Barbecue Beef, Bean and Bacon Bake

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Barbecue Beef, Bean and Bacon Bake
slightly adapted from Foodie with Family
Serves 4 - 6

For the Barbecue Sauce:
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon mustard powder
Dash of liquid smoke (or use 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika)
2 cloves garlic, minced
Hot sauce to taste

For the Bake:
250g bacon
500g ground beef
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 x 400g can borlotti beans, drained
1 x 400g can butter beans, drained
1 x 400g can black beans, drained

Make the Barbecue Sauce:
Put all the sauce ingredients into a saucepan over medium heat. Stir until combined and bring to a boil. Cook for a further minutes and then set aside.

Make the Bake:
Preheat the oven to 160C.

Put the bacon and onion into a food processor and blitz until finely chopped. Add it to a large, deep, oven-proof frying pan. Cook on medium heat. The fat from the bacon should start to render out so you shouldn't need any oil, but if your bacon is lean, then you could add a drop of olive oil to the pan. Cook for about 5 - 7 minutes until the bacon is a little golden and the onion has softened a little. Add the beef and cook until browned, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as needed. Add all of the beans and the barbecue sauce and 1/3 cup water to the pan. Give it a good stir. Put the whole pan into the oven and bake for about an hour until hot and bubbly.