GrillinFools
Three kinds of baked beans loaded with smoked leftover brisket, sweet peppers, onion, brown sugar and bourbon. The aluminum pan of loaded baked beans is then slow smoked on a charcoal grill to infuse that sauce with the sultry smoke that brings this dish all together. Scroll down for the pic by pic, foolproof smoked baked beans recipe.
*** Editor’s Note ~ I had no idea that so many people call these ‘bake beans’ rather than ‘baked beans.’ We will be using both terms throughout this recipe for SEO purposes ***
This smoked baked beans recipe is our most requested by friends and family out of everything on the website. It’s sweet, savory, smokey, succulent, meaty and bean-y (not a word but you get it). Particularly, these beans are loaded with smoked brisket, sweet brown sugar, three kinds of beans, a little bourbon, onion, and pepper. It’s basically a simplified version of Scott’s Spin on Oklahoma Joe’s Smoked Beans. Accordingly, scroll down for the step by step, pic by pic, foolproof grilling instructions.
Do your baked beans look this good? If so, kudos to you! If not, please allow me to introduce you to these delightful smoked bake beans. Indeed, this is the recipe Scott and I make whenever grilling for a crowd or any family gathering. Although, we don’t mind that the beans draw more rave reviews than whatever meat we’ve prepared.
Check out the ingredient pic sans one ingredient.
Vegetarian beans!?!? What?!? Not for long folks, not for long:
Boom! There’s the final ingredient! Brisket. Particularly, leftover brisket:
Brisket over Pork
These smoked baked beans feature brisket instead of the typical pork. Thus, you might ask, “Who has leftover brisket?”
I do.
Hence, I always plan ahead by smoking a big enough brisket packer to yield an extra chunk or two for the sole purpose of using it in beans in the future. This hunk of brisket, however, has a bit of a pedigree. I extracted (should I say pilfered?) from the kitchen of the World Food Championships Final Table event held in Bentonville recently. The rest of this brisket was used in a dish prepared by Australian Chef John Mcfadden who ultimately won the event including $100.000!
Smoke Ring
Check out that smoke ring! Although, you don’t have to use such a fancy slab of beef. Any chunk of brisket can be used in this recipe. Scott, with his family of six, can’t make enough brisket to have any left over so he buys smoked brisket from Sugarfire Smokehouse near his home when he makes these beans.
Please note that this may be only time ‘vegetarian’ and ‘brisket’ are mentioned together in a recipe on this site.
Ingredients for Smoked Baked Beans:
- 56 ounces Bush’s Vegetarian Beans drained (two 28 ounce cans)
- 15 ounces black beans drained
- 15 ounces cannellini beans drained (sub red/light red kidney beans-just a color preference on my part)
- 8-12 ounces barbecue sauce (we used Andria’s new barbecue sauce)
- 1 small purple onion chopped and diced
- 1/2 yellow sweet pepper diced
- 1/2 orange sweet pepper diced
- 1/4-1/2 Serrano pepper very finely diced (a little goes a long way here)
- 1/2-3/4 pound brown sugar
- 1/2-1 pound smoked brisket chopped (use whatever you have or pick up a pound from your favorite nearby barbecue joint)
- 1/2 cup bourbon (you could do a full cup divided reserving 1/2 for the griller)
Other equipment needed
- 2 disposable aluminum pans, the 1/2 size variety
- 2-3 chunks of post oak smoke wood
Why post oak?
Simply keeping with a Texas style brisket vibe. Although, substitute any wood you prefer (we can help with this list of possible smoke wood you can use)
Why two pans? We aren’t making two pans of beans. Double up the pans as a single pan would collapse under the weight of the ingredients. Moreover, it makes it easier to maneuver the beans in and out of the grill.
Drain the Beans
The cans contain quite a bit of liquid, that, plus the barbecue sauce, melting brown sugar, bourbon and such will result in a rather soupy pan of beans. Thus, it will take a lot longer to reduce the liquid and likely overcook the beans.
Indeed, we want the beans to retain a ‘bit of chew’ and not turn into a mushy paste.
Besides, we want the taste of the beans themselves, not the bean soup they float in.
Pro Tip ~ The day before the cook turn all of the bean cans upside down on the counter. This will help eliminate the aggravating search for the product stuck to the bottom of the can
Pro Tip #2 ~ If you feel like the beans are still too soupy, next time dump all the canned beans into a colander and rinse all the liquid from the can and then leave the colander in the sink for 20 minutes or so for all the water to drain off.
