I originally made this dish on a whim one day when I was having a BBQ and realized last minute that I forgot to pick up the Busch’s Baked Beans from the grocery store. A quick rummage through the pantry and a few taste tests later- homemade baked beans! This concoction may not stand all the way up to Jay and Duke’s secret family recipe but I have to say it’s pretty close!. I like the way the variety of the different sizes and colors of the beans look and the fact that it contains actual meat, not that sickly looking cube of pork fat that floats on the top of your typical canned baked beans. When I make this dish I just eyeball the ingredients rather than measure. I tried to estimate the quantities for the purpose of this blog but they may not be exact. That’s ok though… just guestimate and sample for taste as you go. That way you can customize the sweet, tang, and smoke factors to your personal liking. You can also choose between using bacon or sausage for the pork component. Pictured here is the sausage version but I have also made it with bacon and it is equally delish.