Experiment: Green Chili with smoked beans, smoke Chilis and smoked Chicken...progressive Q-view

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forluvofsmoke

Smoking Guru
Original poster
OTBS Member
Aug 27, 2008
5,170
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I had a brain storm (I know, this could be scarey!!!) this morning when my wife said we were invited to a gathering on Sunday at our neighbors house. I had some great northern beans soaking in salt water for 15 hours, planning on doing a homemade smoked beans dish for today. My wife picked up two types of fresh chiles lastnight and wanted me to char-roast them as I did with the last batch, but, after learning of the gathering I decided to do some hot smoked chilis to go with a green chili dish instead. I may just smoke all of them...what she doen't know won't hurt her, right? LOL!!!!!!!!!

Anyway, I have 2lbs of dry, soaked and rinsed beans cold smoking right now in the Smoke Vault 24, with a few charcoal briqs to heat the hickory and cherry chips for smoke. I'm using a expanded stainless steel grate for the coalbed on top of the smoke pan, and raised the dry water pan to the lowest smoke rack position for a baffle...temps has been running about 150* (no gas burner use), and I'm about to hit the 2.75hr mark...I'm thinking 3-4 hours should do the job, but I'll take a peek and see how they look before pulling them out. I have added more hot coals and smoke wood since the start.

Here they are, just about to hit the smoke. I have never smoked dry beans thus far, so wish me luck:

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Beans are loaded, so let's get that smoke wood going, shall we?:

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Time to close it up:

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Oh, if any Smoke Vault users are curious, I have the lower intake side vents fully closed and the top vent fully open.

For the chilis,  I wanted a smoky charcoal roasted flavor, so opted to use the charcoal Brinkmann Gourmet. I'm using a dry water pan here as well, and hickory smoke wood. The lower grate is loaded with washed/air-dried chilis...i cut most of the stems back so they wouldn't contact the drum of the smoker and push the chili in or move them, possibly crowding them to the point of making contact with each other the grate:

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Top grate:

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Coals are hot, grates are loaded into the drum, and we're smokin'!:

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I'm shooting for the 275-300* range with these, and I'm pulling every trick I have to get my somewhat modded brinky up to temp...4lbs hot coals, lots of intake air and we're getting along pretty well. Just about to put the loaded barrel over the hot fire. Another first for me with smoked chilis:

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So far, I have 2lbs of dry beans, soaked in salt water, rinsed/drained and smoking. Then, the chilis. Next is 4lbs of chicken breasts, which are thawing right now. I'll smoke them up with cherry, and get the rest of the dish put together tonight. I need to find out for sure when this gathering is so I'll know if I need to finish it tonight for a reheat, or if i can slow cook the chili in the morning for an evening feast.

Anyway, more to come!

Eric
 
I've got the first batch of chilis smoked, and I found a few which looked like great candidates for drying and grinding into powder later, so they went into my Smoke Vault on low flame with a dry pan to get that end finished.

These are about 2.5 hours in...going a bit longer before I pull 'em:

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Hey, how about some onion for that chili? I ended up tossing in a head of Garlic a 1/2 hour later, as well::

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These are the bottom grate, looking in through the side door...they caught a bit more heat than the top grate, due to the dry water pan...some were actually begining to get crispy skins, so they were my drying victims:

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Here are my lucky candidates for Smoked Ancho Powder, just into the Vault for drying:

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These are for wifey to peel, bag and freeze along with the second batch:

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I decided to add water to the pan after about 90 minutes in for the second batch, so they get a bit of steaming:

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And, there's the onion, and it's partner in crime, the head of garlic...I moved these from the bottom grate to the top position after adding water to the pan...they were a bit more loose on the grate, but I wanted to crowd them up a bit and slow things down now:

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And, the beans, after a 4-hr dry & cold smoke:

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EDIT: I forgot to mention that the pans of smoked beans have been covered with a towel on the counter at room temp to let the smoke finish working on them. They have a great smoky aroma, and which quite prominently fills the air space under the towel. I just lifted it a bit to get an idea how well the smoke worked out...man, am I glad I tried this. My next home-made smoked beans will be just that...smoked beans...then, I'll put the entire dish together from there. They could easily be finished in a covered dutch oven from that base, and be very good eating beans!

I have the second batch of chilis still in, just for a char-roasting and steam without smoke. When they come out, the chicken goes in with cherry smoke and a wet pan.

I'm thinking about doing 2 batches of the chili...one milder version, and of course one that will raise some eyebrows and pull sweat from even a dedicated chili-head, which there will be a couple at the gathering on Sunday, so they'll enjoy having it (well, I will too, along with a couple of my kids). This way, everyone should have a version they'll like...I hope...if I don't totally screw this up...

Back with more later!

