BGE Baked Beans vs. Alton Brown's Once and Future recipe

PNWFoodie

I know it's a long shot, but has anyone ever made both of these? If so, any thoughts? I'm looking to do my first try at beans on the egg and have narrowed it down to these two...

Cookbook_Chip

I've not done his beans, but anything of Alton's I have made has been top notch.

U_tarded

@Dyal_SC made the bge beans on Super Bowl Sunday. There was a thread on it

fishlessman

wheres the bge recipe. looking at altons i see he uses great northern beans, thats a very bland bean. look for yellow eye beans or mix it up with a mixture of kidney, reds, and those great northern beans, the reds disappear in the bean sauce. in new england the yellow eyes disappear off the shelf the day they are put there. i like to use salt pork over bacon as well but thats probably more a newengland thing

stlcharcoal

Take a look at Steven Riechlains recipe too. Search for "Smokelahoma Brisket" and they were on the same episode.

milesvdustin

MOST of altons stuff is great. He made catfish ceviche on an episode i watched last night.....

Lit

I saw this on another forum and I am gonna try them this weekend. Sounds pretty good.

 

Lit

Stupid links...http://www.backyard-smoker-barbeque-chef.com/rick-salmons-bbq-baked-beans.html

 

XC242

Ditto on what @stlcharcoal said.

stlcharcoal

XC242 said:

Ditto on what @stlcharcoal said.

Yeah, they quick and easy.  I always add some okra and some cider vinegar.  Root beer and/or maple syrup gives a good flavor too, just leave out the brown sugar.

Here's the recipe from:  http://www.bbqu.net/season3/305.html

1 pound smoked brisket or bacon cut into 1/4-inch slivers 1 can (15 ounces) black beans 1 can (15 ounces) dark red kidney beans 3 cans (each 15 ounces) baked beans or pork and beans 1 large sweet onion, finely chopped 1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and finely chopped 1 poblano pepper or green bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped 4 cloves garlic, minced 3 to 6 jalapeño peppers, seeded and diced (for hotter beans, leave the seeds in) 2 cups sweet red barbecue sauce (your favorite commercial brand) 1-1/2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar, or more to taste 1/2 cup Dijon mustard, or more to taste 2 teaspoons liquid smoke (optional; see Note) Coarse salt (kosher or sea) and freshly ground black pepper

You'll also need:
1 large (turkey-size) or 2 medium-size aluminum foil pans; 2 cups wood chips or chunks (preferably pecan or hickory) soaked for 1 hour in hot water to cover, then drained.

1. If using bacon instead of brisket, place it in a large skillet over medium heat and fry until crisp and golden brown, about 5 minutes. Pour off all the bacon fat, saving a few tablespoons for the beans, if desired.

2. Empty the cans of black and kidney beans into a colander and drain. Rinse the beans under cold running water and drain again. Place all the beans (including the baked beans or pork and beans) in a large nonreactive mixing bowl and add the onion, bell and poblano peppers, garlic, and jalapenos and stir to mix. Add the barbecue sauce, brown sugar, mustard, liquid smoke, if using, and brisket or fried bacon and stir to mix. Taste for seasoning, adding more brown sugar and/or mustard as necessary, and salt and black pepper to taste; the beans should be very flavorful. Transfer the bean mixture to the aluminum foil pan or pans. (If you used bacon, you can drizzle a few tablespoons of bacon fat over the beans for extra flavor.)

3. Set up the grill for indirect grilling and preheat to medium-low. If using a gas grill, place all of the wood chips or chunks in the smoker box or in a smoker pouch and run the grill on high until you see smoke, then reduce the heat to medium-low. If using a charcoal grill, preheat it to medium-low, then toss all of the wood chips or chunks on the coals.

4. When ready to cook, place the pan of beans in the center of the hot grate, away from the heat, and cover the grill. Cook the beans until they are thick and richly flavored, about 1 hour. If the beans start to dry out, cover them loosely with aluminum foil. Remove the beans from the grill and let them rest for 15 minutes, then serve.

