Best Mike Keys Baked Beans Recipes

MIKE'S BAKED BEANS

Steps:

• The night before you want to serve the baked beans, carefully sort through the pkgs. of dry beans for small stones.
• Soak the beans in a large pot of water overnight. The beans will swell to at least twice their size, so make sure there is enough water in the pot to keep the beans underwater.
• The next day, drain the beans, refill the pot with water, and boil the beans until they are tender and not in the least chewy.
• While the beans are cooking, dice the bacon and place into another pot to cook. Cook until crisp, and drain all but 2T of the fat.
• Dice the onions and add to the pot with the bacon fat. Stir in the crisp bacon and and cook until the onions are carmelized, making sure to stir frequently so the bacon doesn't stick and burn.
• When the beans are tender, drain off all the water, return them to the pot and add the bacon and onions. Stir in the ketchup, mustard, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, molasses, hot sauce, salt, and pepper.
• Cut the kielbasa into thin coins and and stir into the beans.
• Spray a large roasting pan with non-stick spray, pour in the beans, and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minute to one hour.

BAKED BEANS FROM SCRATCH

Steps:

• Place the navy beans into a large container and cover with several inches of cool water; let stand 8 hours to overnight. Or, bring the beans and water to a boil in a large pot over high heat. Once boiling, turn off the heat, cover, and let stand 1 hour. Drain and rinse before using.
• Place the beans in a large saucepan with 4 cups of water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer 1 hour.
• Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Stir the ketchup, maple syrup, brown sugar, molasses, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, and chili powder together in a small bowl; set aside.
• Once the beans have simmered for 1 hour, drain, and reserve the cooking liquid. Pour the beans into a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish and stir in the chopped onion and the molasses sauce. Stir in enough of the reserved cooking liquid so the sauce covers the beans by 1/4 inch.
• Cover, and bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 200 degrees F (95 degrees C), and cook 6 hours longer. Stir the beans after they have cooked for 3 hours. Once the beans are tender and the sauce has reduced and is sticky, remove from the oven, stir, recover, and allow to stand 15 minutes before serving.

THE BEST BAKED BEANS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Cook the bacon in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until browned and crisp, about 8 minutes. Add the onion and garlic and cook until softened, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the paprika and toast, stirring, about 30 seconds. Add the tomato sauce, molasses, bourbon, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, 2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook 5 minutes.
• Add the beans and 8 cups water. Bring to a boil, then cover the pot and transfer to the oven. Bake until the beans are tender, about 3 hours. (If the beans are still slightly firm, continue cooking, stirring every 45 minutes and adding more water if necessary to just cover.)
• Once the beans are tender, uncover and increase the oven temperature to 325 degrees F. Bake until the beans are thick and browned, about 1 more hour. (Again, if the beans need more time, continue cooking, stirring occasionally and adding more water if necessary.) Remove from the oven and thin with water if necessary.

OLD-FASHIONED BAKED BEANS

Steps:

• In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, bring beans, salt and 2 qt. water to a boil; boil for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat; let stand for 1 hour. Drain beans and discard liquid. Return beans to pan. Cover with remaining water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1-1/2 to 2 hours or until beans are tender. Drain, reserving liquid. In a greased 2-1/2 qt. baking dish, combine beans, 1 cup liquid, onion, molasses, bacon, brown sugar, mustard and pepper. Cover and bake at 325° for 3 to 3-1/2 hours or until beans are as thick as desired thickness, stirring occasionally. Add more of the reserved cooking liquid if needed.

MIKE KEY'S BAKED BEANS

Steps:

• 1. In a large bowl, stir all ingredients together except the bacon. Mix thoroughly.
• 2. Turn into a lightly greased 13x9x2" baking pan. Lay the raw bacon strips on top of the beans.
• 3. Bake in a pre-heated 375-degree oven for 1 hour, uncovered. Stir several times to blend flavors.
• 4. Here is Michael Key, Dianna's husband, who makes these wonderful baked beans.