Baked beans and pulled pork in the same cook

[jrich523]

I just purchased an Ironwood 650 and was looking to do a pulled pork (https://www.traeger.com/recipes/honey-pulled-pork seemed the most basic to get started with) and was wondering if it was possible to do baked beans in a dutch oven at the same time. Is this something that would be possible? any suggestions on how to do it?

The pulled pork is basically 250f for 3-5 hours, then 250f for another 3-4 hours with a 45 min rest..

From what i saw of the baked beans, it could take ~6 hours to cook (dried navy beans that have been soaked and tossed in the dutch oven), but most have been stove top with a simmer.

Has anyone done this and have some recommendations no cooking approach?

Thanks!

 

[Shedd]

I actually have put my Dutch oven in with a butt to cook beans, doesn’t change anything. If you leave the lid off and use smoke tubes, your beans will have a nice smoky flavor.

 

[RayClem]

I love doing baked beans in the Traeger to get added smoke. However, I prepare mine from canned beans that have already been cooked. After adding all the ingredients, I bring mine up to temperature in a slow cooker. Then I transfer the beans to a couple of aluminum pans and place them on the Traeger for about an hour. They turn out amazing.

I have only done dried beans one time. It was for ham and bean soup.

 

[jrich523]

I actually have put my Dutch oven in with a butt to cook beans, doesn’t change anything. If you leave the lid off and use smoke tubes, your beans will have a nice smoky flavor.

How long do you leave it in there? i guess thats what i was most curious about, considering the total cook time ~6 hours @ 250, i was thinking thats probably too long? im wondering if i can toss it in for the second half (will 3-4 hours at 250 cook it?)

also what is a smoke tube?

Also in reading that pulled pork recipe, it says to just cook it for the first part, and then wrap it in foil and cook it again, but it also says to use the super smoke.. which, since its wrapped in foil, isnt that kind of pointless?

thanks!

 

[Shedd]

I actually have put my Dutch oven in with a butt to cook beans, doesn’t change anything. If you leave the lid off and use smoke tubes, your beans will have a nice smoky flavor.

I’ve also made chili beans the same way too.

How long do you leave it in there? i guess thats what i was most curious about, considering the total cook time ~6 hours @ 250, i was thinking thats probably too long? im wondering if i can toss it in for the second half (will 3-4 hours at 250 cook it?)

also what is a smoke tube?

Also in reading that pulled pork recipe, it says to just cook it for the first part, and then wrap it in foil and cook it again, but it also says to use the super smoke.. which, since its wrapped in foil, isnt that kind of pointless?

thanks!

at 250 if you soak them overnight then they should be good in 3-4 hours but going longer won’t hurt just have to check to make sure the beans absorb all your liquids.
See picture of my smoke tube, I got it from Lowe’s for about $25. It’s extendable too. I put a half handful of pellets in first, then a wood chunk then some wood chips then a few pellets and if going full tube I’ll ad another wood chunk then chips then pellets at the top. You can use a torch I use an electric charcoal starter I use for my green egg. I light the pellets on top until it’s flaming. I’ll let it burn about 3 or so minutes then I blow it out and hold the tube upright from the bottom (it’s only hot at the top) and carry it over to my Traeger and gently lay it on its side on the grate (not near the temperature probe) and it’ll put out a lot of smoke. You can Google smoke tube for pellet smoker and understand what I’m saying. I’m in South Carolina and a heavy smoke flavor is more desirable than most other places. Some folks are happy with what little smoke they get from pellets, I use a smoke tube and two smoke boxes when I cook butts and ribs.
Let us know how it all worked out, post some pictures.

 

[Shedd]

How long do you leave it in there? i guess thats what i was most curious about, considering the total cook time ~6 hours @ 250, i was thinking thats probably too long? im wondering if i can toss it in for the second half (will 3-4 hours at 250 cook it?)

also what is a smoke tube?

Also in reading that pulled pork recipe, it says to just cook it for the first part, and then wrap it in foil and cook it again, but it also says to use the super smoke.. which, since its wrapped in foil, isnt that kind of pointless?

thanks!

I never wrap my butts until they hit 200, then I double wrap tightly in foil and put in a cooler wrapped in a couple towels for a few hours. I don’t like a soggy bark and it’s not worth it to me just to shave off a couple hours of cook time. But that’s my way, everyone has their preferences.
It’s definitely not getting any smoke wrapped for sure. My 780 doesn’t have super smoke but if it did I’m not cooking below 225 just to get a little bit more of the weak smoke from pellets. Again we all have opinions. If you’ve never used a smoke tube you really need to try it because some small chunks of hickory along with some hickory wood chips put out a great flavor.

 

[jrich523]

those smoke stacks look interesting. I have the Ironwood 650 which has the super smoke feature and its supposed to be better at using the smoke (different vent/structure)?? so i'll try it "as is" for the first one and see how it goes.
I used to have a masterbuilt electric which was ok, but i'd do that at 225, but it had its own burner for the wood chips.. i think for this the 250 makes more sense, to your point about getting a good amount of smoke from the pellets.

It feels like i'd want to do the first part at 250 and do the super smoke feature right after putting it in. (still not totally sure when is ideal to apply the most smoke)

For wrapping i'll probably do it at 160, mostly because i will be doing a boneless shoulder, which will help it be a bit more moist

Also in all the recipes i've read, i've only seen a few that talk about putting a bowl of water/apple cider vinegar to help with moisture, but also pretty much every recipe i've found has always mentioned bone in. In looking at your photos it didnt seem like you used any additional water bowls?

 

[Shedd]

I forgot to attach the picture of the smoke tube. I just attached.
I always use a pan under my cooks. I don’t hardly cook anything on the bottom grate and I hard use my top one because it’s too narrow and up to high. I use a aftermarket grate and sit it on bricks. That way I have my drip/water pan underneath and it elevates the meats about midway so smoke can get all around them.
You need the smoke from the beginning, after a few hours it won’t take on as much.

 

[jrich523]

yeah i looked at your whole album

for a boneless shoulder, would it make sense to brine it first? most of the recipes i've come across dont mention it

 

[Shedd]

yeah i looked at your whole album

for a boneless shoulder, would it make sense to brine it first? most of the recipes i've come across dont mention it

I don’t brine any pork only Turkeys and some chicken.
For boneless shoulder don’t rush it, I stay at 225 as long as it takes. That section of tough strands of white meat needs to be slowly cooked to tender it up. I also will let it go to 201-205 before wrapping and putting in a cooler. Some people will put in a foil pan and wrap around 170 then continue cooking but to me I haven’t and it turns out great.
If it’s coming apart it helps to use butchers twine to keep everything tight together so it’ll cook more evenly. I attached a picture of one I did a while back, you’ll notice the twine.

 

[RayClem]

It is acceptable to brine pork, but it is only commonly done with ham. Chicken and turkey are commonly brined because the meat is very low in fat. Pork usually has sufficient fat such that bringing is not needed, but you can certainly do it if you would like.

 

[jrich523]

so costco had brisket and since they rarely seem to have that in the summer (its a common xmas thing apparently) i decided to grab that..
12lbs full packer that i was able to just toss the whole thing in which was awesome. with the masterbuilt electric i always had to cut them apart first which was a nightmare.. so easy to pull apart when you can cook it all together!

It ended up taking 30 hours, which felt totally wrong but, it was very tasty.. (follow up post about this problem)

I ended up doing the pork after and since i took the approach of only using the top rack i wasnt able to fit the beans in with it..

it came out really good as well, but because the first one took so long i messed with the temps because something is obviously wrong.