The Best Baked Beans...Ever

I've always had trouble making good baked beans...they were too soupy, too dry, too ketchup-y, etc.  Then along came Pioneer Woman, and my search for the perfect baked bean recipe was over.

The Best Baked Beans...Ever

4 slices bacon, halved

1 small onion, diced (about 1/2 cup)

3 (15 oz.) cans Van Camp's Pork and Beans, undrained

1/4 cup + 2 tbsp. BBQ sauce

1/4 cup light brown sugar (more or less to taste)

1/8 cup cider vinegar

1 tsp. dry mustard

Adjust oven rack to the lower-middle position, and preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Fry bacon in a large, deep saute pan (I use a 5 qt. saute pan) on medium heat until partially cooked and until it has released about 1/8 cup grease.  Remove bacon from pan, and drain on paper towels.  Pour grease into a glass measuring cup, wipe out the saute pan with paper towels, and then pour a little less than 1/8 cup grease back into the saute pan.  Add onion, and saute until tender, about 5 minutes.  Add remaining ingredients, and bring to a simmer.

Pour beans into an 8x8 baker sprayed with cooking spray.  Top with bacon, and bake at 325 degrees for about an hour and a half or until beans are the desired consistency.  Let stand to thicken slightly and serve.

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Note:  This recipe can easily be doubled and baked in a 9x13 baker.  Click on the link below for ingredient amounts and baking time:

*Recipe adapted from tastykitchen.com:  http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/sidedishes/quick-southern-style-baked-beans/