I've made these twice in one week, and they've been huge hits each time around.

Thanks for this great recipe, Keri!

My wife is out of town this week, so I'm bach-ing it. I decided I wanted to make dinner easy, so yesterday I smoked a 13 lb packer and these beans (I halved the recipe).

I ate a quarter of the pan of beans and only had two slices of brisket.

My God, these beans are nothing short of fantastic.

Signed,
Former Bean Hater

Dan, when did you put the beans on? Based on the temp of the butt? I assume lower rack

I didn't do a butt, I did a brisket. When I pulled the beef off the smoker, I guessed at roughly 8 ounces of meat and chopped it up, added to the beans, wrapped the rest in foil, and baked the beans in my oven.

I didn't consider putting the pan of beans in the smoker, but I'm sure it would be good. My wife would kill me though - I baked the beans in her treasured stoneware.

I just made these beans for a "trial run", as I will be bringing them to a block party this weekend and I wanted to make sure I would be able to do it right.

Keri, these are the BEST beans I have ever had!!!
Thank you for sharing the recipe!

I'd like to take these to a party this weekend.
If I cooked them in a foil pan and covered the pan with foil, how long could I keep them warm in a cooler? A lot of other people will be bringing side dishes and I dont't know if I'll have access to electric.

I posted this question over in the barbecue forum and got a couple of replies. I think I'll cook the baked beans in a foil pan and pack them hot in a cooler just before I leave. Serving time should be within 2 hours.

Randy - that should work out for you (less than two hours) but make sure you keep a probe in there and keep track of the temperature. If the temp drops into the danger zone, you should serve it with in four hours to be on the safe side.

I'd just like to post my appreciation for this recipe one more time. I have made these beans 3 times now and I've heard them rated the best beans ever tasted on many accounts. Thank you so much for the recipe.

Try it with a lb. of diced bacon!

Made a double batch of these beans this weekend. Big hit! Too sweet for me but my guests loved em. Thanks!

I finally tried this over the weekend to go with my 11.5 pound brisket. All I can say is wow. We all ate the beans as a meal the next day over corn bread. Best beans I've ever eaten. Thanks for the recipe.

quote:

Made a double batch of these beans this weekend. Big hit! Too sweet for me but my guests loved em. Thanks!

I thought the same thing the first time I made them. So I use half the can of apple pie filling.

I have made these many times and have only had a couple of people say they did not like them and that was because they are to hot for them.

With Thanksgiving tomorrow I give thanks to Keri for posting this bean recipe.
Thank you Keri,

Dave

You're quite welcome, Mr. Dave!

-Keri

Im making this for the first time and thought i would add some pics for your viewing pleasure.

Ill update it when im finished.

All the ingredients (except brown sugar, whoops, im using dark brown sugar)



My variations: 2 Maple, 1 Honey, went with Honey Chipotle Sweet Baby Rays as it seems to blend well with the recipe and using Chipotle instead of Cayenne.



Luckily i had some homemade apple pie filling from this fall. Looks like ill have some leftover.



After initial prep-work.



emmmmm.....bacon.



Almost ready to put it altogether




Ready to bake



Although i enjoyed the overall process, i thought the beans turned out to be too homogeneous. I dont lay blame on the recipe, perhaps it was my variations or technique, i found most of the ingredients lost their individuality when everything was said and done. And for that reason:

If i make these again i will definitely make these adjustments

1. Cook the bacon at the end, and simply saute' the green pepper and onion in butter. The reason for this is you hardly notice the bacon flavor, and the bacon becomes soggy enough after its baked that it, like the onion and green pepper, loses its profile in the midst of development.

A simple remedy is to cook the diced bacon at the end of baking and stir it into the beans before serving, not only will this promote a variety of texture ie. crisp bacon (something this recipe lacks imho) but the bacon itself will hold its flavor better.

2. I would also only saute the onion and pepper briefly, as the baking itself will help cook both.

3. I would cut your meat in about half inch by half inch cubes so they maintain a profile of their own, otherwise they like some other ingredients, may be overwhelmed by the whole.

4. Lastly i would only use normal beans, again to attempt and keep each ingredient alive.

my goal is to take a bite of the beans and every once in a while experience a crunch on some fresh bacon bits, taste a fresh burst of green pepper, notice a bit of onion on my fifth bite, enjoy the lusty smoked pork as a bystander not a conformist. Unfortunately, (not to be critical) this was not my experience....but like i said it could have just been technique

-And as a note i will also add, i took them to a potluck (someone else brought baked beans) and these were the favorite.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Jarrod S.,

I just made another triple batch of these amazing beans. I swear that this recipe is the best thing I have ever tasted.

I'm making a large amount to take to work, since I will be there for the next 5 days straight. I really load up the meat in the recipe, and include some Jimmy Deans Maple Sausage that is rendered and crumbled in. Last time I used some diced brisket, but this time around I used some left over pulled pork from my recent cook.

I've tried to amp up the red color in the final results, but it doesn't change much, adding a Tbs of paprika. I don't want to change the flavors much, so I don't go far beyond that.

One time I used raspberry pie filling instead of apple, and that really did the trick, and tasted delicious.

I could lay palm fronds at your feet for sharing this recipe Keri!

Made this last night and love it.

Thank you Keri for a wonderful recipe.

You are quickly becoming my hero after this recipe and the foodsaver tip (1 for Mom and 1 for me).

Can I take a peek into your recipe book?

Should the pie filling be the kind with added spices (e.g. nutmeg/cinnamon), or just the plain chunky, soft, cooked down pie filling that has nothing but apples (and sometimes a bit of sugar) ?

i always got the no sugar added apple pie filling. no added spices

Anyone ever smoked these beans vice the oven? Thanks

--jeepdad

Tried these yesterday and they came out great. They were a big hit everybody. My wife does not like to have fruit in with things she considers to be 'savory' so I didn't mention the apple pie filling until she was already going back for 2nds ;-)

I made the recipe without onion or bell pepper. I used leftover trimmings from my last sparerib cook for the meat portion.

Thanks for posting this Keri!