Our cowboy BBQ beans are a great way to start a cold winters weekend. There’s a real nip in the air now and it’s great to have something a little heartier to keep you going. This pot of beans will feed four generously, if we are feeling especially extravagant we will top our beans with a good grating of cheese.
We’ve used a mix of haricot and black eyed beans but you can substitute them for any of your favourite tinned beans or pulses. Dried beans which have been soaked will give you a slightly better texture but we have gone for a slightly easier approach and used tinned, mainly to reduce the prep and cook time. To make life even easier why not make these cowboy BBQ beans ahead of time and let the flavours mingle for a day or two before throwing them over fire to reheat.
Load your cowboy BBQ beans on to toasted sourdough, huddle around the fire and dig in.
A good drizzle of rapeseed oil
8 chipolatas (or 12 if your feeling super hungry!)
6 rashers smoked streaky bacon
A sprig each of sage, rosemary and thyme
2 white onions, roughly chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tbsp The Salt Box Barn Blend BBQ Seasoning (2 tbsp if you would like it spicier)
A dash of cider vinegar
A dash of soy sauce (or tamari if Gluten Free)
A dash of worcestershire sauce
500g passata
1 tbsp honey
1x tin of haricot beans
1x tin black eyed beans
4 eggs, optional
A slice or two each of sourdough
In today’s recipe we will be cooking using a Swedish log torch. Lighting your Swedish log torch couldn’t be simpler, just place a natural firelighter in the centre and light. The Swedish log torch will naturally draw the fire down and out as it burns. Let the Swedish log torch burn for 10 minutes or so to get some heat into the log.
Alternatively you can cook your cowboy BBQ beans on a fire bowl or BBQ. You could, if you wanted to cook them inside on the hob but you will loose all that smokey flavour that the pot will capture from the fire.
Once your Swedish log torch is generating a good amount of heat, place a dutch oven onto the Swedish log torch and allow it to warm up. Our dutch oven has legs which will help air flow around the pot, if your pot doesn’t have legs then I would suggest you use a trivet or tripod to get a little height over the flame.
Add a good drizzle of rapeseed oil to the pan and fry off the chipolatas until well browned. They don’t need to be fully cooked at this point, as they will go back into the stew later to finish cooking.
Remove the chipolatas from the pan and set aside.
Repeat the process with the bacon, until it is well browned and crispy. Remove from the pan and set aside with the sausages.
Add a touch more oil to the pan if necessary, then add the sage, rosemary and thyme. Cook for a second or two, before adding the onions. Allow the onions to soften for a little while, before adding the minced garlic. Cook for another minute or two.
Add your BBQ seasoning and stir to coat all the onions. Cook out the spices for a couple of minutes, stirring every now and again so it doesn’t catch. Add a splash each of cider vinegar, soy and Worcestershire sauce. Add the drained beans and stir everything together to coat the beans in the spices.
Stir through the passata, rinse out the carton with a little water and add this to the pan too.
Add the honey, bring to a simmer and cover the pan with a lid.
Roughly chop the chipolatas and bacon, add to the pan and stir through the beans. Cook the beans gently until the sauce starts to thicken and coats the back of a spoon.
If you’re using a Swedish Torch Candle, you may need to use a tripod at this point to move your dutch oven a little higher over the heat if it’s a little too fierce.
If you are including eggs, use a ladle to make four small wells in the beans, gently cracking an egg into each. Place the lid back on and cook for 6-8 minutes, until the whites are cooked through but the yolks are still runny. Whilst the eggs are cooking toast some slices of sourdough to accompany your breakfast.
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If you’re using a Swedish Torch Candle, you may need to use a tripod for the last part of the cooking, to move your dutch oven a little higher over the heat if it’s a little too fierce.
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