Smoky Baked Beans, Redux

A while back, I posted a recipe for making baked beans in your smoker while you're smoking a brisket. Greg first came up with that recipe for a cookout we held on Memorial Day. Since then, Greg has perfected his recipe by adding some cooked bacon (fried up in a skillet and then cut into 1 inch pieces), and most recently, also adding little bits of pulled pork BBQ, especially "crusty" bits of the pork. He's also tried some different barbecue sauces to season the beans before placing the tray in the smoker. One of my favorite versions was made with Dem Bonz Barbecue Sauce, which gave the beans a more tomato-ey, pleasantly sweet (but not corn syrup over-sweet) flavor that was a great counterpoint to salty meat dishes. Another winner was made with a competition champion BBQ sauce from Oklahoma, which we're currently considering as a potential new product. That sauce (which for now shall remain nameless) gave the beans a bolder, more robust, spicier flavor that enhanced the smoky notes while downplaying the sweetness. I have a feeling that version will be quite good with venison later this fall!

Stay tuned for a bunch of new product announcements at the Carolina Sauce Company over the next few days!

Zestfully yours,
Gloria