2 T bacon grease
1 large white onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 beer
1 15 ounce can of navy beans or great northern beans
1 15 ounce can of red beans
1 15 ounce can of black beans
1 15 ounce can of pinto beans
1 15 ounce can of black-eyed peas
1 cup barbecue sauce or ketchup
1/2 cup pure maple syrup (the real deal, grade "B" if you can find it)
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup Jack Daniel's
2 T worcestershire sauce
2 T horseradish
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 T dry mustard
1 T chili powder
1 T cumin
1 t crushed red pepper flakes (Optional: for spicier beans)
1/2 t ground clove
1 - 2 cups left-over meat from your last BBQ, chopped*
Bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces (enough to cover the top of the beans)
For extra smokey beans, smoke the chopped onion and peppers for 1 hour at 180 with hickory or apple wood.
Cook the onion and peppers in the bacon fat until softened, but not browned.
Add garlic and cook 1 minute.
Chug some of the beer, then pour the rest into the pot.
Add undrained beans.
Add remaining ingredients except meat and bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, until the liquid in it has reduced by half (about 20-30 minutes).
Fold in the chopped meat.
Pour the hot mixture into a pan that fits in your smoker, or a disposable foil pan.
Top with the bacon pieces.
Place the uncovered pan under the meat you're smoking in your smoker for the last 3 hours.
Beans are finished when the bacon is crisp and the beans are bubbling and thick.
If you're not smoking anything else that day, just put the beans in the smoker by themselves.
If you don't have a smoker, you can also bake these in a 250 degree oven for a couple of hours.
*brisket, pulled pork, spare ribs (without bones, of course), turkey, etc.
If you don't have any of this, you can pick some up at a local BBQ joint like Sugar Fire.
The Johnson Family Cookbook