum, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, curry powder, salt, and pepper to the skillet and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook for about 2 minutes to blend flavors.

4. Put the beans in a casserole. Pour the sauce over them, and stir gently to combine. The beans will look very soupy at this point, but the sauce thickens a lot as it cooks.

5. Lay 3 or 4 strips of bacon over the top of the casserole and place in the preheated oven.

6. Bake for 1 hour, or until the sauce is bubbly and the bacon is cooked.

Any combination of beans works so experiment with lots of different combinations. Vegetarians and Vegans can adjust the recipe by eliminating the bacon and using soy butter. Enjoy at your next BBQ.