Pit Beans

Shout out to Mr. Devilish Dish for this recipe.  It took some convincing for me to let him make this.  I'm partial to my Baked Beans recipe, which is really my mom's method which is really just emptying a bunch of random stuff from the fridge into a dish and baking it.  I rarely make my baked beans the same way twice, but we always love how they turn out.  When I say empty out the fridge I seriously mean add part of a jar of salsa, add a little bit of tomato sauce etc...So when Mr. Devilish Dish volunteered to make Baked Beans in the smoker, I was a little bit hesitant.  Not that I don't like the things he makes in the smoker.  For the most part.  Sometimes I don't want every part of the meal to taste like smoke.  And what's delicious to me about baked beans is that sweet and savory flavor combination.  I was afraid a batch of beans cooked in the smoker would be too smoky.  I was wrong!  These beans have that sweet baked bean flavor, with all the savory goodness of a traditional barbecue side dish, with just the faintest hint of smoke.  And that's not even the best part.  The best part is he mixes it all up in a foil pan and cooks it in the smoker so I don't even have to worry about the cooking or dishes.  This is literally a win for everyone involved.  And, you can cook these alongside whatever meat you are smoking making it so simple to prepare.

Cooked right alongside your smoked meat.

Thick and delicious.  The perfect combo
of sweet and savory with a little bit of
smoke and spice.

We used a Dutch oven for this, but you can
easily prepare in a large foil pan 
making clean up a breeze!

PIT BEANS

1 small white onion, diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 (28-31 ounce) cans Pork & Beans, drained
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup barbecue sauce (NOTE- this doesn't have to be fancy sauce, grab one on sale)
1/2 cup ketchup
1/8 cup prepared yellow mustard
1/8 cup Worcestershire sauce (or Allegro, Dale's or W Sauce)
salt & pepper
barbecue seasoning/rub (use your favorite)

In a small skillet, heat the olive oil and sauté the onions approximately 5-7 minutes until the onions become translucent.  In a large foil pan, or fire-safe Dutch oven pour in the drained beans.  Stir in the cooked onions, brown sugar, barbecue sauce, ketchup, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce.  Season well with salt, pepper and a little bit of your favorite barbecue rub/seasoning.  Cook uncovered until the beans have thickened slightly.  The best part about this side dish is it can be cooked right along whatever meat you are cooking.  You just need to cook the beans long enough for them to reduce and thicken.  For 250 degrees F, they will cook approximately 3-4 hours.  At 300 degrees F, approximately 1.5-2 hours.  Be sure and stir a couple of times during the cook.