A Hill of Beans... II

[Mr. Bones]

Back in September I made some indoors Quickie Bourbon Beans, fer an impromptu, low-key lunch with my new work unit, th adjacent one, an a few select invitees......(~24-32 mouths, typically)

They were well received, so first thing last week, others, in my absence, "Volunteered"/"Signed Me Up" me to make th beans fer our lunch, Wednesday, 21NOV18...

Due to things goin on, an immediate proximity to Thanksgivin, I did em indoors, once again...

Changed a few things around on em, based on th first batch, that I thought could be improved, or riffed on...or found ways to cheat th clock...

[Mr. Bones]

Like last time, my two bosses were to bring in / prepare th main proteins; in this particular case, brats were chosen by them, an cooked off on our shop's gasser...

Like last time, in September, we had bout 3-4 people sign up to actually bring food; th rest still think napkins, paper plates, chips, pops, sporks, catsup (sic), mustard, etc. is a contribution to a community, collective Pot Luck type of meal.

I will re-educate them, an git their minds right.

Meanwhile, makin some more 'cheater beans', time-wise...

[Nate]

Those things are great. That has become one of my go to contributions to pitch ins now.

[Mr. Bones]

Yup, certainly, they can be easy-peasy....
Even done outdoors, on one's cooker(s)...

[Mr. Bones]

Perhaps, fer a bean dish, it might seem kinda counter-intuitive, but I started with ~1/2 pound of sliced brisky, after thawin...(Could be gently done from frozen, if yer not pressed fer time...)



I chopped it down , some, an set aside...

At this point, I very much feel obligated to give credit, where credit is due:
Smokey was, most definitely, in Pit Assistant mode, fer th duration of my cook...

Thanks, Lil Brother!

He was amply rewarded fer his assistance by several small bits of brisky, bacon, an Cajun Seasoned grd chuck...BOY, was he ever a Happy Helper LOL!

[Mr. Bones]

While I was carvin up my leftover brisky to appropriate size, I was also heatin up my trusty, battle-scarred Innova Kitchen Basics 0501 18/10 SS to ~Medium Low..., in order to gently brown off a pound of 85/15 ground chuck...


At this point, I also put my oven on preheat, to 275°



I added a single teaspoon of bacon grease, to lightly coat th pan bottom...an then, added my grd chuck, choppin it up fine with a spatula, an stirrin, gently, over a low saute temp...



I give th grd chuckie a heavy coatin of Slap Ya Mama Cajun Seasonin, regular heat, then stirred thoroughly, an repeated...this replaced alla th SPG I'd usually utilize...



I added some onion powder, then crushed up another 4 of my nice, fiery lil red peppers, courtesy of East Texas Don, into th mix...


Tips: How to spot a displaced Texan: Brother Don's Truck: New grill, after a recent deer strike...

[jgreen]

Great story so far.

[Mr. Bones]

Once it was gittin some brownin, I give th grd chuck a couple glugs of Guinness Extra Stout, an BAC...followed by a liberal dousin of Worsh Yer Sister, then Texas Pete.

Now, while th ground chuck was slowly simmerin, I had another iron in th fire: I loaded a parchment paper covered half sheet pan fulla thick sliced bacon, ~3/4 lb. an got it goin in my oven, @ 275°
(Everything goes better with bacon...)


Contrary to what I might usually do, I poured off th bacon grease into my trusty canister, rather than into th beans...



I cut up th bacon into roughly square pieces, an added to th slowly simmerin meat mix...

I used a cracked "lid" technique*, to allow th meats to braise together, some...,

* I was given this nice pan, years ago, because my BFF lost th lid to it, so I use aluminium foil...

[Mr. Bones]

Still simmerin/braisin:

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm..............................



Whoops, almost fergot th dang beans, this was so tasty, already!

Okay, here goes: 5 28 oz. cans (8.75 lbs.) HV baked beans, of th followin variety:


So easy, So good...
Great last minute side dish...

[Mr. Bones]

After I added th beans, an stirred / tasted,I gave it all another liberal dousin of Worsh Yer Sister, Texas Pete, some yellow mustard, same same Sandwich Pal, salt, pepper, an a 4 oz. PC of "Regular" sauce from Biemer's BBQ, fer good measure...
Bout <1/2 t each Hickory, an Mesquite liquid smoke was stirred in at this point...

