Annies Award-Winning Baked Beans

This recipe won me first place in a baked bean cook-off at the Western Idaho State Fair. They start with dried beans, so give yourself some extra time. Kind of sweet and savory and yummy.

Step: 1

Fill a large pot 3/4 full with water. Use a sharp knife to cut 3 or 4 slits evenly spaced through skin on ham hocks. Add ham hocks, onion, celery, bay leaves, garlic, liquid smoke, basil, thyme, sage, salt, and pepper to the water and bring to a good boil for 1 hour.

Step: 2

Add beans to the pot. Return to a boil and cook gently until beans are tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Check liquid level often and add more water if necessary.

Step: 3

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

Step: 4

Place bacon in a large skillet and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Drain bacon on paper towels. Transfer bacon to a large bowl and add onion.

Step: 5

Use a slotted spoon to dip beans and ham hocks out of the water and into a 9x13-inch baking pan. Reserve liquid from the beans. Clean all meat off of the ham hocks, discard bones, and add meat to the bowl with the bacon and onions.

Step: 6

Mix in pineapple, brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce. Stir in steak sauce, good steak sauce, and garlic. Add liquid smoke, salt, and black pepper; mix until completely incorporated. Fold in bacon mixture. Adjust seasonings if necessary. Pour bean mixture into the baking pan and add some reserved bean liquid over beans if necessary.

Step: 7

Bake in the preheated oven until beans are hot and bubbly all around the edges, about 30 minutes.

Per Serving: 446 calories; protein 22.9g; carbohydrates 53.3g; fat 15.8g; cholesterol 44.3mg; sodium 347.9mg.

The most clear way to choose a side dish is to look at your main dish (pasta, chicken, seared tofu) and choose more different. If you’re cooking pasta, make sure for a simple vegetable . Made steak? Go for more light. If you’re making stir-fry with rice, it must not a good idea to adjust with make a rice salad.

One make sure is also can apply to cooking method . You don’t want to push more often your oven by making to do list three dishes at once in there, or be rounding four pans on the cooking items . But often you can made a dish do double-duty .