Smoked Beans with Brisket
intro
Tender, smoky pinto beans loaded with chopped smoked brisket in a tangy, sweet-savory sauce, a classic hearty Texas BBQ staple built for summer crowds.
Ingredients
Steps
Prep smoker and ingredients
Preheat your smoker to 120°C (250°F) using hickory wood chunks for a strong, classic smoky flavor. While the smoker heats, chop the smoked brisket into 1cm cubes, dice the yellow onion, mince the garlic, and rinse the picked-over pinto beans to remove any dirt or debris.
Sauté aromatic vegetables
Place a 5.5L (6 quart) cast-iron Dutch oven directly on the smoker grate (or on a stovetop over medium heat if preferred) and heat the canola oil for 1 minute. Add the diced onion and cook for 5 minutes until soft and translucent, then add the minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant, taking care not to burn the garlic which will turn bitter.
Combine base ingredients
Add the rinsed pinto beans, chopped smoked brisket, beef broth, barbecue sauce, packed brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, smoked paprika, kosher salt, and black pepper to the Dutch oven. Stir thoroughly for 1 minute to fully combine all ingredients, ensuring the sugar and spices are evenly distributed throughout the liquid.
Smoke beans low and slow
Cover the Dutch oven with its tight-fitting lid, close the smoker lid, and maintain a steady temperature of 120°C (250°F) for 2 hours. Resist the urge to open the smoker lid frequently, as this drops internal temperature and extends cook time; check only once at the 1.5 hour mark to ensure liquid levels are sufficient, adding 60ml (¼ cup) extra broth if the beans look dry.
Thicken and adjust seasoning
After 2 hours, remove the Dutch oven lid, stir the beans, and continue cooking uncovered for 15 minutes at the same 120°C (250°F) temperature to allow the sauce to thicken to a rich, coating consistency. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding an extra pinch of salt, 1 teaspoon of brown sugar, or 1 teaspoon of vinegar if needed to balance sweet, tangy, and savory flavors.
Rest and serve
Remove the Dutch oven from the smoker, cover loosely with a sheet of aluminum foil, and let the beans rest for 10 minutes to allow the flavors to meld and the sauce to set. Serve warm as a hearty side or main dish, topped with a sprinkle of chopped fresh parsley if desired.
Tips
2.If you don’t own a smoker, bake the beans covered in a 160°C (325°F) oven for 1 hour 45 minutes, then uncovered for 15 minutes, adding 5ml (1 tsp) hickory liquid smoke to the base mixture to replicate wood-fired flavor.
3.These beans improve in flavor after resting: store fully cooled beans in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days, reheat gently over low stovetop heat, and add a splash of broth if the sauce thickens too much during storage.
OMG these smoked beans with brisket are an absolute game changer! I made them for our Sunday family dinner and every single person went back for seconds, even my super picky 7 year old who turns his nose up at every bean dish I make. The brisket adds such a deep, smoky richness that canned beans could never even come close to. 10/10 will be making these for every backyard cookout this summer!
Really solid recipe! Cook time was pretty spot on for my offset smoker, though I did add an extra splash of apple cider vinegar at the end to cut the sweetness a little bit. Brought these to a neighborhood potluck last weekend and the whole pan was gone in 20 minutes. Only reason it’s not 5 stars is I wish it noted how much wood to use for the smoke level — I used a little too much hickory first go around and it was almost bitter. Still SO good though.
Meal prep win! I made a big batch of these on Sunday and portioned them out for lunches all week, and they somehow taste even better on day 3. The brisket stays tender, the beans soak up all that smoky sauce, and it’s hearty enough to keep me full through my afternoon work meetings. No sad desk lunch here! Will be adding this to my regular rotation for sure.
I’ve been making smoked beans for years and I have to say, this recipe is top tier. The ratio of brisket to beans is perfect — not so little meat that you’re searching for it, not so much that it feels like a brisket chili instead of beans. I used leftover brisket from my weekend smoke and it cut the prep time down so much. Absolute banger of a side.
