dinosaur-style beans Archives

Dinosaur Bar-B-Que is a small chain of BBQ restaurants in the northeast, and now, also in Chicago. If these dinosaur-style BBQ beans are any indication of how good their food is, it’s a place well worth visiting. These beans are crazy good, thanks mostly to the barbecue sauce and my favorite, crumbled cooked Italian sausage. You might be thinking “oh great, another BBQ bean recipe…” and rolling your eyes. But don’t. These are different. Someone finally figured out how to really step up what started as a pretty traditional side dish. If you want to wow your guests at your next cook-out or family get-together, this is one sure way to do it!

Italian Sausage Adds So Much Flavor

I recently started adding Italian sausage to my chili recipes. The Italian sausage adds a fantastic flavor and texture to the chili, just like it does to these dinosaur-style BBQ beans. As much as adding sausage to chili seemed ‘normal’, I never thought about adding it to my baked or stovetop bean recipes.

Heat Me Up, Scotty!

You can use spicy sausage to kick things up even more. Or use hot chili powder instead of the non-hot stuff. And heck, while you’re at it use a spicy BBQ sauce. Just don’t go crazy with the hot sauce. You’re wanting to add a KC- or Memphis-style ketchup-based sauce. Not a vinegar sauce like you might get in the Carolinas

Of course, you can also add leftover chopped, cubed shredded pulled pork or smoked brisket (yum!). The beans might be pretty thick at that point. You might want to add more BBQ sauce or even a bit of water to thin it a little. But remember, you can always add more sauce. But taking it out can be a tricky process!