Receta California Barbecue Beans (Santa Maria Style)
One of my most viewed recipe is the Santa Maria Style Tri-tip. My husband and I loved it when we first tasted it as we were passing through the town of Santa Maria, California. In an issue of Cook's Country, I found a a recipe about Santa Maria and their special style of BBQ. The article included the tri-tip, beans and salsa-- and how to easily recreate that nice smoky flavor that Santa Marian's accomplish.. The traditional way is to grill this cut of meat over dry oak; we use our Weber and soaked wood chips. I was so excited to make it, and it's become a grilling favorite in our home.
Craig has done a nice sear on this cut of meat. He's doing a great job grilling!
Beans are an essential side dish, whenever I make tri-tip. Cook's Illustrated included a recipe for Californian Barbecued Beans, which features the pinquito bean-- native to Santa Maria. I can't find these beans, but pink beans are considered a great substitute. I made this dish a year ago, but wasn't pleased with it. I decided to tweak the recipe and the end result-- I watched husband and brother go for seconds....then thirds. Here's how I made it:
Soak one package of beans, overnight, and rinse them.
Please forgive this fuzzy photo. My first adaptation was to increase the amount of bacon that I use. I didn't care for the deli ham, that Cook's Country used. It was just too odd a flavor, so I skipped that ingredient this time. I buy bacon pieces at a good price at my butcher shop. I love the thick chunks of pork. The fat is what gives the beans great flavor. I cut up about 2 cups worth. Once the fat was rendered, I added one whole chopped onion and cook that until tender. Then I added four big cloves of fresh minced garlic, for about 30 seconds (don't let it burn).
Add the beans, and then add 6 cups of water. Let the beans simmer on medium-low, covered, for about an hour. While that was cooking, I made taco sauce. This is a key ingredient, so don't skip it. Go ahead and buy bottled taco sauce, or you can follow my easy recipe.
Tick, tock, tick, tock...one hour later:
It's time to add tomato puree, the taco sauce, brown sugar, dry mustard and kosher salt. I decreased the original amount of brown sugar by half (I thought it made the beans too sweet) and doubled the amount of dry mustard. I also doubled the amount of taco sauce from 1/2 cup to 1 full cup. I thought it was perfect! I let the bean simmer for one more hour, and the sauce thickened perfectly. Cook's Country says to add apple cider vinegar and fresh cilantro at the end. I didn't like that, (thought I do love cilantro) the first time. It left an "off" taste, so I skipped those ingredient additions.
VERDICT: The beans were cooked perfectly-- not mushy, still a bit firm. The brown sugar, tomato puree and balance of dry mustard and the taco sauce gives a slight note of barbecue sauce. There's a subtle tang of tomato and a nice balance of garlic. I'm much happier with my little tweaks. I might even had more chunks of bacon, though. I think that would be great.
The tri-tip was juicy. The balance of smokiness and the garlic is spot on to the tri-tip we had in Santa Maria. One more thing-- garlic bread and salsa are necessary condiments. I made The Pioneer Woman's Restaurant Style Salsa. I still don't have ripe tomatoes, but this recipe makes canned tomatoes taste great. Oh yeah, for dessert... we had Lemon Custard Ice Cream-- with a drizzle of homemade raspberry coulis sauce.
Life is good in California!
From our grill to yours,