Prepare your beans following our Guide to Cooking Dried Beans. When the beans are almost cooked (soak overnight, 1st boil, and about halfway through a second boil so not soft yet), turn off heat and drain and discard liquid.
Turn your oven to 325. In wide, deep skillet with a lid, melt your butter or oil and then start to cook the onion. Before it browns, but after it softens a bit, add in the carrot and the garlic. Keep the heat over medium, medium-low so as not to burn the veggies. Add in the sorghum, the vinegar, the adobo or BBQ sauce, and the spices (except the bay leaf) and allow to cook down to thicken.
Add in the beans, and cover with water by a quarter inch, add the bay leaf and then cover. After about 30 minutes, remove the lid and continue to cook in your oven till the liquid has been absorbed and the beans are soft, about 45 min longer. Finish on the stove top if you need to hustle it up*.
A great pairing is to serve alongside Baked Creamed Cabbage.
