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Aside from stews and chilis, pit beans are one of the most hearty recipes. Made on the grill, these Smoked Pit Beans are the ultimate tailgating recipe. Full of flavor, savoriness and smokiness, this recipe is a must this football season.
For more savory and saucy tailgating recipes try my Rustic Chili Baked Potato recipe. This will keep you warm and full all winter long.
Table of Contents
Ingredient list of Smoked Pit Beans.
- Bacon: need thick cut bacon for the mouth feel and flavor.
- Sausage: I recommend using Polish sausage. It’s rich, fatty and delicious.
- Baked beans: sweet and smokey beans finish off the recipe.
- Beer: adds a nice delicate hoppy flavor to the sauce.
- BBQ sauce: adds a layer of sweetness to balance all the savoriness from the protein.
- Mustard: adds tanginess to break up the fatty and sweet flavors.
- Brown sugar: caramelizes the sauce.
- Hot sauce: adds a little kick to the recipe.
- Yellow onion: adds some crunch to the soft protein base.
- Bell pepper: adds some crunch to the soft protein base.
Step 1: Bacon grease for smoked pit beans.
Is there anything better than food cooked with bacon grease? I didn’t think so. The basis of this smoked pit beans recipe is bacon, and I’m not mad about it.
Preheat the grill to 350 degrees and set for direct heat. Slice up thick cut bacon into bite size pieces and throw them into a cast iron skillet. Place the dish on the grill and let it warm up while the bacon cooks. Once the bacon looks crispy and brown, remove it from the skillet with a slotted spoon leaving all the bacon grease still in the pan.
Recipe Tip
- Do not heat up the cast iron skillet before adding the bacon. This will cause the bacon to burn. By placing the bacon on a cold or room temperature skillet, this allows the dish to slowly warm up, allowing the fat to render off nicely and get the bacon perfectly crispy.
Next, slice up some sausage and throw it in the cast iron skillet to sear in the leftover bacon grease. Grill until the bite size sausage pieces have a golden brown color to them. Remove the sausage with a slotted spoon leaving the bacon grease in the skillet. Be sure to check out my Easy Sausage Breakfast Skillet recipe more more sausage goodness.
Finally, chop up a yellow onion, red bell pepper and jalapeno and sauté it in the bacon grease. Once the veggies have some color remove the skillet from the grill and set aside.
Dad’s Seasonings
Must have grillin seasonings!
Step 2: How to grill the ultimate smoked pit beans.
Now that the basis for the recipe is completed, it’s time to add all the remaining ingredients and let them cook, smoke and soak up all the delicious flavors.
Start with lowering the heat on the grill to 275 degrees and set it to indirect heat.
Add the bacon and sausage back to the cast iron along with an entire can of beans. Yes ready baked beans. I have tried different methods in the past, but find the Bush’s original baked beans work best. They are flavorful and speed up the process. However, if you have a great recipe, please feel free to make your own.
Recipe Tip
- Add beer for that savory, hoppy flavor
- Use canned beans to speed up the cooking process.
Next add in a can of beer, brown sugar, mustard, bbq sauce, hot sauce and Dad’s All Purpose seasoning. I recommend using a sweeter bbq sauce for this recipe. It will help offset all the savoriness in the dish making it a more balanced recipe.
Mix the ingredients together and set it back on the grill. Cook for an additional 1-1.5 hours. This will infuse the beans with more delicious smokey flavor and allow everything to meld together. When the beans are ready, remove from the grill and let them cool down for a few minutes. Serve warm and enjoy! And if you’re looking for a more hearty option, check out my Over The Top Beef Chili.
Frequently Asked Questions:
The reasoning behind the name pit beans is because the beans are slow baked on a low fire with a thick cooking vessel to distribute the heat.
If you use baked beans, smoke pit beans take about 2 hours to make. During this time, all the flavors from the bacon, sausage, veggies and beans are released in the liquid creating a flavorful dish.
Similar BBQ Recipe Ideas:
If you tried these Smoked Pit Beans or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the📝 comments. I love hearing from you!
Smoked Pit Beans
Ingredients
- 6 slices Thick cut bacon
- 2 links Polish sausage
- 16 oz Baked beans
- 12 oz Beer
- 1/2 cup Sweet bbq sauce
- 1 tbsp Mustard
- 1 tbsp Brown sugar
- 1 tbsp Dad's All Purpose Rub
- 1 tbsp Dad's Maple Bourbon Rub
- 2 tsp Hot sauce
- 1 Yellow onion
- 1 Red bell pepper
- 1 Jalapeno
Instructions
- Preheat the grill to 350 degrees and set for direct heat.
- Slice up thick cut bacon into bite size pieces and throw them into a cast iron skillet. Place the cast iron skillet on the grill and cook until the bacon is brown and crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon leaving the grease on the pan.
- Next, slice up some Polish sausage, throw it into the cast iron skillet and fry it in the leftover bacon grease. Remove from the skillet when golden brown.
- Chop up a yellow onion, red bell pepper and jalapeno and sauté it in the bacon grease. Once the veggies have some color remove the skillet from the grill and set aside.
- Lower the heat on the grill to 275 degrees and set it indirect heat.
- Add the bacon and sausage back in the skillet, an entire can of beans, beer, brown sugar, mustard, bbq sauce, hot sauce and Dad's All Purpose seasoning and Maple Bourbon rub. Mix the ingredients together and set it back on the grill.
- Cook for an additional 1.5 hours. Remove from the grill when ready and allow to cool down for a few minutes. Serve warm and enjoy!
Notes
- Do not heat up the cast iron skillet before adding the bacon. This will cause the bacon to burn. By placing the bacon on a cold or room temperature skillet, this allows the dish to slowly warm up, allowing the fat to render off nicely and get the bacon perfectly crispy.
- Add beer for that savory, hoppy flavor
- Use canned beans to speed up the cooking process.
Nutrition
Check out the Recipes Page for other tasty ideas!
My favorite method for making smoked pit beans. They come out som flavorful and delicious! I hope you give these a try!
These are so delicious! Everyone loved them!