The Best Cowboy Calico Beans Recipes

CALICO BEANS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°. In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until beef is no longer pink, 5-7 minutes, breaking up beef into crumbles; drain. Stir in remaining ingredients. Transfer to a greased 2-qt. cast-iron pan or baking dish. , Bake, uncovered, until the beans are as thick as desired, 45-60 minutes.

COWBOY CALICO BEANS

Steps:

• In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain., Transfer to a 3-qt. slow cooker. Combine the brown sugar, ketchup, vinegar and mustard; add to meat mixture. Stir in the beans. Cover and cook on low until heated through, 4-5 hours.

THE BEST COWBOY-CALICO BEANS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Brown beef, bacon and onion in a large skillet or dutch oven over medium heat.
• Add beans and remaining ingredients, stirring to combine.
• Pour into two (1 1/2- quart each) buttered baking dishes.
• Bake uncovered for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until beans reach desired thickness (do not stir---a nice chewy, crispy crust will form, which is my favorite part--yum!).
• Alternatively, place in a buttered crock pot and heat on low for about 4 hours, uncover during the last hour of cooking if you like your beans thick.
• Freezes/reheats well.

COWBOY BACON BEANS

Steps:

• Rinse the beans under cold water, sorting out any rocks/particles. Set aside.
• In a heavy pot (cast iron), saute the bacon pieces until halfway cooked and the fat is rendered. Add the green peppers and onions to the pot and cook until starting to get brown, about 3 minutes. Add the beans and cover with water by 1 inch. Bring to a boil, and then add the brown sugar, ketchup, mustard, chili powder, salt, pepper and garlic. Reduce the heat to a simmer, place on the lid and cook until the beans are tender and the liquid is thick 3 to 4 hours.

COWBOY CALICO BEANS

Steps:

• In a large soup pot or Dutch oven, cook the bacon until crisp. Remove the bacon and set on a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Drain the bacon fat from the pot, leaving about 1 tablespoon.
• Add the ground beef, onion, garlic powder, and a good pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper. Cook, breaking apart the meat with a wooden spoon, until the meat is cooked through. Drain the fat from the pot and return the ground beef mixture. Stir in the ketchup through molasses.
• Add the beans to the pot, including the liquid from 1 can and draining the rest. Stir carefully. Let the mixture heat through, stirring often (carefully so as to not mush up too many beans). Crumble the bacon and return it to the pot. Season with salt and pepper. Adjust the other sauce ingredients as needed, too.
• Serve immediately, or transfer to a slow cooker on low to keep warm until serving. You can also prepare a day ahead of time and then warm them up and place in a slow cooker on low or warm until serving.
• If you find your beans are too dry, add a little water as needed.

CALICO BEANS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 C).
• Place bacon and ground beef in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain and set aside.
• In a four quart casserole dish, mix together the bacon, ground beef, pork and beans, kidney beans, butter beans, lima beans, ketchup, onion, vinegar, dry mustard and celery.
• Cover and bake for 1 hour.

CALICO BEANS

Steps:

• Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F.
• Put the bacon in a large skillet and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until crispy, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon to a paper-towel lined plate. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat from the skillet. Add the onion and ground beef and cook, breaking up the beef, until the onion is softened and the beef is crumbled and fully cooked, about 5 minutes. If necessary, drain any excess moisture released from the meat. Add the cooked bacon, kidney beans, navy beans, pork and beans, ketchup, brown sugar, dry mustard, vinegar and salt. Stir together and then transfer to a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
• Bake until bubbling and caramelized on top, 35 to 40 minutes.

CALICO BEANS

Steps:

• Cook bacon in skillet until crisp, then crumble and set aside.
• Cook beef in skillet until no pink remains. Add onion, sauté just until tender.
• Combine beef, onion, ketchup, salt, brown sugar, mustard and vinegar in a 3 qt baking dish or crock pot. Partially drain all the beans (I don't drain the baked beans) and add to the baking dish or crock pot, stirring gently to mix. Sprinkle with bacon.
• Bake at 350 F for 40 minutes or cook in crock pot until heated through.
• For vegetarian version just sauté onion and add to bean mixture. If using dry tofu crumbles it isn't necessary to rehydrate them first, I just stir them into the mixture. It may require addition of water to the mixture if it gets too thick, I just play it by ear. When using frozen crumbles or gimme lean ground "beef" I heat it up in the pan with the onion before adding to the bean mixture.