Cowboy Beans

Cowboy Beans
The picture here doesn't even begin to look as good as the recipe I am recommending you try but believe me it's a must for summer or fall picnics. My recipe is deeper and richer than this pictures shows and has many layers of flavors.
So, I made one of the best things in a long time and I made it up basically from a Calico Bean recipe but on steroids!  I need to make a slight disclaimer at this point that my proportions are not exact but pretty darn close.  Sometimes I share recipes such as this and because I am a a "toss about this much in" type of cook and some folks (like my son) scream that it didn't turn out like mine, so hear my disclaimer now!  Some things are forgiving and inexact and some are not. This is a pretty forgiving one, so here is what I put in ans it make a LARGE batch, that will fill a whole crock pot.
Make a batch for a big crowd or divide it in half and freeze one.


2 cans black beans (all beans drained)
2 cans white beans
2 cans red kidney beans
2 cans garbanzo beans
1 large can baked beans
1 c crumbled cooked bacon
1 large vadellia onion saute until golden brown and caramelized 
2/3 c maple syrup
1/2-2/3 c Ketchup
1/2 c Jack Daniels BBQ sauce
1 TBSP dry mustard
1 lb lean ground beef browned well and drained
1 tbsp minced garlic
salt & and pepper to taste (lots of cracked fresh pepper)
1 tube Jimmy Dean's ground breakfast sausage browned and drained well
1/4-1/2 tsp red pepper
1 bottle lager beer
liquid smoke to taste


In a large pot toss in a couple of tablespoons butter on a medium high stove top and throw in diced onion. Cook until nicely caramelized. Stirring constantly and being careful to not burn them. Turn temperature down medium low. Once done, add maple syrup,bacon Ketchup,BBQ sauce 1/2 c water and one bottle beer. Stir until well all blended. Set aside.
In another pan brown sausage and lean ground beef until well done. Drain and mix with onion mixture.
Drain all canned beans except for baked beans and combine with onion and beer mixture. Salt and pepper to taste. Bake in oven until bubbly at 350 for about 45-60 minutes or put into crock pot for about two-three hours.  I don't like to over bake or heat beans too long due to the beans starting to break down. It is amazing and the response I got was "what on earth did you do to these beans?" "They are unbelievable and I can't get them into my mouth fast enough!" I served them with a smoke beef brisket, rolls, hot sweet pickles, salty potato chips, and some red potato dill potato salad and coconut cake balls. It was fun to see the reaction to this meal. I am so glad it blessed them!