Strawberry Barbecue Sauce Baked Beans

I first saw this recipe in Food Network magazine and thought it was too weird to pass up. I would have never thought to incorporate strawberries into BBQ sauce or baked beans. I thought I would give it a try while strawberries are still relatively cheap, you could use

Recipe from Food Network.

Ingredients:

-4 cups strawberries (about 1 pound), hulled

-4 teaspoons vegetable oil

-1/2 cup ketchup

-1/4 cup strawberry jam

-1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

-2 tablespoons blackstrap molasses

-2 tablespoons soy sauce

-2 teaspoons dijon mustard

-1 canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce, chopped

-1 clove garlic, grated

-1 15 -ounce can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
-1 15 -ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed

In a medium saucepan, combine the strawberries, ketchup, jam, balsamic vinegar, molasses, soy sauce, mustard, chile and garlic. Cook over medium-low heat until the strawberries start breaking down, about 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Using an immersion blender, blend the strawberry mixture until smooth. Continue to cook until the sauce is reduced by one-third, about 15 minutes.

In an 8x8 pan, add the pinto and black beans and the barbecue sauce. Put the skillet in the oven and cook until the sauce thickens, about 25 minutes. Transfer to a serving bowl.

I thought this was interesting. The barbecue sauce didn't turn out quite how I thought it would, you really could taste a hint of the strawberries, but it was still pretty much like traditional barbecue sauce. Dave thought this was neat, because strawberries aren't something traditionally in barbecue sauce. This would be fun for a summer picnic, because it's a traditional recipe with a summery twist.