Slow Smoked Barbecue Beans

Summer barbecue get togethers are great, and whether you are attending or hosting the side dishes need to stand up to the barbecue itself. These beans are quick to throw together and toss on the smoker and are one of my favorite sides to prepare and serve. The recipe is scalable and divisible, so a larger batch can be made or divided into two portions (with the ability to easily make one of the portions vegetarian). The leftovers, if there are any, freeze and reheat great- make them in the warm months and keep them in a freezer until the winter. Alternatively I love freeze drying this recipe, rehydrating them on a camping or backpacking trip really cuts down on the weight and bulk and produces a satisfying and hearty meal at the end of the day.

Lets talk about feet for a moment, or trotters. Most baked bean recipes you will find call for bacon and pre made barbecue sauce- two items I rarely have in my pantry. When it comes to bacon, I prefer to cure and smoke my own from hog jowl or whole belly slabs; I wouldn’t want to cut it up and drown all of those wonderful flavors out with the beans and sauce. Smoke adheres to fats, the point to cooking beans with bacon is to render out the bacon fat and sauté the aromatics and vegetables in it. As much as I love bacon, I am aware of the salt content and know that the bacon itself is a source of the smokiness- especially in slow cooker and oven recipes that don’t employ the use of a smoker. This recipe is not that. It is intense smoky and rich, but not greasy the way some bean recipes can end up. In the following recipe, I use smoked pigs feet to flavor the beans. At first, pigs feet sounds off-putting to a lot of people. Keep in mind all of the benefits though; they’re inexpensive, loaded with collagen and bones that readily absorb the smoke flavor. Using pigs feet isn’t just economical, it its absolutely sensible. The depth of flavor is a lot more pronounced. It isn’t just about the smoke, either. The pork flavor itself carries more punch, like roasted pork and cracklins, and without the added salt. I usually find the pigs feet pre-split, and will buy a half dozen or so at a time. From fresh (or frozen) I toss them in the smoker at 250 degrees and forget about them for a while, usually around 8 hours. No seasonings, no salt, just split pigs feet and smoke. I cryovac (or vacuum seal for those without chamber style sealer systems) and freeze them individually so that I always have them on hand for future recipes. If the thought of using pigs feet still makes you uneasy or squeamish, feel free to use neck bones or hocks/shanks. Most butcher shops, even in retail grocers, will either have them already or be more than happy to sell them to you on the cheap. Likewise a lot of small/independent butchers sell already smoked pigs feet. If you have a smoker, I highly suggest buying a few, smoking them and keeping them on hand frozen for future recipes. I love to add them to a pot of collard greens, or build a base for ham and bean soup with them.

As far as barbecue sauce is concerned, most of the commercially available varieties are full of preservatives and high fructose corn syrup. I’m not against using this, however you more than likely have all the ingredients you need in you refrigerator and pantry to make a barbecue sauce already that’s as good as (if not better than) what you can buy. To really bring out the flavors of these beans and make them shine above all the others, I take all of the ingredients to make barbecue sauce and use them to build the sauce base, instead of adding bbq to an otherwise bland sauce base. I feel this actually makes the process a lot easier, and it builds a better and more harmonious flavor profile; its a lot more balanced and layered.

For equipment, there isn’t a whole lot to this recipe. You will need a smoker, the type and fuel is up to you and what you’re most comfortable with. I have worked with all styles of smokers over the years, from massive gas-fed whole log smokers, to vertical electric smokers and offsets. Right now I am using a pellet fed smoker both for convenience and repeatability. Use what you are most comfortable with, just as long as you can maintain a consistent temperature. I smoke my beans at ~250degrees F, but if you have the time you can go as low as 225. I wouldn’t suggest anything higher than 275 for any extended period because the sauce will reduce and the liquid will evaporate faster than the beans can absorb the liquids, leaving you with dry and firm beans. You will also need a stock pot that can handle the amount of beans you are cooking. This recipe is for 24oz(dry) beans, which yields a nearly full standard cake pan with the sauce and trotters.

you will also need:

a cutting board

sharp knife

large stirring spoon

measuring cups and spoons

a large bowl, Cambro container, or vessel to soak beans in

strainer/chinoise/collander

For the ingredients, you may have most of these in your home already, see notes below list:
- 24oz dried beans*1