My kids loved it! I was worried the smoke flavor would be too strong for them but they both ate two full servings and asked if we could have it again for their birthday cookout next month. I paired it with coleslaw and cornbread and it was the perfect Southern-style spread. So easy to follow even for someone who’s still learning to use their smoker!
Great flavor profile here! I made these for a post-hike cookout with friends and everyone raved. I did have to adjust the cook time a little because of the high altitude here — added about 20 extra minutes to get the beans nice and tender — but that’s par for the course at 6,000 feet. Will definitely tweak it to my taste next time but the base recipe is chef’s kiss.
Wait a second — I don’t have a full size smoker! Is there a way to make this on a regular charcoal grill or even in the oven with liquid smoke? I’m dying to try this but I live in a tiny Brooklyn apartment with no space for a big smoker setup.
I was really excited for this but I think I messed up the bean texture? I followed the cook time exactly but my navy beans were still a little crunchy in the middle. Did I soak them wrong? I did a quick soak instead of an overnight soak, maybe that’s the issue?
Made these for our beach day cookout yesterday and they were the star of the show! I added a diced jalapeño for a little extra heat and it paired so well with the sweet and smoky sauce. My husband is already begging me to make another batch for our fishing trip next weekend.
Took these to the Ohio State tailgate last Saturday and people were literally coming up to me asking for the recipe before the first quarter even started. Absolute tailgate staple, way better than the boring baked beans everyone else brings. 10/10, will be making these every game day from now on.
As a born and raised Texan, I’m super picky about my smoked beans and brisket. I went into this thinking there’s no way a random internet recipe would live up to my dad’s, but man — this is almost as good as his. The balance of sweet, savory, smoky is spot on. Don’t tell my dad I said that, though.
This was really tasty! The only reason I’m knocking a star off is the cook time felt a little long for a weeknight — I got home at 5 and we didn’t eat until almost 7:30, which was past the kids’ bedtime. Wondering if I could pre-cook the beans the night before to cut down on day-of cook time?
Just pulled these off the smoker and oh my GOD. The smell alone had my neighbors leaning over the fence asking what I was cooking. I used a mix of pinto and black beans because that’s what I had in the pantry, and it worked perfectly. Crispy edges on the top, tender beans, melty brisket bits — chef’s kiss.
I made these for our church potluck a couple weeks ago and I swear, the church ladies were hounding me for the recipe before service even ended. One lady even asked if I’d cater her grandson’s graduation party because of these beans! 100% worth every minute of cook time, they’re that good.
First time using my new smoker for anything other than ribs, and I decided to give these a go. Flavor was incredible, but I think I added too much BBQ sauce? It was a little soupier than the photos look, even after the full cook time. Any tips for thickening it up next time?
This recipe singlehandedly saved me after I smoked way too big of a brisket for my 4th of July party. I had like 3 pounds of leftover brisket sitting in the fridge and had no clue what to do with it, and these beans were the perfect use. We ate half for dinner and froze the other half for later. Game doesn’t get more changed than that.
These were so flavorful! I try to cut back on added sugar where I can, so I swapped the brown sugar for a sugar free brown sugar substitute and it worked really well. I was worried the flavor would be off but you could barely tell the difference. My whole family loved them, even the ones who don’t care about low sugar eating.
I’m planning to make these for our big family reunion next weekend, we’re expecting about 25 people. How well does this recipe scale up? Should I double it, triple it? I don’t want to run out, because I know how good these are from the test batch I made last night.
Y’ALL. I entered these beans in our local BBQ cookoff last weekend and WON FIRST PLACE in the side dish category! The judges kept coming back to ask what was in them, and I told them straight up it was this recipe, no fancy secret ingredients. This recipe is worth every single minute of prep and cook time, I’m still riding the high of that win.