Cola baked beans for 12: canned baked beans and pinto beans with crisp bacon and onion in a sauce of cola cooked down with brown sugar, barbecue sauce, mustard and Worcestershire. Mix it at home in a foil pan the night before, then bake it on the grill at the lot, where it picks up a little smoke while the burgers cook.
Feeds: 12 · Hands-on: about 25 min · Total: about 1 hour 25 min
Home gear: a large skillet, a small saucepan and a 9 x 13-inch foil pan with a lid or foil
Pack for the lot
- Pan of beans, covered, in the cooler
- Charcoal and a chimney starter
- Instant-read thermometer
- Big spoon and heat-proof gloves
- Bowls or plates
Lot notes
- Davis Wade Stadium: Mississippi State's grill rule reads "Charcoal grills are allowed. Put the charcoal out fully and dispose of it responsibly. No fire pits." A kettle with the coals banked to one side bakes the beans next to the burgers.
- Hold hot: keep the pan on the cool side with the lid down at 140°F or above. Once it's off the heat, eat within 2 hours, or 1 hour over 90°F, and toss the rest.
- Cold until it's on the grill: the pan rides in the cooler at 40°F or below until it goes on the heat.
- Thin sauce? Leave the foil off a few minutes longer. Thick sauce? Stir in a splash of cola.
- Fridge life: baked beans keep 3 to 4 days in the fridge.
- A cooler for the pan: the Taiga 27 qt Hard Cooler has heavily insulated walls and a one-piece lid gasket, and Taiga says ice lasts 5 or more days in hot, real-world use.
Can you make baked beans ahead?
Yes. Mix them in the foil pan up to 2 days ahead and refrigerate. Bake them straight from the cooler on the grill, or in a 350°F oven for about 1 hour if you're homegating.
How do you keep baked beans hot at a tailgate?
Leave the pan on the cool side of the grill with the lid closed and check it with a thermometer now and then. Below 140°F, heat it back up to 165°F.
How much do you need for 20 people?
Double it in 2 foil pans for up to 24: 1 lb of bacon, 2 onions, 3 cups of cola, ½ cup of brown sugar, 4 big cans of baked beans, 2 cans of pinto beans, 1 cup of barbecue sauce, ¼ cup of mustard and 2 tbsp of Worcestershire. On a kettle, bake one pan while the other waits in the cooler, then swap.
Can you bake beans on a grill at Davis Wade Stadium?
Yes, on charcoal. The rule reads "Charcoal grills are allowed. Put the charcoal out fully and dispose of it responsibly. No fire pits." Bank the coals, bake the pan over indirect heat and put the coals out fully before you leave.