Not Your Boston Baked Beans

Total Time: 6 hrs 30 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 6 hrs

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 1 lb dried great northern beans
• 1/2-3/4 lb bacon, chopped
• 1 large onions or 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 4 -6 jalapeno peppers, chopped (no need to remove seeds)
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup rich-tasting molasses (i use blackstrap for the most intense flavor)
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 5 -6 teaspoons of bufalo chipotle hot sauce (or a similar brand)
• 1 -2 teaspoon bourbon (optional)
• 3 -4 cups vegetable broth

Recipe

• 1 sort through beans and remove any rocks, discolored beans, etc.
• 2 rinse thoroughly.
• 3 soak beans in a plastic container overnight in just enough cold water (@2 cups) to submerge them completely.
• 4 preheat oven to 250 degrees f.
• 5 place a large cast iron dutch oven over medium heat and stir in the bacon, onion, and jalapenos until enough fat has rendered from the bacon to soften the onions, about 5 minutes.
• 6 stir in the tomato paste and brown sugar.
• 7 mix chipotle salsa with the molasses and add to the bacon mixture.
• 8 drain the beans and reserve the soaking liquid; add the drained beans to the dutch oven.
• 9 place the soaking liquid in a large glass measuring cup and add enough vegetable broth to equal a total of 4 cups of liquid.
• 10 stir in bourbon, then add to the dutch oven.
• 11 bring to a boil over high heat.
• 12 when the beans reach full boil, add the cayenne, salt and pepper; give the whole a couple good stirs and cover pot with a lid.
• 13 place in preheated oven and bake for 6 to 8 hours, stirring up from the bottom once or twice, until the beans are tender.
• 14 notes:.
• 15 contrary to popular belief, the seeds of chiles actually carry very little heat.
• 16 capsaicin, the chemical compound that gives peppers their"pungency," is carried almost exclusively in the veins of the fruit.
• 17 tabasco now has a chipotle variety; whatever the brand, it must be a liquid hot sauce, not a chunky type salsa.