1 Bell pepper. I used a red bell pepper because thats what was on hand, but green works equally well

1 whole onion; white, yellow, or vidalia/sweet

2 garlic cloves

2Tb Molasses 1

-1/4cup Ketchup

~1Tb Yellow mustard. Not dijon or brown, just the inexpensive plain stuff

1/4cup Brown sugar, light or dark

1Tb Worcestershire sauce*2

1/2tb soy sauce

2teaspoons smoked paprika

Chili powder

2Tb butter

Black pepper + salt to taste

24oz Stock, divided*3

1/8-1/4cup honey spending on desired sweetness

2 canned chipotle peppers (2 peppers, not 2 cans of peppers) in adobo

2Tb-1/4cup apple cider vinegar*4

Smoked pork feet/trotters; one whole split foot

*1 I used an even mix of kidney, pinto, and navy beans, but whatever beans you choose will suffice. I have made this recipe before using limas and adzuki, cow peas, and even black beans. You can buy or use a single variety or pick up a few small bags. Some stores with a bulk foods section sell a pre-mixed variety of “soup beans” and this works very well too.
*2 If keeping this recipe vegetarian, use a suitable worcestershire made without anchovies as well as omitting the smoked pigs feet.

*3 Stock can be vegetarian, poultry stock, or pork/ham stock. I am using 2 cans of turkey stock in the recipe, but a carton of any vegetable/poultry/pork stock works just as well. I do not recommend beef stock or using bullion cubes of any sort.

*4 You will see in the photos that I have Kombucha vinegar and apple cider vinegar in the shot. I like to set aside a portion of kombucha when I brew it and then let it continue to ferment further into vinegar-like tartness and acidity to use in recipes that call for apple cider or sherry vinegar. It has its own developed flavor profile and isn’t as sweet as apple cider vinegar and is also a lot more dry. If you have some, use the lesser quantity in the ingredients list. If not, 1/4cup apple cider vinegar will do the trick.

This recipe is written around dried beans, not canned. Canned beans have already been processed and cooked to the point that they’re too soft to use in this recipe, and they cost a lot more ounce for ounce. Dried beans have a better texture and body, are cheaper, and don’t expire. Weigh out your beans, sort through them to ensure there are no pebbles or foreign materials, and rinse them in a colander. transfer the rinsed beans to a vessel that will hold double their volume, cover with cool water by a few inches and leave overnight to soak. If you are soaking longer than overnight, keep them refrigerated to avoid the beans beginning to ferment or sour.

Dice your pepper and onion; I aim for a petite dice that is below a quarter inch cube but well above brunoise. Mince your garlic cloves finely, or use a press if you have one, and set aside from the onion and pepper. Add the pepper and onion to a hot stock pot and sauté in butter until sweated and softened with a light fond forming on the bottom of the pot.

In a bowl combine your ketchup, brown sugar, worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, paprika, mustard, chili powder and molasses. Whisk to combine all into a thick sauce. At this point you can add the garlic to the pot and sauté for a minute and then add the prepared sauce base. reduce heat to low and stir, scarping up the fond and thoroughly mixing everything together. Let this simmer to develop the flavors for a couple of minutes, continually stirring to prevent scorching.

Drain the soaked beans and add to the pot of base sauce, stirring to evenly coat everything. Add in 12oz of the stock, honey, a pinch of black pepper, chipotles and pigs feet. Stir well, cover and bring to a medium boil for 20mins or while you get the smoker up to temperature.

Pour the contents of the pot into a heatproof pan or dish. The wider and shallower the pan is, the more surface area will be in contact with the smoke. I like to use disposable foil cake pans for this as they're the perfect size for the smoker rack and for serving. While the beans are still near boiling hot, transfer the pan, uncovered, to the smoker at around 250degreesF. It helps to slide a flat baking sheet under the foil pan when doing this, as those pans can be very flimsy, and you don't want to spill boiling beans and sauce everywhere or on yourself. If there are other proteins in the smoker, make sure they are not directly above the pan to prevent fats and drippings from landing in the pan. This is both to avoid potential cross contamination as well as mixing the flavors from another dish.

Leave the beans in the smoker untouched for 30-45 mins. Open the smoker, give everything a good stir to keep it all hydrated and allow beans that were under the surface to absorb the smoke. Close the smoker for 30mins before repeating this process. You may notice the sauce is thickening or evaporating. Replenish with a little more stock and a splash of vinegar, and stir to combine. After two hours, begin checking the beans when you stir them for doneness. When they are soft but still have a little texture to them, pull them out. The beans will continue to cook further and absorb liquid as they rest. If you aren't serving them immediately, cover with foil or a lid to prevent them from drying out on the surface.