Mr. T's "Old-Timey Baked Beans"

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Holy Crap! My house smells amazing right now. I just tasted some of the sauce to make sure all is well. Jeezuss, this is great. Tastes like beans with just a hint of sweetness. I like canned beans, they taste good, but perhaps the sauce overpowers the beans, this tastes great. I can see making these but using maybe half the bacon or even a quarter and then using this as the base for Gary's or Dutch's baked beans. Or just make a few hundred gallons and bathe in it.
 
And they taste even better.

This dish is completely different from canned beans. As I said before, here, the beans are the dominant flavour, with the pork, sugar, pepper.... playing a supporting role. Now, I'm not sure if this is because Great Northern beans were used. Would it be different if I had used Pinto beans, Navy beans...Something to think about.
 
 
And they taste even better.

This dish is completely different from canned beans. As I said before, here, the beans are the dominant flavour, with the pork, sugar, pepper.... playing a supporting role. Now, I'm not sure if this is because Great Northern beans were used. Would it be different if I had used Pinto beans, Navy beans...Something to think about.
The Navy beans will have a like flavor, but do not hold their shape.

T
 
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I finally got a chance to make these yesterday.  I halved the recipe and followed it to a "T" up until the uncovered cook portion.  For the uncovered cook I put them in my WSM under some baby backs (cut in half due to being a big slab and having a full smoker - see picture) for ~2 hrs at 235 degrees.  The flavor was great with the beans themselves being the focus of the dish.  I will definitely make them again and make sure to change three things (all errors on my part):  1.) Although the beans weren't exactly flooded, I did have a heavy pour and put too much liquid in the beans.  My reserved water from boiling was not nearly enough to cover the beans so I used water to make up the difference which seemed to work fine.  2.)  I got everything ready the previous night including the spices.  Once everything was combined and I was ready to put the dish in the oven I realized I forgot the molasses so I added it to everything that was already in the dish.  3.) I used bacon instead of salt pork which was good, but I feel the added salt would kick the flavor up more, especially given the water I had to add.

The other dish in the pictures/smoker is smoked Jalapeno and bacon homemade macaroni and cheese - it's amazing!!!  

Beans/ribs before cooking


I tried a new rub and I can say it passed with flying colors
Beans were on the bottom rack.  The WSM was full to say the least!
Finished product(s)


 
 
I finally got a chance to make these yesterday.  I halved the recipe and followed it to a "T" up until the uncovered cook portion.  For the uncovered cook I put them in my WSM under some baby backs (cut in half due to being a big slab and having a full smoker - see picture) for ~2 hrs at 235 degrees.  The flavor was great with the beans themselves being the focus of the dish.  I will definitely make them again and make sure to change three things (all errors on my part):  1.) Although the beans weren't exactly flooded, I did have a heavy pour and put too much liquid in the beans.  My reserved water from boiling was not nearly enough to cover the beans so I used water to make up the difference which seemed to work fine.  2.)  I got everything ready the previous night including the spices.  Once everything was combined and I was ready to put the dish in the oven I realized I forgot the molasses so I added it to everything that was already in the dish.  3.) I used bacon instead of salt pork which was good, but I feel the added salt would kick the flavor up more, especially given the water I had to add.
Glad you enjoyed the beans, the ribs and mac and cheese look good.

Because all of the ingredients are in the beans, you did no harm by adding water to the beans, it normally is necessary if the top is not a tight fit. While playing with the recipe I tried using smoked bacon instead of salt pork, go with the smoked salt pork, you will be pleased you did.

 Finish the beans in the oven instead of the grill. By removing the lid in a 325° oven by the time the oven, cools to 250° the beans most likely will be done. The fact that the oven is a drier and hotter environment will allow the beans and meat to brown nicely, producing added flavor.

T
 
Those are some great looking beans! I have bean looking for a good recipe for a while. I think these will be on my to do list for next weekend. 
 
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