Campfire Cowboy Beans with Smoked Sausage

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A single pot of sticky, smoky barbecue beans studded with browned smoked sausage and sweet onion, cooked right over the coals or a camp stove. Everything comes from a can or a shelf-stable package, so nothing needs a cooler after the first day — just stir, simmer and scoop straight from the pot.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 14 oz smoked sausage or kielbasa, cut into 1/2-inch coins
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 2 15 oz cans baked beans in sauce, not drained
• 1 15 oz can black-eyed peas, drained

• 1/2 cup barbecue sauce
• 2 tbsp packed brown sugar
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Instructions

1. Build your fire down to a bed of glowing coals and set a grate about 6 inches above them, or set a portable stove to medium-high. Put a 10-inch cast iron skillet or small Dutch oven on to heat for 2 minutes, then add the vegetable oil.
2. Add the sausage coins in a single layer and cook 4 to 5 minutes, turning once, until browned on both sides and the fat has rendered. Add the chopped onion and cook 4 more minutes, stirring often, until softened and lightly charred at the edges.
3. Stir in the barbecue sauce, brown sugar, cider vinegar, smoked paprika and black pepper and let it bubble for 1 minute so the sugar dissolves and coats the sausage.
4. Add both cans of baked beans with their sauce and the drained black-eyed peas. Stir well, then slide the pot to a cooler edge of the coals (or turn the stove to low) so it simmers gently rather than boils.
5. Simmer 12 to 15 minutes, stirring every 3 to 4 minutes and scraping the bottom so nothing catches, until the sauce is thick enough to coat the spoon. Taste, add salt if needed, and serve straight from the pot.
6. Let stand 5 minutes off the heat before serving — the sauce tightens up as it cools.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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