As the Buffalo Bills prepare to face a new opponent each week, fans take on the age-old arch-nemesis know as “hunger.” Never fear, Buffalo Rumblings has just the playbook to take down this foe. Each week, we’ll dive into enemy territory to scout their signature moves and put a “Buffalo” spin on it. Translated, each week we’ll share a themed recipe based on who the Bills are playing, including a custom wing sauce to go with each dish. Our opponent this week:

New England Patriots

Boston Baked Beans: Have you ever thought, “I’m really going to be in the mood for baked beans about 15-18 hours from now?” You have? Well boy, oh boy do I have the recipe for you! If you’re reading this on the publish date, you’d better start prep work now if you want these for the game.

While not a complicated recipe, baked beans do take foooooooreeeeeeeever. Just in case there’s some less-patient readers out there, the true hero of this week will be the wing sauce, which takes less than ten minutes. There once was a man who called himself, “The Dude.” He had a rug that really tied the room together. The sauce is like that rug. From beans to the finest dinosaur nuggets, it really ties the meal together.

Beans

Serves: 6-8
Active Time: 30 Minutes
Total Time: Up to 18 hours

Ingredients

• 1 lb navy beans
• ¹⁄₂ lb bacon, cut into half-inch pieces
• ¹⁄₂ large onion, chopped
• ³⁄₄ cup ketchup
• 2 Tbsp mustard
• 4 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
• ¹⁄₃ cup dark molasses
• ¹⁄₄ cup maple syrup*
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp black pepper
• ¹⁄₂ tsp thyme
• ¹⁄₂ cup tightly packed dark brown sugar
• ¹⁄₂ cup hot sauce
• ¹⁄₂ cup Concord grape jam (only Lone Star uses raspberry)
• 3 Tbsp butter, unsalted

Making the beans

1. Open can; place beans in medium saucepan on MED heat for 5-10 min. Or if you don’t mind the extra 1,070 minutes or so, follow these other steps below.
2. Rinse navy beans and check for debris/dirt.
3. Place beans in a large container and fill with water. Soak overnight (or at least 8 hours).
4. In a large pot, boil beans in at least two quarts of water for 2-3 hours until tender.**
5. Drain beans and reserve the water for later, place beans in a 3-quart casserole dish.
6. Add bacon and onions to pan. Do not stir them in yet.
7. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
8. Put ketchup, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, molasses and maple syrup in a medium saucepan on MED heat; stir for 1 min.
9. Add salt, pepper, thyme and brown sugar. Stir and simmer for 5 min.
10. Add bean sauce to casserole dish with bean, bacon and onion.
11. Using the water you reserved from boiling the beans, add enough to cover the beans. Everything should be able to float a little—and now it’s OK to stir.
12. Cover with aluminum foil; place in the oven with the rack centered. Bake for 2 hours, remove foil. You will need to continue to bake for at least two more hours but plan on longer just in case***

Wing Sauce!

1. Add hot sauce and grape jam to medium saucepan on MED-HIGH for 5-10 min, stirring until well mixed. If your brand of jam has a little grape skin that won’t mix in that’s fine.
2. Turn off heat and add butter; stir until blended

Wingin’ It Tips

*If you use pancake syrup know that I’m judging you

**You’ll probably need to add more water once or twice

***The beans should continue to have enough liquid to cover them for most of the cooking time. Feel free to add warm water at any time. You can start checking the beans to see if they’re done around the four-hour mark.

The Beer

It’s the holiday season for many of us, which is a time to celebrate, hang out, and enjoy life. Why choose just one beer when you can (responsibly) enjoy a variety? Whatever you celebrate, here’s to wishing everyone the very best this holiday season!

Beer products provided by Labatt USA. Please drink responsibly.

Coming soon!

We’re at the end of the line for the Buffalo Bills’ season and Wingin’ It. I promise there won’t be any raw fish for this recipe pairing up against the Miami Dolphins. Instead, Wingin’ It is going throwback with a sauce recipe that could be considered a precursor to the Buffalo style.