Smoked Cowboy Beans Recipe

Five types of beans are combined with brown sugar, BBQ meat, bourbon, bacon, sweet bell pepper, garlic, molasses and vinegar based BBQ sauce and then smoked over charcoal. The brown sugar, bourbon, bacon fat, molasses and BBQ sauce make for the tastiest, smoked cowboy beans recipe. Additionally, the BBQ meat will thicken this side dish to a meal in itself. This dish is inspired by the BBQ joints in the West Kentucky BBQ Belt.

We’ve made kicked up beans recipes before. My spin on Oklahoma Joe’s Smoked Beans was our first foray into this iconic side. And Dad updated it with these smoked baked beans. While those were a very sweet side dish, this cowboy beans recipe will focus on balancing between sweet and savory and adding a few iconic flavors to the mix like bacon and molasses as well as a vinegar based BBQ sauce based on the BBQ scene of West Kentucky BBQ Belt.

West Kentucky BBQ Belt

I was maybe 10 when I went to Kentucky Lake for the first time. At that time, a good vacation meant water slides and go-karts. Now give me a great water view, the worlds best bourbon and some outstanding BBQ and I’m one happy, and relaxed man. I partnered with tourism boards throughout West Kentucky to share about what the region has to offer and of course I had to make some food inspired by the signature dishes of the West Kentucky BBQ Belt. Two of which are mutton and vinegar based BBQ sauce.

These Marinated and Grilled Mutton Chops are amazing and this Cowboy Beans Recipe includes both the BBQ sauce and mutton (although a wide variety of meats will work).

Smoked Cowboy Beans Recipe Ingredients:

• 2 disposable aluminum pans, half size
• 30 ounces red kidney beans (2 cans)
• 15 ounces pinto beans (1 can)
• 30 ounces black beans (2 cans)
• 15 ounces butter beans (1 can)
• 15 ounces cannellini beans
• 1 pound BBQ meat (we used smoked mutton)
• 4 slices of bacon, chopped
• 1 white onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 1 bell pepper, chopped (not green pepper)
• 1 heaping cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup bourbon
• 8 ounces BBQ Sauce (we used a vinegar based BBQ sauce)
• 1 teaspoon dried mustard
• 1/4 cup hot honey (not pictured)

Cowboy Beans Recipe Instructions

Drain all the liquid out of the cans of beans:

Some of you have never done this. But I want the sauce of these cowboy beans to be made up of the brown sugar, BBQ sauce, molasses, hot honey, bacon fat, and oils from the onion and pepper.

Not the slurry that the beans are packed in. 

Then grab those two aluminum pans. We are only making one pan full of beans, but two pans are needed as one pan cannot hold the weight and can crumple easily. 

Add the drained beans to the pans:

Chop that garlic (or just use jarlic) and add to the beans:

Rough chop the onion, bell pepper **, bacon and add them along with the brown sugar and BBQ meat *** to the pan:

** Never use green pepper.

That’s just an unripe pepper which they can sell for less because it spends less time on the vine. Leave it on the plant and it will turn to yellow, then orange, and then red. Any of these is infinitely better than the green pepper. You wouldn’t eat an unripe apple, thus don’t eat an unripe pepper. 

*** BBQ Meat can be a lot of things.

We used smoked lamb shoulder, which is really mutton, not lamb. Brisket works great, but not cheap. Reverse seared tri tip is fantastic also. Recently, I’ve been finding the cheapest chunk of meat I can find, slow smoking it and using it for beans like these crockpot beans made with bottom round roast. 

Measure out that world-class West Kentucky Bourbon:

And add it to the pan:

Drop in the dried mustard and the vinegar based BBQ sauce over the top of those pepper, onions and BBQ meat:

Also, don’t forget that molasses (I almost did):

Then add the hot honey, which I forgot to snap going into the beans as well as the coarse pepper:

Now, get in there with a spatula:

But I suggest grabbing some nitrile gloves or just get those hands dirty, and dig in with both mitts:

See, these ingredients will fill the pan to the brim.

Using the spatula will result in ingredients on the floor, indeed.

Using hands instead will make a lot less mess.

Prepare the Grill

Set the grill for two zone grilling with coals and smoke wood on one side and no direct heat on the other. The beans will smoke on the side with no heat to bring the temp up slowly as well as cook that bacon which releases that bacon fat into the sauce. Also, we used a pecan split for smoke wood:

If you don’t have access to pecan wood, click this link for the list of smoke woods and what protein they pair with and then find something you have access to. 

Additionally. target temp inside the grill is 275F (+/- 25F)

Here are the cowboy beans on the grill:

And here’s an overhead shot to see these pit beans on the side with no direct heat:

While the cowboy beans have smoked for about 45 minutes, the ingredients have dulled a bit in terms of color on top:

As of right now, it looks like there’s not enough liquid in the pan, but be patient.