Eric
 
Last edited:
So far, my half-baked...er...fully-smoked chicken green chili plan is coming together quite well.

Char-roasted Chilis are out, Chicken is in, and Smoked Ancho Chili powder is ready for...well, GREEN CHILI...heh-heh-heh!!!

I have approx 4lbs of chicken: 2 large breasts, 2 small breasts and 3 boneless/skinless thighs to smoke, dice and toss into the mix.

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Seasoned with fresh CBP and salt only...trying to push that 275* mark again with cherry in the Gourmet:

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And, we're in for about 2 hours now...temps have been runnung alot lower than I wanted in the 220*-240* range, but it'll do. I'll probe the thighs in a bit, as they're smallest, and pull 'em @ ~170* to wrap and chill in the fridge..same for the breasts:

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I removed the majority of the chili seeds and ground them up separate from the rest, just so I could taste the true difference in heat, and add the powdered seeds to the hott er batch of green chili...yep, there's a difference in heat all right. And, the smoke is only on the outside, as evidenced by the powder's flavor profiles. No smoke aroma or taste in the powdered seeds at all. Good flavor though, and a nice heat.

Seeds:

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Powdered Seeds:

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Powdered chili:

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Dangit! All the aromas from the smoked this and that...I'm gettin' HUNGRY!!!! The wife and kids are out of town shopping for school clothes and supplies, and if I'm lucky they'll find me a brisket (my 1st choice), butts, ribs, something BIG to smoke next weekend...it's 7:10 PM...I gotta get something to eat!!!!!!!

Final prep for smoked chicken green chili to come soon!

Eric
 
Awesome post.  Great tutorial.  And fantastic qview.  I can't wait to see the final products.  Two big "thumbs up" from this guy.  For all the hard work you've put into this smoke and for the great qview and education.  Keep it up til the end of the post.  I'm sure all the diners will be floored at the flavors you've put into this dish.
 
Thanks fellas, I'm back in the saddle agai this morning...man, this is turning into quite a ride already. Final prep is done and the chili is in large baking pans for getting it up to temp quicker so it can stew all day.

Here's the rest of the story thus far...

The bulk of the ingredients...I did add chicken stock to both batches (approx 4 cups), and a small handful of crushed red pepper flakes to thew hotter batch (mainly as a marker)...I used about 1 cup of the veggie juice per batch just for a slight tomato base:

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The chicken breasts and thigh, diced and tossed to mix for a more even distribution between the two meats and two batches:

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Smoked Garlic Cloves:

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Minced and ready:

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Tossing all the dry ingredients with some veggie juice...then came the chicken broth from boullion, which should just about cover the salt content of the mix:

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The hotter version is ready to foil and a 275* Smoke Vault...obviously, the smoke end of this is finished, so the oven would do the rest of the job just fine...I'm keeping the oven free just in case my wife or girls want it for something they may be cooking today:

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The dark pieces are the diced smoked chilis...man, I can't wait to taste this stuff:

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Here's the milder bersion (I hope...heh-heh!) with de-seeded diced the unsmoked char-roasted green chilis (I forget what species these are now):

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So that's it...popped 'em into the vault, and I'll keep checking these pans (peek into the foil) for moisture content so it doesn't get too dry as the beans cook...they soak up tons of water...also, I'll rotate the pans from top to bottom and 180* rotations every hour so they cook more evenly:

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In about 6 more hours (been in for 1.25 now) I'll know if it'll be ready for dinner on time or not. Nothing to do now but a bit of tending every hour...watch and wait
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I'll get some pics of the finish, and definitely write a review for everyone. This may seem like alot to go through to make some chili, but hey, smoking foods and meats is not a labor, it's a love.

Thanks all!

Eric
 
Eric,

This stuff looks absolutely Great, but way out of my league.

My brain can only comprehend meat. To me everything else is too confusing.

Can't wait to see the final pics,

Bear
 
Hey Bear, it's all about what you're into doing. I just needed something to break things up a bit...something different...that's when I started soaking the beans, and everything else just fell into place after that. All this smoked goodies for one dish? Yea, kinda crazy...or is it? Lotsa good food here...you be the judge.

The milder version, after the beans were just slightly aldente...took about 6.5 hours:

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The hotter blend, with smoked chilis:

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The only thing I think is missing at this point is a thickening agent for the sauce...pretty runny as is, but the flavors? Oh my! Not much to do to get it any better without adding tons of spices...it's pretty good right where it is.

I didn't want to add starches or wheat flour...maybe not rinsing the beans would leave some natural starches in place.

I think the key points here are, if you haven't smoked beans or chilis/peppers yet, you should...it's so easy and so good.

Thanks all!

