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The Melting Pot
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1800s-present - Cowboy cooks, campers, and American barbecue cooks adapting bean pots for outdoor meals
Campfire beans belong to outdoor American cooking: beans simmered near a fire or baked in a Dutch oven for campers, hunters, ranch hands, and backyard cookouts. The modern version often uses canned beans and smoky meat for a quick, filling side.
Difficulty
Easy
Prep time
15 minutes
Cook time
1 hour
Total time
1 hour 15 minutes
Servings
8 servings
Region
American camps, cabins, ranches, and cookouts
Era introduced
1800s-present
Introduced by
Cowboy cooks, campers, and American barbecue cooks adapting bean pots for outdoor meals
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Beans were practical camp food because dried beans traveled well, canned beans made the job even easier, and a pot could feed a group with minimal fuss. Campfire beans overlap with cowboy beans and barbecue beans: sweet, smoky, a little tangy, and sturdy enough to sit beside grilled meat or cornbread. A Dutch oven over coals is ideal, but an oven or stovetop works too.
Drafted with cowboy/campfire bean context from Kent Rollins (https://kentrollins.com/blogs/pork/cowboy-beans), baked campfire bean method from Our State (https://www.ourstate.com/meaty-baked-campfire-beans/), and one-pot cowboy bean context from The Kitchn (https://www.thekitchn.com/cowboy-beans-recipe-23659307).
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