Also, give it a stir (with the spatula this time because it’s hot):

Another 45 minutes in (a total of 90 minutes of cooking time) for this cowboy beans recipe, and the liquid is filling up nicely:

The BBQ meat and bacon have shed some fat and the peppers and onions are sweating out some fluid.

So how do you know the cowboy beans are done? When the pan bubbles in the middle.

Thus I created a little shallow depression in the middle to make that easier to see:

And these smoked cowboy beans are looking fantastic.

So much so, I had to go with a couple different steam shots:

Also, if you have a little cast iron pot like this, the beans look fantastic in one alongside some perfectly cooked Marinated and Grilled Mutton Chops:

Smoked Cowboy Beans Recipe Recap

These pit beans are the perfect complement to any BBQ meal. Additionally this one pan can easily feed 25 as a side dish. The depth of flavors between the sweet and savory, smoky and a little acidic is beyond phenomenal. Also, you can do these beans in a slow cooker or even finish them in one after putting some smoke into them and use it to serve the beans and keep them warm. 

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them below or send me an email.

Also, if you could leave us a great review with lots of stars that would be most appreciated!

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Full Disclosure ~ I partnered with tourism boards throughout West Kentucky on this recipe. I’m a huge fan of the West Kentucky region. My family and I made our first trip there more than 40 years ago and my wife’s family went many times. Being able to leave my house in the morning and have lunch in the area the same day is ideal. So give me one of those Kentucky Lake views, a tumbler of world class bourbon, and a plate of outstanding BBQ and I’m a happy man. 

Recipe Card:

Print Recipe

Cowboy Beans Recipe

Five types of beans combined with brown sugar, BBQ meat, bourbon, bacon, bell pepper, garlic, molasses, BBQ sauce and smoked to make this cowboy beans recipe

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Course: Cowboy Beans, Side, Side Dish, Smoked Beans

Cuisine: American, American Fare, Barbecue, BBQ, Cowboy Beans, Smoked Baked Beans, Smoked Beans

Keyword: #Primo, #Smoked, Apple Cider Vinegar, Baby Bell Peppers, Bacon, Bacon Fat, Bacon Wrapped Onion Rings, BBQ Meat, Beans, Bell Peppers, Black Beans, Black Garlic, Bourbon, Brown Sugar, Butter Beans, cannellini beans, Charcoal, Chopped Onion, Cowboy Beans, Cowboy Beans Recipe, Green Onions, Honey, Hot Honey, Jarlic, Kidney Beans, Molasses, Mutton Chops, Pepper, Pinto Beans, Primo Grill, Primo Kamado, Primo Oval, Primo Oval XL, Smoked Beans, Smoked Cowboy Beans, Sweet Bell Peppers, Vinegar Based BBQ Sauce, Vinegar BBQ Sauce, West Kentucky, West Kentucky BBQ, West Kentucky BBQ Belt

Servings: 25 People

Equipment

• 2 disposable aluminum pans Half size pans

Ingredients

• 30 ounces Red kidney beans 2 cans
• 15 ounces Pinto beans 1 can
• 30 ounces Black beans 2 cans
• 15 ounces Butter beans 1 can
• 15 ounces Cannellini beans 1 can
• 1 pound BBQ Meat We used smoked mutton
• 4 slices Bacon, chopped
• 1 White onion, chopped
• ¼ cup Molasses
• 1 Bell pepper, chopped Not green
• 1 cup Brown sugar Heaping
• ½ cup Bourbon
• 8 ounces Vinegar based BBQ sauce
• 1 teaspoon Dried mustard
• ¼ cup Hot honey

Instructions

• Drain all the beans of the liquid in the cans and pour the drained beans into the doubled up aluminum pans
• Chop the onion, garlic, bacon and peppers and add them to the aluminum pans
• Pour in the bourbon, BBQ sauce, dried mustard, molasses, and hot honey
• Mix the ingredients together to combine completely
• Prepare the grill for two zone grilling with hot coals and smoke wood on one side and the beans on the other. Target temperature inside the grill is 275F (+/- 25F). We used a chunk of pecan. Place the beans on the side with no direct heat and close the lid
• After 45 minutes stir the beans with a spatula or spoon
• After another 45 minutes on the grill (90 minutes total cook time) stir the beans yet again and notice that the liquid is rising in the pan
• After about 2 hours, the beans will bubble in the middle indicating the beans are done. Serve and enjoy

Video

Scott Thomas

Scott Thomas, the Original Grillin’ Fool, was sent off to college with a suitcase and a grill where he overcooked, undercooked and burned every piece of meat he could find. After thousands of failures, and quite a few successes, nearly two decades later he started a website to show step by step, picture by picture, foolproof instructions on how to make great things out of doors so that others don’t have to repeat the mistakes he’s made on the grill.

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BBQ Grilling

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This article was initially published on: August 15, 2024