After it all simmered awhile, (~1 hr) I took it up into a 4" half pan...

Well, it jus wouldn't be Bourbon Baked Beans, without some Bourbon, so yall can guess what came next...

1 (Regulation, not Mr. Bones ) shot, each: Maker's Mark, Knob Creek, Jim Beam Black Extra Aged, Jim Beam Repeal, Redemption, Longbranch, Woodford Reserve, an a shot of Sailor Jerry, fer good measure...

Into th oven @ 275° fer ~2hrs, uncovered, then it was time fer beddy-bye...
After bout 2 hrs @ 275°, I cling wrapped, then foiled it, set my oven at "LOW" 170°, an went to bed.
Final pic is after stirrin/tastin, before wrappin it all up.

[jgreen]

Hmm...didn’t say what happened to rest of the bottle of Guinness, and I bet you had to taste each of those bourbons to make sure they hadn’t gone bad. Dang beans look fantastic. I would eat that any day.

[Mr. Bones]

Many Thanks fer them kind words, Brother!

Yup, Quality Assurance is a crucial part of makin Great Food, so tastin is mandatory, every step of th process...

[Donw]

If this is how you eat at work, maybe I need to rethink retirement and get a job there!😀

[Nate]

Bonesy, you should start a thread asking for everyone’s different take on this recipe.

[Mr. Bones]

Nate I'm kinda intriguiged by yer idea...

Please feel free to elaborate, or elucidate what ya would like to see happen, an I will do my level best to make it so, brother!

[Nate]

Bonesy, nothing in particular I am looking for. Just thinking most people have their own take on things and would be curious to see what other folks do to doctor up or manipulate this dish. No right or wrong answers just personal preferences. Cheers and cook on brother!

[Mr. Bones]

Even though I term these Cheater Beans, an Quickie Beans, (Which they are by my standards), I wanted to note that the seasoned meats set there, minglin, barely at a bubblin simmer, fer 1.5 hrs, as I tasted, seasoned, an strove fer some goodie.

Could I have done them faster? Yup.

Would they have come out as good. Resoundin NOPE.

Some things jus shouldn't be rushed, nor some corners cut...

Like most of us, I suppose, I'm purty dang dang persnickety bout puttin my soul on a plate, or in a bowl, an offerin it up to others...

Once I covered em up (~2000), they were on hold in th 'warmer', (a 170° oven), til I got up at 0530, an give em a stir / taste.

They remained in that status until ~1100, when I swung by, grabbed em, an took em to work...so: 4 hrs from start to covered, 15 hrs hold @ 170°

In retrospect, I felt they were jus a teensy bit wetter than I usually like to serve, but I was afraid they would dry out, given th long hold time...

If I were to do this exact batch all over again, I wouldn't decrease any liquids, but run them at a slightly higher temp, mebbe ~325°, fer th few hours, then cover them up fer my hold. I think that would have provided a better reduction...

Live, an Learn...

[Nate]

I have mostly made these in crock pots and have had great luck.

[Mr. Bones]

Great way to do em, Nate !
I had to use th 'Redneck Crockpot', cause th onliest one I own was way too small to hold this batch...(With meats, ~10.5 lbs.) I look at th big crockpots, an drool, frequently, but I cain't begin to imagine where I could store it fer th 80% of th time it wasn't needed.
Now, if I had more room...lol!

[dahcopilot]

Am humbled by the awesomeness of those beans! And that truck grill

[fzxdoc]

Great topic, Mr. Bones . I feel like I was cooking right beside you. Those beans sure look tasty. Who wouldn't love 10.5 lbs of bourbon baked beans including 7 shots of bourbon and a shot of spiced rum?

You're a baked bean genius for sure.

Kathryn

[Mr. Bones]

Many Thanks, Milady, fer them kind words...

Demonstrably, though, I don't know beans...

Hopefully, my extry long membership renewal will allow me time to learn, some...

Best to yerself, an yers!

[fzxdoc]

Same to you, Mr. Bones . Have a wonderful holiday season. I look forward to reading about your upcoming cooks, inside and outside both!

K.