What are Cowboy Beans?
Cowboy beans are a meaty rich bean casserole of sorts. They are a tradition is a lot of families. The men in my family love them. They are baked beans excessively filled with various meat. They are also a way to feed a lot of people on a skinny budget. You don’t have to use the fancy meat to make this dish. Just inexpensive cuts of meat and a couple of cans of beans and sauce will work.
What kind of meat can you use to make cowboy beans?
Well it’s starts with bacon. The best recipe always start with bacon. It’s a wonderful salty beginning. Here’s the list of meat options you can add to these beans.
- Bacon
- Hamburger
- Hot Dogs
- Sausage: smoked, or ground, or both
- Pulled Pork
- Brisket
- Smoked Turkey
- Ham
What else do I add?
Here’s the list of veggie options you can add to these beans.
- Onions
- Garlic
- Carrots
- Peppers
This family favorite will become a favorite of yours. It's definitely rich and meaty for those meat-loving people in your life.
Notes
This recipe only gets better with time, so make it a day ahead if you like. It's also great as leftovers.
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 lb italian sausage
- 2-3 hot dogs, slice in bite-sized peices
- 2-3 cups pulled pork and/or brisket
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 carrot, diced
- 3 cloves of garlic, diced
- 3 large cans of baked beans
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 3 jars of Sticky Sweet sauce
- 2 Tbsp Sweet Heat seasoning
Instructions
- In a very large pan, sauté the onions and bacon in olive oil for 5 minutes.
- Add carrots, cook 5 minutes more.
- Add garlic and pulled pork and hot dogs.
- In another pan, cook ground beef and italian sausage.
- Strain off the fat and add meat to the large pot.
- Add beans, sauce, seasoning and brown sugar.
- Cook for 2-3 hours on low.
- Serve hot or bake in the oven for 2 hours at 300 to get thick and gooey.
