- 3/4 pound ground beef
- 1/4 pound bulk spicy pork sausage
- 8 slices bacon, or more to taste
- 4 (16 ounce) cans pork and beans, drained
- 1 1/2 cups chopped onion
- 3/4 cup molasses
- 3/4 cup barbeque sauce (such as Sweet Baby Ray's®)
- 1 teaspoon liquid smoke flavoring
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon dried mint (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon bitters (optional)
- 3 dashes hot sauce, or more to taste
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir beef and bulk sausage in the hot skillet until browned and crumbly, 5 to 7 minutes; drain and discard grease.
- Place the bacon in a large skillet and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Drain the bacon slices on paper towels. Crumble bacon into small pieces and add to beef mixture; transfer to a large casserole dish.
- Stir pork and beans, onion, molasses, barbeque sauce, liquid smoke, cayenne pepper, Worcestershire sauce, mint, salt, bitters, and hot sauce into the beef mixture.
- Bake in preheated oven until heated through and thick, about 45 minutes.