Note: If you cook the beans in a gas grill, you probably won't be able to generate enough smoke for a strong wood flavor. Add the liquid smoke in this case.

PNWFoodie

fishlessman said:

wheres the bge recipe. looking at altons i see he uses great northern beans, thats a very bland bean. look for yellow eye beans or mix it up with a mixture of kidney, reds, and those great northern beans, the reds disappear in the bean sauce. in new england the yellow eyes disappear off the shelf the day they are put there. i like to use salt pork over bacon as well but thats probably more a newengland thing

I'm actually from Boston originally. I grew up with the salt pork, but remember it being very fatty and well, oogie. Not going to find any yellow eye here in the PNW, but I can find reds and pinks. Do you render it down to the point where the fat is completely rendered? Take the pieces out after baking?






Here is the link to the BGE recipe
http://www.biggreenegg.com/recipes/barbecued-baked-beans/





Thanks for your advice!

PNWFoodie

@stlcharcoal, @XC242 , @Lit Thanks for the recommendations. I am looking for something that doesn't require a processed bean, though. Maybe if I subbed out my own?

fishlessman

PNWFoodie

with the pork fat you score it into 3/8 squares like a checkerboard not breaking thru and lay it on top like a blanket. a few hours before done i adjust the liquid, either adding more or thickening it up stove top and putting it back into the beans and finish it up no cover to get the salt pork to cook thru, it will break up into tiny cubes as it finishes off. about 3/8 to half pound salt pork compared to a pound bacon

Lit

I made the Rick salmon beans I linked above today and they were really good. I cooked them under 3 racks of ribs so that may have helped. Some of the better beans I have had.

Legume

I know this is a bean thread, but did I really read catfish ceviche above? I love ceviche. I love fried catfish. There is no way those two should ever cross streams.

milesvdustin

You most certainly did read "CATFISH CEVICHE."  I wholeheartedly agree with you @legume, fried catfish is awesome, i would never eat it ceviche style. He cut it into 1/2" cubes and marinated it for three hours in some lime juice and stuff. NO THANKS!!!!

 

Alton's baked bean recipe is a winner though.

Dyal_SC

I did a spin off version (from what I had in the house) of the bge bbq'ed baked beans recipe and they were really good. I've also made Steven Raichlen's and those were really good. Never Alton Brown's though. Gotta try those sometime.

PNWFoodie

@Dyal_SC Your post was what inspired this undertaking! Care to expound on your spin of the BGE version?

Dyal_SC

It was actually a last minute decision since I didn't have any aluminum foil left to cover the stone. lol I had a big pan in the cabinet and lots of beans in the pantry. So I didn't go with the DO route. Instead placed them under the ribs to collect the drippings. I used half white cannelloni beans and half red kidney beans. For the bbq sauce, I used a mixture of mustard based bbq sauce and tomato based. Also after I took them off, I had a little time to go for the ribs, so I placed the beans in a crockpot with some beer and let that simmer for a couple hours. The beer imparted some really good flavor IMHO. Everything else about the recipe was pretty much the same.

PNWFoodie

@Dyal_SC why did you move off the egg? Too much smoke flavor? I'm sorry if it's too many questions but, seriously, I have never done beef ribs or beans before and your pics have sent me on a quest this week!

NPHuskerFL

Following this thread closely @PNWFoodie . This is something I definitely would like to try out. Nice ideas from many. Saw one from you @fishlessman a while back but, I never got around to trying it. It's high time I try this. Hopefully sooner than later. B-)

Dyal_SC

No worries!! They had been on the egg for a coupla hours, the liquid had absorbed and I didn't want to burn them. So I moved them to the crockpot along with some more liquid. The beans also were a little bit tough, so I wanted to cover them. And since I didn't have any foil at the time, I used the crockpot with the lid.

NPHuskerFL

Doggonit this post deserves a HUGE "LIKE"! Just know I have hit the invisible like button numerous times y'all.