Cowboy Beans with Ground Beef
Jump to RecipeCowboy beans are what happens when baked beans stop pretending to be a side dish. Ground beef, bacon, pinto beans, kidney beans, and baked beans all go into the same Dutch oven with barbecue sauce, brown sugar, yellow mustard, Worcestershire, salt, and black pepper. There is enough meat to make the bowl substantial, enough beans to keep the name honest, and enough sweet-smoky sauce to make cornbread nearby feel like required equipment.
Bacon gets cooked first so the beef and onion can brown in the rendered fat. Drain the excess after the beef reaches 160°F, then add all three beans and the sauce ingredients and let everything simmer for about 20 minutes. The goal is thick and glossy, not soupy. If the beans still look loose, leave the lid off and give them a few more minutes; evaporation fixes this more elegantly than throwing random pantry thickeners into the pot and hoping nobody notices.
Stir the crisp bacon back in at the end so some of its texture survives. This is cookout food, cold-night food, and "I need to feed several people who arrived hungrier than predicted" food. It also reheats like it was designed by somebody who understood leftovers are a feature, not a moral failure.
