This pit-smoked baked bean recipe is a favorite of ours and is inspired by memories of eating at Jack Stack BBQ in the early 90’s, a famed BBQ destination in Kansas City that was well known for their rich, smoky molasses baked beans. I believe that this was the side dish that set them apart from all of the others and gave them their national notoriety. I also think though that I’ve improved upon the recipe quite a lot with the addition of bacon and ‘Texified’ it some with the addition of smoked jalapeños that give it the perfect level of heat. My Sweet Heat BBQ Sauce is also a critical component of the recipe, which gives it the correct balance of flavors. Additionally, and unlike other sauces out there, our “Sweet Heat” sauce does NOT have HFCS in it or added food dyes & preservatives. It’s a smarter choice for us and one that we pay attention to when feeding our family and friends. This is an easy to make side item and this baked bean recipe will have all of your friends and family raving about it at your next get-together. I hope you enjoy it and kindly ask that you please share this link and try it with my bbq sauce.
Sweet Heat Baked Beans
Equipment
- Weber Kettle Grill or Smoker
- aluminum or metal 1/2 pan
- spatula, knife, measuring cups and spoon
Ingredients
- 1 Medium Onion ¼” dice
- 11.5 oz Bacon ½” dice
- 3-4 Large Jalapenos smoked, ¼” dice
- 1 #10 can Baked Beans, Bush’s, Original 117 oz
- 1.5 cup Light Brown Sugar
- 1 bottle Sweet Heat BBQ Sauce critical ingredient to tasting just right
- 3 tbsp Course Kosher Salt blue box
Instructions
- Scale all ingredients and have ready before beginning the recipe.
- Cook onions until soft (not caramelized) using a small amount of peanut oil. Turn off heat.
- Cook bacon until fat has rendered, careful not to make it overly crispy.
- Smoke or grill jalapenos until skin in wilted and a dull green color. Deseed and dice.
- Place all ingredients in pan and mix with spatula.
- Place on grill or smoker on the indirect heat side. Use oak or hickory wood for smoke.
- Cook at 225-275º for a few hours, stirring when you see visual evidence of smoke setting on beans.
