Tasty Root Beer Baked Beans

My favorite cooking magazine for probably the last five years or so has been Gourmet magazine.  It never failed that I could always find something fun and new to try cooking from each and every issue- the Gourmet Everyday section was my favorite.  When Gourmet was closed down last fall, my heart, along with many others, broke, and when I was offered Bon Appetit to replace Gourmet and fulfill the rest of my subscription, I was hesitant.  I picked up Bon Appetit from time to time, but too often I found myself setting aside an issue with nothing picked out to try.  But I accepted, and the latest issue proved itself to be a bit of a goldmine for me, as far as recipes go.  The July grilling issue has all kinds of tasty sounding side dishes and main dishes, and I suspect we’ll be trying up several of them as the months of grilling season roll by.

The very first one I wanted to make was the recipe for Root Beer Baked Beans.  I love homemade baked beans, and this one sounded just a touch different, plus it had the added bonus of being quick and easy.  What’s not to love about that?  As I made my shopping list up, I noticed that Bon Appetit suggested to find an artisanal root beer that uses cane sugar and not high fructose corn syrup as it’s sweetener.  Makes sense to me, pouring corn syrup all over baked beans doesn’t sound appealing in the least.  But when I chose the closest to me grocery store to do my shopping, I ran into a bit of a pickle as far as the root beer goes.  They all contained HFCS, save one.  So I went with a local root beer from Point Brewery.  It did say that it contained either cane sugar or corn syrup solids in the ingredients, but since it didn’t have specifically HFCS, I thought it would be okay.  I just really didn’t want to make the extra stop at a different store just for a bottle of root beer.

The beans came together very quickly- what took the longest, as far as active time at the stove was cooking up the bacon.  After that, it was a quick succession of adding things to the pan and then popping it into the oven.  The beans turned out tasty and nice.  We really couldn’t discern the root beer at all unfortunately, but we were pleased with the flavor of the beans overall.  As Andy and I ate some of the leftover beans another day, we both remarked about how these just weren’t the best baked beans I make.  And they aren’t, but for something different, they more than pass muster, and they are very good.  They’re just not quite as good in our opinion as many of the other kinds of beans I’ve made over the years.  These reheated very nicely as leftovers, and if you added a bit of liquid to them after they were cooked, I think they would also hold well in a crock-pot for that upcoming family picnic.  Bon Appetit says it makes about 8 servings.  As a side dish though, I think it would be more like 12.

Root Beer Baked Beans

from Bon Appetit magazine, July 2010

4 slices applewood-smoked bacon, cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces

3 1/2 cups chopped onions

2 garlic cloves, minced

4 15-ounce cans cannellini (white kidney beans), rinsed, drained

1 1/2 cups root beer (preferably artisanal)

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

3 tablespoons mild-flavored (light) molasses

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°F. Cook bacon in large ovenproof pot over medium heat until crisp, stirring occasionally. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels. Add onions to drippings in pot; cook until beginning to brown, stirring often, about 8 minutes. Add garlic; stir 1 minute. Add beans, root beer, vinegar, molasses, tomato paste, mustard, chili powder, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper; mix. Stir in bacon; bring to boil. Transfer to oven; bake uncovered until liquid thickens, about 30 minutes.