A Dollar and A Dream: Dub Shack BBQ Presents Brisket Baked Beans

I do not have a catchy name for my beans.

I figured I better write down the brisket baked beans recipe that I made from last month before I mess around and forget what I did. They were beefy *flexes massive girth* and I should do it again to replicate the success or improve it before it goes on the permanent rotation.

Let's get beefy! #DubShackBBQ #everydayisaGREATdayforbbq #pitmasterlife #igotthesauces #brisketbakedbeans pic.twitter.com/rrkXcMLBmA
— A. Cedric Armstrong (@cedteaches) February 27, 2021

Ingredients

· 4 lbs. beef brisket, chopped coarsely

· One yellow onion, diced

· 32 oz. red kidney beans, soaked

· 32 oz. pinto beans, soaked

· 16 oz. Great Northern beans, soaked

· 16 oz. black beans, soaked

· Garlic powder

· Red or yellow pepper, diced

· One jalapeno pepper, sliced [You can also use a can of jalapenos – depends on your tastes]

· ¾ cup brown sugar

· 12 oz. dark beer, such as Yuengling’s Black & Tan*

· Kosher salt

· Black pepper

· Bacon strips, cooked and crumbled

· 12 oz. can of diced tomatoes with green chiles

· 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

· Barbecue sauce (I used Dub Shack BBQ’s The O.G.) but make it your own choice of sauces

Before we get started, be certain that your beans are soaked and pliable. Why? No one deserves to mistake a bean for a rock – and if time is against you, feel free to use canned beans; trust me, no one will know the difference *wink*. I am also trying to save you from catching someone’s hands.

It's gonna be on like Donkey Kong! #DubShackBBQ #everydayisaGREATdayforbbq #pitmasterlife #brisketbakedbeans #igotthesauces pic.twitter.com/JwvKy5UJrg
— A. Cedric Armstrong (@cedteaches) February 27, 2021

Step One. Fry the bacon to your satisfaction and set it aside, leaving the bacon grease for the next step.

Step Two. Using that bacon grease, add your onion and red and yellow peppers and cook for a few minutes. They do not have to be sauteed only cooked down from the raw state. Keep them around as well – you are building a base for all of those beans and the future juices to mingle in the smoke.

Step Three. This one can go either way: A) If you soaked your beans, dump everything into your Dutch oven or the largest aluminum pan you bought from the corner store and give them a stir before sending it out for a smoke nap. A second beer can be added or more barbecue sauce to increase the liquid volume and prevent the beans from drying out. B) Nothing wrong with taking the easy way out – and again, I will not pass judgment – pour the beans with the juices in with everything else, give the whole gang a good stir - brisket, peppers, onions, and all - and tuck it in the smoker at 250 degrees.

Step Four. Fortunately, beans are fine at room temperature: If you have not heated the smoker to 250 degrees, do that before placing the pan on the smoker. In the famous beer to hour ratio, light up the cooker of choice and crack open a can of Lost Forty’s Love Honey Bock before bringing the beans out. As far as a wood preference, I find that maple works well and it does not overpower the side item like hickory or oak tends to do. Once the uncovered beans are on the smoker, pop off another beer and wait. At one hour feel free to check on the beans and adjust to the preferred taste and cover them with aluminum foil or the Dutch oven pan lid. Do not let the beans dry out! Add liquids as needed to continue without scorching the pot. These are flavorful beans not sweet beans; therefore, do not get happy with the sugar and make jellybeans! Since this is a side, it is important that the brisket does not become mush as it is being reheated in the pan with everything else.

Step Five. Continue simmering until the beans are soft; once they are, serve and enjoy!

The last time I did this, it was a three-beer cook. It also works as a main meal for those great days when it is too wet to take it outside; run the oven to 325 and cook until the beans are done. Like anything else in the barbecue world (and since I cater on my days off from the regular gig), this can be scaled up or down depending on the intended group: My little family tires of barbecue fairly quickly but my coworkers – at a fair price – love it at least once a week.