'Billy' Beans

I had heard a lot about these beans way before having the opportunity to try them myself and I have to say they had a lot to live up to if the stories were true - they didn't disappoint.

The 'Billy' in the title is our dear friend Bill who adapted this recipe from one that a neighbour of his gave him a while back, but which originally had a lot of vegetables in - Bill is a true carnivore, basically not letting anything green get near his plate, hence the amount of meat in this recipe :o) - it might also seem like a large quantity to make, but they freeze beautifully, but just half or even quarter the recipe if you want to make a more manageable amount (I had to use my large 'canning' pot to bake this quantity and it would only fit in my oven with the lid on upside down!!!)

I decided not to deviate from Bills recipe this time, although when I make them again (and I definitely will be) I might add some red pepper flakes or possibly some Tabasco, just to give it a little more spice.  As they are though, these are wonderfully tasty, thick, barbecuey beans - great alongside so many dishes.

'Billy' Beans
20-24 servings (as a side dish)

2 lbs thick cut bacon slices
2 lbs extra lean ground beef
2 medium onions
2 large (28 oz) cans red kidney beans
8 small (14 oz) cans beans and pork in molasses
1 Tbs Montreal Steak seasoning
1 Tbs Worcestershire Sauce
2 cups water
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 cups molasses
1 Tbs salt
1/2 Tbs pepper

• dice the onions and set aside.
• drain and rinse the red kidney beans and set aside.
• cut the bacon into small pieces using a sharp knife or scissors, and in a large skillet saute (in batches) until crispy - drain on a paper towel covered plate.
• preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• in a large pot (big enough to hold all the ingredients), brown the beef and onions until no pink remains on the beef and the onions are tender.
• add the Montreal Steak seasoning and Worcestershire sauce and mix well.
• add all of the beans and diced bacon to the beef and mix until all is combined.
• pour in the water to moisten.
• mix in the sugar, molasses, salt and pepper until everything is incorporated.
• bake, covered, for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
• after 1 hour remove lid and bake for a further 1 hour, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened and the colour has darkened.

 'Billy' Beans ingredients.

dice the onions and set aside.

drain and rinse the red kidney beans and set aside.

using a sharp knife (or scissors) dice the bacon into small pieces....

...and saute in a large skillet until crisp - I did this in two batches because of the quantity.

drain on a paper towel covered plate.

if you're making this large quantity check that your pot will actually fit in your oven - as you can see I had to turn the lid upside down to get mine to fit :o)

in your pot brown the beef and onions until no more pink is showing.

add all of the beans and bacon and mix well.

add the water to moisten and then the sugar, molasses, salt and pepper and combine thoroughly.

cover with a lid and bake, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour - this is after the first hour of baking.

remove lid and bake for a further 1 hour, stirring occasionally - this was at the end of the baking time and the colour has darkened beautifully.

we barely let them cool enough before we were having a bowl with some chunks of fresh bread.

the remainder I put into containers (each one holds about 4 servings) and froze them - well all except that little one on the right - he got spiced up a little and found his way into some chili dogs the next night :o)