Smoked Pit Beans

4.88 from 8 votes

Smoked pit beans are the ultimate recipe fall tailgating recipe. Full of flavor, savoriness and smokiness, it is a must this football season.

Prep Time15

Cook Time2

Course: Appetizer, Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: smoked beans, bbq recipe, grilled beans, baked beans, easy pit beans, how to make pit beans

Servings: People

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!

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.