Baked Beans, Dadgum Good

by John Mclemore from Masterbuilt Smokers (no longer available on their site or even on YouTube, no clue as to why. The channel used to have a video.
Pedro’s variations in parantheses

1 pound dried Navy Beans (I use pinto beans. They are a milder tasting bean IMHO. I cook them till tender and then continue with the recipe.

6 (thick but slices bacon, diced)

1 medium onion diced or chopped to your size preference

½ cup light brown sugar

¼ cup molasses

½ cup ketchup

⅓ cup red wine (I use two tablespoons Jim Beam bourbon and then add enough liquid to just barely cover the beans once all the ingredients have been added. I have also not used any alcohol and simply added bean broth for the liquid. They all work great. My favorite is the bourbon)

2 tablespoons dijon mustard

1 tablespoon chili powder (I added one tablespoon of my homemade BBQ rub. Use your favorite commercial rub if you like or use the chili powder as John does)

1 teaspoon garlic minced

½ teaspoon cayenne (Omit if you don’t care for heat, or better yet only use ¼ teaspoon. You will not get much heat, but it will wake up the flavors in the beans.)

Salt and pepper to taste (There are no raw meat products here so you can taste for salt and pepper before cooking. I don’t think you will need salt if you use a bbq rub as it will contain salt.)

Drain beans, reserving liquid.

Add the beans to a well oiled or sprayed disposable aluminum pan or a pan you won’t mind getting messed up by smoke.

Fry the bacon until crisp. Add the onions and fry until soft.

Add the bacon mixture to the beans.

Combine the rest of the ingredients. Add them to the beans.

Add enough liquid to cover the beans by ¼ inch.

Smoke at 225 to 250 for 45 to 120 minutes.

Watch the liquid level if you go with a longer smoke.

I often add a bone from a smoked pork shoulder. I have also used bones from smoked spareribs, a couple of smoked boneless country style ribs, and bacon.

I have also added a tablespoon of lard.

Use your imagination.

Just about any wood will work for the smoke on the beans. The only ones I would use caution with would be mesquite and hickory. They are very smoky. If you love strong smoke than use those. Cherry is pretty strong, but I will go a whole hour with cherry. I will often use mesquite or hickory wood chips for the first half hour (they burn up quickly) and then switch to a milder wood such as; apple, maple, Jack Daniels chips, or pecan. Just about any wood will work for the smoke on the beans. The only ones I would use caution with would be mesquite and hickory. They are very smoky. If you love strong smoke than use those. Cherry is pretty strong, but I will go a whole hour with cherry. I will often use mesquite or hickory wood chips for the first half hour (they burn up quickly) and then switch to a milder wood such as; apple, maple, Jack Daniels chips, or pecan.

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