Slow food versus fast food. Slow food versus very slow food. Long cooking times can enable flavors and textures that simply are not possible with a microwave, a deep fryer or a simple broiler. Here’s a perfect example. You start with cooked white beans, adorn them with a parade of additional flavors and let the combination bake away for hours. And the result? These are baked beans unlike anything you have ever had.

“More?” Brian asked me.

“I can make more,” I said. I watched the tears fall from his eyes and all I could think was: leverage!

Your husband, wife or partner will beg you for these beans. Do not give up this recipe or your control. Slow is good. Very slow is very good.

Made according to this recipe, the chipotle here adds smokiness but only modest heat. The sugar and molasses of course add sweetness but also a stickiness that appeals. This a great complement to chicken wings or burgers. You will truly enjoy this complex combination of flavors.

Smoked Chipotle Baked Beans

Serves: 4 to 6 modestly, 2 persons hungrily

Ingredients:

• One 16-ounce can cooked white beans
• ¼ cup chopped onion
• ¼ pound uncooked bacon, finely diced
• ¾ cup molasses
• ½ cup ketchup
• ¼ cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 smoked, dried chipotle pepper, seeded and crushed
• 1 teaspoons dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro.

Preparation:

Heat the oil in a fryer to 350°F.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the beans, onion, bacon, molasses, ketchup, brown sugar, chipotle, mustard, salt, Worcestershire, and cilantro. Mix well.

Transfer the mixture to a buttered 5- to 6-inch deep baking dish. Cover with foil and bake for 4 hours. Check the beans every hour for moisture content. If they become too dry, add a little water.

Serve piping hot.

Source: Wings Across America by Armand Vandersitgchel