Eric
 
Eric that looks fantastic. That dish is awesome and one I could eat a lot of

Thanks for such a great detailed post
 
wow!  am i ever glad i found this thread!

those beans are freakin' awesome!  totally freakin' awesome!

forgive my impertinence, but i have a suggestion for the 'runny' nature of the finished beans

if you want to thicken them without adding starches and flour, you can use a potato masher (or a quick swipe with an immersion blender) to mash up a small quantity of beans in there.  the mashed beans disolve and add body to your liquid

outstanding qview!
 
Thanks everyone, I must say that was the most unique flavored green chili I've ever tasted. I can't say I've eaten any chili that would compare to this. I guess with everything being smoked before the dish is put together really puts alot of depth in the flavor profile.

 
wow!  am i ever glad i found this thread!

those beans are freakin' awesome!  totally freakin' awesome!

forgive my impertinence, but i have a suggestion for the 'runny' nature of the finished beans

if you want to thicken them without adding starches and flour, you can use a potato masher (or a quick swipe with an immersion blender) to mash up a small quantity of beans in there.  the mashed beans disolve and add body to your liquid

outstanding qview!
Thanks, hey that's a really great idea! Kinda like refried beans, only you just mash a small amount of them. Well, that's about the only thing was missing from this...just something to thicken it up a bit, so if you've got the time and space to do the beans soak, smoke and everything else as desribed above, that'll be the ticket.

Thanks again!

Eric
 
Hi there,

I'm an Irish person who now wishes she was American, those beans look great! I am going to cold smoke some beans next week, can you tell me how long you smoked them for and how long you had to cook them for to get them tender? Most importantly did cooking them in liquid after smoking take away any of the beans' smokiness?

Thanks a million,

Julie
 
Ah man, sorry I missed your responses...I haven't been around much lately, and just did some digging through my old threads when I stumbled into the new posts on this one.
 
Hi there,

I'm an Irish person who now wishes she was American, those beans look great! I am going to cold smoke some beans next week, can you tell me how long you smoked them for and how long you had to cook them for to get them tender? Most importantly did cooking them in liquid after smoking take away any of the beans' smokiness?

Thanks a million,

Julie
I'd have to go back through the opening post, but it seems like about 3 hours cold smoke for the soaked beans, and 6 hours to cook the entire dish...keeping it low and slow. The smoke flavor of the beans wasn't really intense, but you could tell it was there in the finished dish...a nice balance from what I remember...been a while.

Hope you had the time to read back through this before you smoked yours...I still don't think anyone else has posted on trying this yet, but I may be wrong. Again, sorry I'm so late in the game here.


Holy smokes now this is a Q-view!!!! nice work man I can almost taste them from here.
Ha-ha! Yeah, those were the days...when I posted just about everything I cooked, and it was always something different than the day before...2-3 smokes a week, including cold smoke/sear on charcoal grills. Anyway, this was a bomb for a chili dish...lots of time and work (labor of love???) to put together, but when it all came out of the smoker, it was one of the most unique dishes I had concocted for quite some time. Tasty eats, too!
 
Eric , those look (as Dude so aptly stated) "FAN-FREAKIN -TASTIC".

Aren't fresh Chiles great? The stuff you buy at the stores are ( at the least ) 6mo. old and look faded from all the degradation. I like your style.......

Have fun and ....
 
Eric , those look (as Dude so aptly stated) "FAN-FREAKIN -TASTIC".

Aren't fresh Chiles great? The stuff you buy at the stores are ( at the least ) 6mo. old and look faded from all the degradation. I like your style.......

Have fun and ....
Thanks, Stan, that was a pretty decent first run for that dish. I wasn't quite sure how it would all come out, being I did several first time smoked items that day just for the chili dish, but had very good results with it, overall. A little tweeking here and there, and I can see some downright excellent eating chili come from all of this.

Fresh chiles? Oh, yeah! If I could cook with everything fresh, right down to the herbs, I would. We can't grow much here ourselves due to limited space (not to mention a less than ideal growing environment), but when we see a farmer's market (usually a mobile rig from Colorado), we grab up a little of everything they have. It's always very fresh and handled with care...it's their life's work, so they take pride in it, and it shows with the smiles on their face when you take interest in what they're offering to you. What's in the local stores in our area is no different than what you described. Gotta look over and smell every piece of produce you pick up, or you will be disappointed when you get home. Bruising or just plain old stock being the main problems.

One of these days I need to try this dish again...only made it that one time (I was always making something new, so I haven't yet given it a second run), but learned a ton of valuable skills along the way.

A little forethought and creative thinking can really take your smoking adventures to new heights, and this was definitely one of those times for me. If you like chili, and you like smoked foods (you wouldn't be on SMF if you didn't...LOL!!!), this is a good one to start with. Or, do your own recipe and method however you like...either way, it'll be a great experience, and if your plan works out, you'll have a very unique and delicious chili dish for your efforts.

Eric
 
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