Dinner Tonight: Hickory House Baked Beans Recipe

Success for this Saveur-approved baked bean dish all depends on what kind of barbecue sauce you douse those beans in. I have made my own versions before. This Joy of Cooking version is fine. This one from Cook's Illustrated is better. But the best, that I've had so far, is this rather time-consuming sauce from Apple City Barbecue.

I found it in Mike Mills's Peace, Love and Barbecue, which is what made me catch the barbecue bug in the first place. It's an extraordinary sauce, and so is their recipe for pork shoulder—so wonderful, though it's not exactly a Dinner Tonight.

You could just be lazy like me and buy a container of premade sauce. I recommend skipping products where sugar is the second ingredient. I found a quite good Amish brand (who knew?) in Northern Indiana that was delightfully tangy and and just slightly hot. I can't remember the name, but it was startlingly better than most sauces lining grocery store shelves.

The finished dish was a perfect side for some slow-cooked barbecue chicken. But I realize this could be a great side for any quick meal, whether or not smoke is present.