By Guest Cooking Columnist Charles Fortson, Jr.
Baked beans are a versatile dish that can make a complete meal or be served as a side with almost anything.
According to chef and food historian Walter Staib, baked beans had their roots as a Native peoples dish in the Americas long before the dish became known to Western culture. In the northeast of America, various Native American peoples, including the Iroquois, the Narragansett and the Penobscot mixed beans, maple sugar, and bear fat in earthenware pots placed in pits called "bean holes" in hot rocks to cook slowly over a long period. British colonists in New England were the first westerners to adopt the dish from the Native peoples, and were quick to embrace it largely because the dish was reminiscent of pease porridge and because the dish used ingredients native to the New World.
Ingredients: 2 large cans of original Bush Baked Beans.
1 lb. of hamburger meat.
2 tbsp of minced garlic
1 cup of finally chopped onions.
1 1/2 cups of sweet Ray’s BBQ Sauce
1/2 cups of finely chopped bell peppers.
1 tbsp of brown sugar.
1 tbsp of mustard.
Directions:
1. Place hamburger meat in large skillet, brown with your favorite seasoning (I like Louisiana Seasoning).
2. Add onions, garlic and bell peppers to meat and cook until meat is done and onions are clear.
3. Drain excess grease and pour the prepared meat-seasoning mixture into deep medium aluminum cooking pan.
4. Thoroughly mix the 2 cans of baked beans, mustard, BBQ sauce and brown sugar with the cooked seasoned hamburger.
5. Cook in oven at 250 degrees for one hour to marinate everything together. For an award-winning flavor, place the cooking pan on a smoker instead of in an oven and smoke for 1 hour.
You can serve immediately or refrigerate for up to seven days before your meal. Happy cooking!
EDITOR’S NOTE: Charles Fortson, Jr., is proprietor-chef at Uncle Ray’s across from Lake Lincoln State Park. He makes lunches and dinners to take out or for table service, while also operating a convenience store and bait shop at his Sunset Road location. Follow his cooking tips on Uncle Ray’s Facebook page or call 601-643-0174 to check on his daily specials.