Kidney Baked Beans - Skirt in the Kitchen

exclusively Skirt in the Kitchen– my mother’s recipe, my father’s can opener-

Baked beans happens to remain a backyard dish for a summer event where food is involved–wiener roasts, BBQs, 4th of July celebrations, someone’s homecoming or retirement bash, or just grillin’ out the steaks with company over for the evening.

Serve your favorite beer.

Kidney Baked Beans is simply that: Baked kidney beans and no other kind. Not haricot beans, not navy, not pinto, not cannellini or any other bean than the kidney bean is meant for this particular side dish. Dark red kidney beans have a tougher skin but when baked just right, they add an updated version to this wholesome food that can stand alone as a meal if need be.

Have 2 cans light red kidney beans, and 2 cans dark red kidney beans in a buttered baking dish. Do not drain the bean liquid. Pour all of it into the baking dish. The starch in the bean liquid helps soften the dark red kidney beans when cooking. The beans will soak up the liquid during baking. It will seem like too much liquid but it needs all of it.Cut and lightly fry smoked bacon so that bite-size pieces remain soft.With a slotted spoon, place the bacon from the skillet over the beans in the casserole dish.Reserve the bacon drippings and bacon grease to stir-fry 1 small chopped red onion, a chopped garlic clove, and 1/2 to 1 whole jalapeno pepper.Add onion combination to the bacon and beans.Amounts being according to taste, combine and stir in these ingredients: Worcestershire sauce, liquid smoked seasoning, horseradish mustard, Tabasco sauce, and dark brown sugar. Bake uncovered in a 375º oven for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, stir and taste the bean sauce. If desired, add more dark brown sugar, more mustard or other seasonings previously mentioned. Bake for an additional 20 to 30 minutes, making sure that beans do not bake dry but have some residual saucy liquid to keep them moist. Keeping the lid off during baking instills a nice caramelized finish on top. Stirring baked beans halfway during cooking places some of the caramelization inside the mixture.Adding a chopped horseradish leaf halfway during baking is marvelous for these beans. It’s very good.For your summer planning, follow Skirt in the Kitchen here: