Cooking (beans?) in the Water Pan.


 
C

Christopher Cashell

New member
I was watching some show on Food Network the other day, and they were in a BBQ restaurant, where the owner/chef was talking through some of the things he did. When he was making his BBQ Beans, he put everything together, and then put the whole pan, uncovered, into the smoker to cook for 12 hours. He claimed it was one of his tricks for having the smokiest and best tasting BBQ Beans around.

That got me thinking, and I eventually started wondering. . . could you make up a batch of BBQ beans, put it in the water pan (in place of the plain water), and cook it there, using it as your temperature control? You'd get some dripping fat from the food above it, but I'm not sure I'd consider that a negative. I have a feeling that the smoke and beef/pork fat would probably give it some head explodingly good flavor.

Has anyone ever tried something like that? Am I talking crazy?

I just purchased my first smoker (22.5" WSM, arrived today), and I have yet to actually fire it up (tomorrow), so I going entirely on speculation and general cooking knowledge, not BBQ experience.
 
Hey,

That is way to hot to cook, its goona stick and burn at the bottom ... if you want to do that you should use the bottom grate and put only meat on the top
 
Interesting for sure. Never herd of that. Only problem besides the mess would be that the pan can get really hot in the bottom and maby even burn the beans. It could be stired thru the door but then again you might need to have it opend alot. But you could set a pot or even better a casarole pan on the edges of the pan so you have some "air" between the beans and the water pan.

Good luck and report back.
 
Good point, guys. I knew the pan would get hot, but having not used it yet, wasn't sure how hot. Sounds like it would be a little much for direct cooking.

I like the idea of setting a casserole dish on top of the water pan, though. The pan would still act as something of a heat shield, reducing the convection and radiant heat, possibly keeping the beans (or whatever) at a slightly more moderate temperature. And, provided you had a big enough pan of beans, you'd still have your heat sink.

Hrm. Depending on the size and shape of the casserole dish, you could probably even combine it. Put a gallon of water in the water pan, and then set your dish of beans right in it, using the water bath to moderate the heat.

Current plan is to do a couple of shorter test runs this week (chicken, probably), and do my first long smoke with a butt this weekend. I think I'm gonna have to experiment with the beans, too.
 
Burnt beans are NASTY.
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Put your pot of beans on the bottom rack under ribs or such.
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I cooked beans on the lower grate under some ribs last weekend.

Here's the before: http://i1183.photobucket.com/a...5%20bbq/f09845de.jpg

during: http://i1183.photobucket.com/a...5%20bbq/d56fd0b9.jpg

and after: http://i1183.photobucket.com/a...5%20bbq/f0d817f2.jpg

I used a disposable aluminum foil pan, put them on from the start, and left them alone. They turned out GREAT! Was trying BRITU ribs so temps were around 225 for 3 hours and 260 for one hour. The ribs turned out good, not great, which I attribute to user error - should've left them on another hour or two. The beans were fantastic.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Dave Russell:
Put your pot of beans on the bottom rack under ribs or such.
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</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I'll do this whenever the bottom rack is open. I'd love to be able to do two butts, a brisket, and a pan of beans, all at the same time, though. ;-)
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Christopher Cashell:

Has anyone ever tried something like that? Am I talking crazy?
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I wouldn't go there, Christopher. I'm no expert, as my recent newbie brush with bean disaster amply demonstrates. But one thing I learned was that the beans do great in a foil tray on the lower rack under whatever you are cooking. I just didn't leave mine there long enough to get tender. Next time I do them, I'll make them on the stove, get the sauce tasting good and the beans par-cooked, then cook them under a pork butt for around 12 hours.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Jennifer K:
Next time I do them, I'll make them on the stove, get the sauce tasting good and the beans par-cooked, then cook them under a pork butt for around 12 hours. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yeah, I think getting them up to a good boil before putting them on the smoker to simmer is an important bit.

I've used a slightly tweaked version of Alton Brown's baked beans recipe in the past with great success, and as it advocates a 250 degree oven, I think it should work quite well with the smoker.

His recipe in targeted towards a covered cook, though, so I'll increase the liquid a little bit and cook it uncovered. My enameled cast iron dutch oven should be a perfect pan, though, as it can go from stovetop straight to the smoker.
 
If you put them in the water pan, you will end up with a water pan full of ash. It gets THAT hot!!! Put them in a foil pan on the top rack uncovered. While the idea of having the drippings drip down into the beans, you will be very unpleasantly surprised at how much fat would end up in your beans making them pretty much inedible (learn from my experience!
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Love the innovative idea. The challenges seem fixable. I would think that you would get too much fat from the meat but that's only opinion. Kind of working your way to a one pot meal:

Corn Bread and Corn on top
Ribs on the 2nd rack
Beans in the bowl in a bowl
Beer in the bowl (for ceremony, not function)

Great !
 
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