Pit Beans question

[clb239]

I'm planning to cook a pork shoulder this weekend. I also want to cook some pit beans. I feel having the beans cooking the whole time the shoulder is cooking will be too long.

Should I put the beans on at the beginning so I gets the good drippings from the pork and pull them off and sit until the pork is ready to put them on later in the cook?

Any constructive opinions welcome....

[lschweig]

I would put them on first to capitalize on the drippings and all that additive flavor.

[fuzzydaddy]

You could have two pots of beans, maybe even different recipes, and when you remove the first pot replace it with the second one to capitalize on more of those tasty juices. Whatever you do we'd love to see some photos so we can drool over your food!

[Strat50]

I see two ways of doing this: One, use unsoaked beans. They will take much longer to cook and should be ready at(approximately) the time the pork is ready. Two: use soaked beans and a shorter cook time as described above. You'll need to check the beans periodically to maintain moisture levels, but you have to check the pork anyway. If you think of your BBQ rig as "just" an oven, and use oven techniques, you'll be there easily. As long as you keep your liquid levels at,or above the surface of the beans, you can darn near cook them for a week. We do this at the restaurant all the time with no issues. I hope this can help.

[Dr ROK]

Strat50, ditto what Spinaker said.

[Spinaker]

Congrats on the new spot! We miss your insight. Hope you can hang out more once the build is done. Good luck man!

[Craigar]

Strat50 are we going to see you on the Discovery Channel while you're building your house? My wife watches all of the Alaska shows.

[SMO]

I have done the bean recipe I found here; twice in the oven. I let them go for almost 6 hours, mixing every 30 minutes and they still seem kind of thin in the sauce for me. I have been thinking of letting them go in the kamado while cooking ribs but don't like raising the top every 30 minutes. Think it would affect the cook to open that much?

[Spinaker]

I would think it would play havoc with your temps. Your Joe can hold temp with out a problem. But Kamados need very little air flow. And opening that lid give the old boy a big old gulp of fresh air!

[Dr ROK]

I make smoked beans by using canned beans and adding my own spicy bbq sauce and additions such as onion, granny smith apple, mustard, ketchup, black pepper, etc. You definitely want to put the beans under the butts to catch the drippings. I'll typically remove them after 8 or 9 hours if they have thickened up to where I want them. You'll want to stir them occasionally to make sure the ones on the bottom aren't scorching.

[Gooner-que]

I would think that the beans may not cook from dry if you put them on a kettle with SnS/DnG; the temp below the grate is quite low.

[PJBowmaster]

I put them in later in the cook. They still get a kiss of smoke. And I can avoid the heavy fat that my Wife hates. I often don't even put them under the meat. I just place them on the top shelf and let them go. (Cooking on a Camp Chef 24" Vertical Gas Smoker)

[NorthOfTheBorder]

So I'm also thinking of doing beans when I cook my pork shoulders on my Weber kettle using the snake method. So if I understand correctly I can leave then in there for the whole cook as long as the liquid level stays up on them.? Also would they still need stirring?

[Mr. Bones]

Yup. Ya' can leave 'em in...as long as the liquid level is up, as ya' said.
Yup. They'll need stirrin', to prevent any burnin'..
At least, this has been my experience; yer mileage may (or not) vary.

[PaulstheRibList]

Beans!!! The AR Beans Recipe, the Bourbon One, sans the Bourbon, is great. Our recipe is based on this one, with a few changes.

We put the pans under whatever else we are cooking, unless it is chicken, of course, about 4 hours out from the end of the cook. That's with Canned beans. Turn the beans now and again. No biggie on that.

They are a crowd fav, every time!

Learnings along the way:

1. You can have them on the smoke too long. 6 hours makes things a little too smoky. Remember, we are running a large stickburner, so it is very rare that our fire is not pushing out that beautiful Blue Smoke. If you fire is not so clean, then you may want to lid those beans along the way to keep the smoke taste just right.

2. You can undercook them, also. 2 hours, for the way we do it, is not quite enough.

3. Don't forget some salt and pepper. We make the Saute in large batches in the 10 gallon Jambalaya pot. We usually add the salt and pepper in the Saute. We forgot that step for a couple batches, and the beans were still really good. The BBQ sauce has seasoning in it, as do the drippings from the meat on the rack above. Then, we figured out we were confused about when we were adding the spices, and fixed that. Beans went from Good to Great!

4. Experiment. Yep, you know I love this step.

Keep on cooking!

Here are a few example pic's


What...did I sneak a #MacNCheese pic in there...#AnotherThreadSoon

[ecowper]

those look fantastic!

[Mr. Bones]

Lovin' It, PaulstheRibList Brother!!!
Great Lookin' Beans!!!
Dearly enjoyed th' M&C shot, as well! Lookin' fwd to th' thread..
#Th' Musical Fruit!!!

[SeaBrisket]

I have a similar question and can post a new topic if this doesn't get any notice. I'll be cooking a smaller packer brisket, 12lbs, in a few weeks. Keeping it slow at 225, my plan is to cook overnight. Given that I'll be sleeping for the earliest part of the cook, and beans need tending to, when should I introduce them? I want to get them under the meat to get some drippings. If I throw them on in the morning, will I have missed my best window to collect the drippings? I'm also leaning toward using a crutch which further limits my window of opportunity.

How would you seasoned old hats approach this cook?

[Mr. Bones]

On a long low slow cook, I tend to throw my beans in about 3~4-ish hours before th' protein is scheduled to appear...
Me? Put a drip pan under yer brisket, catch alla th' 'goody' that ya' can, save fer later, in' th beans...
Park beans under yer brisket when ya' put in...
Please Note: Mine are pre-cooked, canned beans, most times...life can keep ya' busy...

[SeaBrisket]

Thank you kindly, Mr. Bones. That will work well for me.

[Mr. Bones]

My pleasure; yer Family, here...