This weekend I made the best beans I've ever had. This was an experiment that really worked.
The one unusual ingredient is that I used is "duck bacon" which is smoked duck breast cut into bacon like strips. I'm sure that this recipe would work fine with regular bacon too.
The ingredients:
1/3 lb. duck bacon (or any kind of bacon you like)
1 lb. dried Great Northern beans (soaked overnight)
2 Tbs Ketchup
3 oz Tomato paste (half of one of those little cans)
2 Tbs brown mustard
2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
1 Onion
2 Tbs your favorite dry rub (mine is a mixture of cayenne, smoked paprika, sweet paprike, brown sugar, salt, thyme, onion powder, garlic powder)
Salt as needed
The process:
Cook the soaked beans in unsalted water for 45 mins to 1 hour. They may seem a bit mushy; don't worry, they firm up in the baking process.
Prepare the smoker using your favorite wood. I used apple. (I kept mine going at about 300 degrees throughout the process).
Cook the bacon until cripsy in the pot you're going to use bake the beans. Pour off all but 3 Tbs of the fat. Save the bacon if you can to use as a garnish (I hate most of it while waiting.. oops).
Add the onions and cook until just lightly browned.
Add the beans and all the other ingredients to the pot, then add just enough water to cover the beans. DO NOT be tempted to use the whole can of tomato paste. It will make the sauce too thick and will kill the rest of the flavors.
Put the pot on the smoker and loosely cover with foil to prevent ash from getting in. Remove the foil once the smoke has subsided.
After the first hour check the beans and add salt if needed. Go sparingly because as the sauce reduces the salt will be more concentrated.
Continue cooking for a minimum of 3 hours (I cooked mine for 4). Check the beans hourly and add a little extra water if they're getting too dry.
I cooked mine on the lower rack of my WB while smoking some chicken on top. The bean pot and chicken were on opposite sides of the WB because I didn't want the chicken fat in the beans. But if I was smoking something else like beef it might be a good idea to have some of the fat that renders drip into the beans for extra flavoring. Just be careful about how much fat let drip in.
The one unusual ingredient is that I used is "duck bacon" which is smoked duck breast cut into bacon like strips. I'm sure that this recipe would work fine with regular bacon too.
The ingredients:
1/3 lb. duck bacon (or any kind of bacon you like)
1 lb. dried Great Northern beans (soaked overnight)
2 Tbs Ketchup
3 oz Tomato paste (half of one of those little cans)
2 Tbs brown mustard
2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
1 Onion
2 Tbs your favorite dry rub (mine is a mixture of cayenne, smoked paprika, sweet paprike, brown sugar, salt, thyme, onion powder, garlic powder)
Salt as needed
The process:
Cook the soaked beans in unsalted water for 45 mins to 1 hour. They may seem a bit mushy; don't worry, they firm up in the baking process.
Prepare the smoker using your favorite wood. I used apple. (I kept mine going at about 300 degrees throughout the process).
Cook the bacon until cripsy in the pot you're going to use bake the beans. Pour off all but 3 Tbs of the fat. Save the bacon if you can to use as a garnish (I hate most of it while waiting.. oops).
Add the onions and cook until just lightly browned.
Add the beans and all the other ingredients to the pot, then add just enough water to cover the beans. DO NOT be tempted to use the whole can of tomato paste. It will make the sauce too thick and will kill the rest of the flavors.
Put the pot on the smoker and loosely cover with foil to prevent ash from getting in. Remove the foil once the smoke has subsided.
After the first hour check the beans and add salt if needed. Go sparingly because as the sauce reduces the salt will be more concentrated.
Continue cooking for a minimum of 3 hours (I cooked mine for 4). Check the beans hourly and add a little extra water if they're getting too dry.
I cooked mine on the lower rack of my WB while smoking some chicken on top. The bean pot and chicken were on opposite sides of the WB because I didn't want the chicken fat in the beans. But if I was smoking something else like beef it might be a good idea to have some of the fat that renders drip into the beans for extra flavoring. Just be careful about how much fat let drip in.