What kind of wood should I use to smoke these?

We have a Traeger and use the Traeger Pro Blend, which is a combination of oak, hickory, and cherry. Most wood types work well—we usually pick a wood type based on whatever else we're smoking at the same time and that works fine.

Can I make these beans ahead of time?

Yes! Transfer the cooked beans to a air-tight storage container and place in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat them on your smoker on high, in a pan over medium heat, or in the microwave until warm.

What if I don't have a cast-iron pan?

If you don't have a cast-iron pan, cook the bacon and vegetables in a normal pan, then transfer the entire bean mixture to a disposable foil pan.

Smoked Baked Beans

Description

These smoked baked beans are so easy and delicious. We start with canned baked beans to simplify things, then doctor them up and throw them on the smoker for extra smokey BBQ flavor.

Ingredients

Scale

1 pound thick-cut bacon, cut into 1-inch rectangles

1 jalapeño, seeds removed and diced

1 small sweet onion, diced

5 cloves garlic, minced

2 28-ounce cans of Bush's Brown Sugar Hickory Baked Beans (see note 1)

3 tablespoons bbq dry rub, divided (see note 2)

1 tablespoon dijon mustard

1 cup sweet BBQ sauce (see note 3)

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Instructions

Preheat your smoker to 225°F.
While your smoker is warming up, add bacon to a cast-iron pan over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until the bacon is about 90% done, about 5-6 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon of the BBQ rub and stir to combine. Then remove the bacon from the pan (leaving the bacon grease behind) and set aside.
Reduce the heat to medium. Add the onions and peppers to the bacon grease and cook for 5-6 minutes, or until beginning to soften. Then add the garlic and cook for another minute.
Add the rest of the ingredients to the pan and stir to combine. Arrange the bacon in a single layer on the top.
Place the cast-iron pan directly onto your preheated smoker and smoke for 3 hours. Then remove the pan from the smoker and serve!

Notes

These beans provide the base flavor for this whole recipe. I've been doctoring up these baked beans for years, and they're just my favorite. If you can't find this particular variety, most of the Bush's baked beans work well as a substitute.
We love our Kansas City BBQ rub recipe and Kosmos Q Dirty Bird dry rub. Most poultry BBQ dry rubs work well.
We prefer a sweet, KC-style BBQ sauce for this recipe (Sweet Baby Ray's works well and is sold in most parts of the US), but you can use whatever you usually like. Just keep in mind that your beans will take on some of the flavor of whatever you choose (so make sure you like it!).
If you don't have a cast-iron pan, cook the bacon and vegetables in a normal pan, then transfer the entire bean mixture.
Nutritional information is only an estimate.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 3 hours
Category: Sides
Method: Grill, Smoker
Cuisine: American

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1/8th of recipe
Calories: 532
Sugar: 32.9 g
Sodium: 1470 mg
Fat: 24 g
Carbohydrates: 65.1 g
Protein: 16.9 g
Cholesterol: 50.4 mg