Cowboy Beans

Most barbecue joints serve ladlefuls of smoky, deep-flavored beans alongside the slabs of ribs and mounds of pulled pork. We wanted to make those creamy textured, saucy beans at home to accompany our own barbecue, but we couldn’t find a pitmaster who would give up their secret recipe. We were on our own, then, to develop a recipe for cowboy beans. Here’s what we discovered:

Test Kitchen Discoveries

• Use dried pinto or navy beans. Canned beans turn mushy long before the sauce’s flavors have blended.
• The beans can be soaked overnight or “quick soaked,” which involves boiling the beans for five minutes, then allowing them to sit for one hour before draining and proceeding with the recipe. Don’t worry about timing.
• Bacon is a convenient substitute for smoky barbecued meat.
• Blend mustard, barbecue sauce, and brown sugar for a sweet but spicy, deep flavor. A fair amount of garlic and onion help here too.
• The secret ingredient in cowboy beans is coffee. The roasted, slightly bitter flavor ties all the ingredients together.
• Simmer the beans slowly in the oven to keep the beans whole. Cooked too quickly, they will break apart.