Now, into the aluminum pool, kids!
*** Editor’s Note ~ Looks like dad didn’t drain things all that well ***
Better on the draining with this can.
Everybody in!
Next?
Slicing, dicing, and chopping!
I suggest a very fine dice on the Serrano as it can be rather potent:
Add the purple onion:
Then the sweet peppers:
Dump in the brown sugar.
I know it looks like a lot. Trust me.
Pour in the barbecue sauce.
This barbecue sauce from Andria’s is fantastic and kicked the flavor of this smoked baked beans recipe another notch, or two!
BOURBON!
By all means do not forget the bourbon! I suggest a full cup divided with half in the beans and the other half reserved for the griller to do a QC check on the whiskey:
Next, get to work on that hunk of brisket:
Then, have the leftover brisket join the beans in the aluminum pool:
Wait, what’s leftover brisket?
Next, stir till thoroughly combined:
How to Make Smoked Baked Beans
Mix the ingredients in a doubled up disposable aluminum pan and stir together well. Prepare the grill for two zone or indirect grilling with hot coals or a lit gas burner on one side and no direct heat on the other. Then, place smoke wood over the hot fire and the beans on the cooler side of the grill. Close the lid to smoke and bake the beans. When the liquid bubbles a little in the middle the smoked bake beans are done. No stirring necessary.
Now, head to the grill and let’s get some post oak smoke rolling
Next, fire up some Rockwood Charcoal with coals on one side and the other side for the beans. Furthermore, indirect grilling/smoking can be achieved on most any grill with one side hot and one side cool.
Target grill temp is 275F-325F
This is the indirect grilling setup with the coals in the upper left. No hot coals are under the beans so they cook low and slow.
Close up of those beans on the grill:
How long does it take to cook Smoked Bake Beans?
The most frequently asked question we hear when manning the grill is “When will they be done?” The short, and reliable, answer is “Whenever the pan bubbles in the middle.” Approximately1.5-2 hours with the cooker temp at 275F-325F. Although the amount of liquid, the weather, and fire management all could impact cooking time so go with the bubbles. Thus, use the 1.5-2 hour timeline as a guideline and not a rule.
After 90 minutes there’s a fair amount of bubbling around the edges and it’s starting to bubble at the edge of the middle:
Do you see the bubbles in the middle?
Look closely. What else do you see?
I see beautiful, double smoked pieces of brisket that carried this cook to epic status!
Finally, once the beans are just starting to bubble in the middle, remove the smoked baked beans from the grill:
Accordingly, I was compelled to have a sample prior to serving anyone the smoked bake beans with brisket.
Smoked Baked Beans Recap
Sweet, savory, smoky, meaty, succulent, a wee bit spicy and just plain heaven. Would I make these smoked baked beans again for a gathering? EVERY DAMN TIME! The addition of brisket as well as Andria’s barbecue sauce was a game changer for me and I hope it will be for you as well. Although, next time maybe we’ll try a pork version but right now I’m really going to enjoy these smoked bake beans otherwise known as brisket n beans (and a little brown sugar)
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them below or send me an email.
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Recipe Card:
Smoked Baked Beans
Equipment
- 2 disposable aluminum pans The 1/2 pan size
Ingredients
- 56 ounces Vegetarian baked beans Two 28 oz cans
- 15 ounces Black beans Drained
- 15 ounces Cannellini beans Drained
- 8-12 ounces Andria's BBQ Sauce Use your favorite sauce
- 1 Small purple onion Chopped
- ½ Sweet yellow pepper Diced
- ½ Sweet orange pepper Diced
- ½ Serrano pepper Minced
- 1/2-3/4 pound Brown sugar
- ½ cup Bourbon
Instructions
- Drain the liquid out of the cans of beans
- Combine all the ingredients in a double layer of disposable aluminum pans
- Prepare the grill for two zone grilling with hot coals (or hot burner on a gas grill) and the other side of the grill cool. Target temp inside the grill is 275F-325F. Drop a chunk of oak wood (or your favorite smoke wood) on the hot side of the grill
- Place the pan of beans on the cool side of the grill and close the lid. When the beans begin bubbling in the middle, they are done. It generally takes 1.5-2 hours but that is just a guideline
- Remove from the heat and serve
Additionally, some more pics Smoked Bake Beans Recipe
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