Drip Pan Beans?

[DaveD]

OK, here's how it's going thus far.

I smoked up a 1-lb package of Crowdcow heritage-breed bacon, reserved half for the beans and used the rest to make BLATCh (BLT + avo + cheese) sandwiches.




I used the grease from this bacon in the dutch oven to simmer the chopped onions til translucent, then added 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper, 2 bay leaves, and a generous amount of minced garlic. After a couple minutes, deglazed with Essential Pale Ale from our local award-winning Port City Brewery.




In go the beans, can of diced tomatoes (with green chilies), chicken stock, boil 10 minutes.





Meanwhile, got my ribs ready. One is from Wild Fork, the other Crowdcow, both heritage breed. Rubbed one with MMD and the other with something called "Central BBQ Rib Rub" that I found on the Food Network's site. It's got a fair bit less sugar than does MMD, with a dose of cumin that makes it a little distinctive. Thought we'd give it a shot.




After the boil, very carefully carried the DO out to the patio and ladled most of it into the drip pan first, then poured in the rest -- I know better than to pour a bunch of boiling stuff!




I put the bean pan in only about 15 minutes after putting in the ribs, because I'm guessing it's going to take longer than I think to cook this. Better to start sooner than later. Smoker set point at 250F/121C, and it's holding between 210F/99C and 230F/110C. Between this and the water pan (which is on the next rack down), lots of thermal mass in there.

[DaveD]

I stuck a T probe in the pan o'beans, and it was reading only 145F/63C once I get everything settled. 35 minutes later it's at 166F/74C. Steady as she goes...

[jfmorris]

The issue I've had with beans on the smoker is that they just never or rarely get to a boil, unless the smoker is running a good bit hotter than 225F. I solve this on the kettle or kamado by putting the beans above the coals in the SNS. I guess on an offset you could put the pot on the grate right by the firebox, but doing it below the grate in a drip pan never really worked for me, as it was below 200F down there, and the beans just didn't do well.

The only time I had good results in a drip pan below the grate was if I was just reheating canned beans that I doctored up with bacon and stuff, like Bushes grillin' beans and such. "Real" beans I cook in a small cast iron pot above the fire.

[DaveD]

After 4 hours in the smoker, I pulled the pan of beans out and put 'em back in the DO on the stovetop. They taste delicious, just need to be more thoroughly cooked. I bumped my SP up to 275F/135C not long after putting the beans in, as well, I could see the effect of all that thermal mass.

We're on track for a 6:30pm dinnertime, gonna nuke some corn on the cob to go with the ribs & beans. Next post will be after-action

[DaveD]

The ribs were spectacular but the beans still need some cookin'. So they're back on the stove in the DO for a couple-few hours. The flavor was fantastic, just needed to be done more. So I put in a couple more cups of chicken broth, brought to a boil and then lowered to simmer. Tossed in the end ribs, the scrawny ones, from the two racks, that'll jazz it up a bit

Ended up not adding the Hatch green chile, because the chile that was in the canned tomatoes was just right as it was. The smoked bacon element and the beer deglaze were key.

[MsTwiggy]

This looks terrific!!! 🔥🔥🔥💯❤️🐿

[DaveD]

The beans came out fantastic after some more cooking, so the leftovers will be making a return engagement soon.

Also, forgot to comment on the rub comparison. The Central BBQ rub has a lot less sugar than does MMD, which was definitely noticeable. The Central has a tbsp of cumin in the mix, and in dry form the cumin aroma is powerful. But by the time the ribs were cooked, it had disappeared into the flavor blend, a really nice, savory flavor that allowed the meat to shine.

Finally, I had the little cubed bits of trimmed meat in there, salt only, no rub, so we had a control on what just the meat tasted like -- which was delicious!

[smabrito]

I AM A DRIP PAN BEAN NOVICE & would appreciate any tips/instruction about bean cookery on the smoker! Will be smoking some dino ribs tomorrow & would like to catch some of that dripping elixir in a pot of beans.

This will be on a WSM cooking at 225'.

When we're cooking beans on the stove, we add ingredients in steps. When cooking on the smoker it seems like all the ingredients should go in at the beginning but let me know if not. Do your taste buds say the following ingredients would be good in the smoker beans? Our stovetop bean recipe: for 1 lb of dry beans-Put dry beans in pot & cover above top of beans with about 3-4 inches of water, add 1/4 of a yellow onion & a tablespoon or so of cooking oil. Simmer for an hour or so then add 12 oz of salt pork and a little Bolner's Fiesta Pinto Bean seasoning. Simmer for another hour or so (until beans are tender). Once beans are tender add 3/4 of onion, chopped, 1-3 chopped serrano chilis, 2-3 chopped roma tomatoes & 1/2 -1 bunch of chopped cilantro then serve.
Thanks,Scott

[MsTwiggy]

I always use fully cooked beans in my smoker as it does very little but add drippings and smoke. I cook my beans in a pressure cooker because it's efficient and results in perfect creamy beans. When you buy canned beans thats how they are cooked which is why the liquid is so viscous. It's beans, water, salt and spices in a can which is sealed and then pressure cooked. You can still personalize them with chicken stock, cilantro, onion sautéing etc and you will find cooked beans are hard to beat!! I use an instant pot and pressure cook for 1 hour using 2 cups water per 1 cup of beans. Done 🫘🥓🧅 🧄🫑💯🔥🔥🔥❤️🐿

[smabrito]

Thanks Ms. Twiggy! How long do you leave the beans of your smoker?

[MsTwiggy]

smabrito as long as works for your particular cook. At least 2 hours to get smoke and fat. If you put them on cold they will get a little more smoke and be warmed to serving temp by the time you pull them off. No harm in leaving them on longer, if you end up with more fat than you wanted you can easily remove it with a paper towel. If your beans are at the cooking temp keep an eye on them so they don't dry out.

[captainlee]

I'm so jealous, i love baked beans but my system totally rejects them.

[DaveD]

I'm digging how this thread from February got resurrected

[smabrito]

beans will do that

[Panhead John]

That ain’t all they’ll do…..