Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Drain about half of the beans (in this case, three cans
3. Cook the bacon in a skillet over medium heat until it gets crisp. I use two strips of bacon per can, hence 12 strips (this is one of those steps I added – in the original recipe, the bacon was still there, but it wasn’t cooked.  You simply stir it into the beans and leave two strips for the top. It will cook in the oven, but I prefer the flavor – and texture – of the precooked, crispy bacon)
4. While the bacon is cooking, add the liquid smoke, BBQ sauce and one cup of the brown sugar to the beans and mix it in
5. Use a slotted spoon to remove the bacon and add the onions (if you want vegetarian beans, simply sauté the onions in a small amount of olive oil instead). Once again, this is a step I added. In the original recipe, you simply add the raw onions to the beans – they will cook a bit in the oven as well
6. Cook until they are just starting to brown and add the garlic (the garlic is another added step – it didn’t exist in the original, but I REALLY like garlic)
7. Cook until the garlic is starting to get fragrant (about 30 seconds to one minute)
8. Remove from the stove and pour the rendered bacon fat, onions and garlic into the beans along with the bacon and mix well
9. Sprinkle the top with the last 1/2 cup of brown sugar
10. Bake for an hour
11. Enjoy

*NOTE: Use whatever brand of beans you like. We like Van Camp’s, but they are difficult to find where I live, so we frequently use Bush’s. They also seem to come in a variety of can sizes.  I made these two weeks ago and used six 11 oz cans. I had to make them for another party last week and they were almost out of the 11 oz size, so I bought a 48 oz can and the last two 11 oz cans.  As long as you’re close to the right amount, it’s good enough.