• 1

  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

• 2

  In a large pan, add diced bacon. Cook over medium-high heat until fat renders, and bacon begins to crisp. Once cooked, remove bacon and place into a small bowl. Discard bacon drippings, leaving 2 tablespoons in the pan.

• 3

  Add butter to the pan with bacon drippings, cooking until melted over the heat. Add 1 cup of the shallots and cook until browned, about 3-4 minutes. Remove shallots, leaving the butter mixture in the pan. Place cooked shallots in the bowl with bacon. Stir in ¼ cup of brown sugar, and 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika to create topping.

• 4

  Add the remaining ½ cup of shallots and green pepper to the pan. Cook until vegetables have softened, about 3-4 minutes.

• 5

  Stir in tomato sauce, ketchup, molasses, mustard, the remaining 3/4 cup of the brown sugar, garlic powder, Worchester sauce and 3 teaspoons of smoked paprika to create a sauce.

• 6

  Stir in the beans, and then pour bean mixture into a deep sided 9 x12 baking dish.

• 7

  Cover dish with foil, and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.

• 8

  Remove pan from oven and raise oven temperature to 400 degrees. Remove foil, and place back into the oven, about 20-25 minutes or until sauce is thick and bubbly.

• 9

  Sprinkle on bacon topping, continuing to cook for 10 additional minutes or until bacon is browned and caramelized.

• 10

  Remove from oven, and let rest for about 10 minutes before serving.

Notes

• !

  Alternative Cooking Method: If you don’t want to turn on the oven, bring out the slow cooker! Follow the above instructions, but instead of putting the beans into a casserole dish, place them into the slow cooker and cook on high heat setting for 4 hours. Remove the lid for the last 2 hours, and add the bacon topping during the last 15 minutes of cooking. If an extra crispy bacon topping is desired, place crock in the oven set to broil for 4 minutes.