Calico Beans, Grandma Martin
These beans are full of flavor and a favorite around the Easter table. Anytime you want to impress someone, these are the beans to do it with.
These beans are full of flavor and a favorite around the Easter table. Anytime you want to impress someone, these are the beans to do it with.
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 pound ground beef
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1 tablespoon dry mustard
- 1/2 cup onion diced
- 1/2 pound bacon
- 1/2 cup brown sugar (i like the dark version)
- 2 tablespoons vinegar (white)
- 1 28 ounce can pork and beans
- 1 can kidney beans (28 ounce can) drained
- 2 16 ounce cans lima beans drained
- 2 16 ounce cans butter beans drained
- large skillet
- 4 quart casserole baking dish
- Carbohydrate 55.1025231459985 g
- Cholesterol 38.895569195 mg
- Fat 14.0705351889596 g
- Fiber 11.2349404712049 g
- Protein 18.7313583490698 g
- Saturated Fat 4.52267853638867 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (337g)
- Sodium 915.677109364803 mg
- Sugar 43.8675826747935 g
- Trans Fat 1.54795452031845 g
- Calories 412 calories
Step-by-step
- Preheat the Oven to 300 degrees.
- In a large skillet, cook the bacon until partially done.
- Add the beef and onion and cook. Stirring to break up the ground beef. Cook until the beef is browned, then drain off the fat.
- Add the Ketchup, Brown Sugar, Mustard, Salt, and Vinegar. Stirring to blend it all together.
- Spoon this mixture into the 4 Quart Casserole Baking Dish.
- Drain all of the beans and add them to the mixture. Stirring lightly to blend them in.
- Bake for 1 hour.
Multiple varieties of canned legumes unite in this casserole through a technique rooted in traditional American baked bean cookery, where preserved and canned goods became staples of communal gatherings by the mid-twentieth century. Combining lima beans, butter beans, kidney beans, and pork and beans creates a distinct topographical contrast between creamy interiors and firm skins that absorb surrounding liquids during long cooking periods.
Render the bacon only partially in a skillet before introducing the ground beef and diced onion, ensuring the meats retain enough moisture to withstand subsequent oven heat without drying out. Brown the beef thoroughly while breaking it into fine crumbles, then drain excess rendered fat entirely to prevent an oily surface layer from forming on top of the casserole during baking.
Stirring ketchup, dark brown sugar, dry mustard, salt, and white vinegar directly into the meat mixture builds a balanced flavor profile of acidity, sweetness, and warmth. This robust sauce clings to the legumes, functioning as a binder that thickens naturally as moisture evaporates in the oven at 300 degrees.
Transferring the ingredients into a four-quart baking dish allows adequate headspace for the beans to expand gently without boiling over the sides during the one-hour bake time. Gentle folding prevents the delicate butter beans and lima beans from breaking apart into mush, preserving the visual variety that gives the dish its historical name.
