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Bourbon Baked Beans

These bourbon baked beans with brown sugar, bacon, and Dr Pepper are baked for 3 hours for the perfect blend of flavors. They're always popular at parties!
Print Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours 55 minutes
Total Time 3 hours 10 minutes
Course lunch/dinner
Cuisine American
Servings 8 people
Calories 1359.3 kcal

Equipment

  • 1 Large Dutch Oven Heavy-bottomed, oven-safe, with lid
  • 1 Mixing Bowl For preparing the sauce
  • 1 Whisk For blending sauce ingredients thoroughly
  • 1 Wooden Spoon For stirring and scraping the fond
  • 1 Chef's Knife & Cutting Board For preparing bacon, onion, and garlic

Ingredients
  

Main

  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon ground paprika
  • 1 teaspoon dry mustard
  • ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 12 fl oz can caffeinated pepper-type soda (such as Dr Pepper)
  • ¾ cup ketchup
  • ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
  • 8 slices bacon
  • 1 large onion finely chopped
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • ¼ cup bourbon
  • 2 16 ounce cans baked beans with pork

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
  • Mix brown sugar, paprika, mustard, and cayenne pepper together in a bowl. Whisk in pepper soda, ketchup, and Worcestershire sauce until brown sugar is dissolved.
  • Cut 4 slices of bacon into small strips. Cook and stir in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until almost crispy, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, reserving bacon grease.
  • Stir onion into the bacon grease in the Dutch oven; cook and stir until soft, 3 to 5 minutes. Add garlic; cook and stir for 1 minute. Pour in bourbon, stirring to scrape up browned bits off the bottom with a wooden spoon. Stir bacon strips back in.
  • Pour brown sugar mixture and baked beans into the Dutch oven. Simmer until beans are heated through, about 15 minutes. Arrange remaining 4 slices of bacon on top of the beans.
  • Bake in the preheated oven, covered, until beans are bubbly and sauce is syrupy, about 2½ to 3 hours.

Notes

Achieving maximum flavor starts with the bacon: ensure it renders its fat well and develops a rich, savory base before sautéing the aromatics. When deglazing with bourbon, vigorously scrape the bottom of the Dutch oven to lift all the 'fond'—those browned bits are concentrated flavor. While the recipe specifies Dr Pepper, experimenting with other dark, caffeinated sodas can yield interesting variations. The long, slow bake is crucial; it allows the complex flavors to meld and the sauce to thicken into a luxurious, syrupy consistency. For an extra layer of smoky depth, consider adding a pinch of liquid smoke or a smoked paprika in addition to the sweet paprika.