Texas Eatin' Beans
This is one of the easiest, crowd-pleasing dishes I prepare. Originally from Bonnie Gunderson, it was made with ground beef instead of the two sausages. It makes a great side dish as well as a main dish served with cornbread.
This is one of the easiest, crowd-pleasing dishes I prepare. Originally from Bonnie Gunderson, it was made with ground beef instead of the two sausages. It makes a great side dish as well as a main dish served with cornbread.
- Carbohydrate 60.423814775 g
- Cholesterol 76.44 mg
- Fat 36.195234535 g
- Fiber 4.80313718570784 g
- Protein 20.92427489 g
- Saturated Fat 11.8972124355 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (262g)
- Sodium 1148.128954 mg
- Sugar 55.6206775892922 g
- Trans Fat 3.86861985899999 g
- Calories 647 calories
Step-by-step
- Brown bacon and ground sausage, add onions and saute until translucent. Stir in sugar, ketchup, and mustard, blend well.
- Add all beans and sliced smoked sausage, bake in casserole at 350? for 40 minutes, or in slow cooker on high for 4 hours.
Operating under the constraints of a standard kitchen oven and a heavy casserole dish, this preparation relies entirely on sequential thermal management to build texture. Rendering the bacon and ground sausage at moderate heat drives out moisture, creating fond on the pan floor that dissolves later when the sugary ketchup and mustard slurry is introduced. Browning the meats thoroughly prevents them from turning spongy inside the bean starches, a common defect when proteins are merely steamed rather than seared. Slicing the smoked sausages adds surface area for the 350-degree Fahrenheit ambient heat to crisp the casing while keeping the interior dense and chewy. Canned beans bring pre-cooked starches that absorb rendered animal fats differently than dried beans rehydrated from scratch, demanding precise moisture control during the forty-minute bake to prevent a watery bottom layer. Fresh onions sautéed until translucent soften completely without scorching, disappearing into the thick sauce while releasing aromatic compounds into the fat phase. Baking uncovered during the final stages allows excess liquid to evaporate, concentrating the brown sugar and tomato solids into a glossy glaze that coats each bean uniformly.
