Grilled Baked Beans

This recipe was sponsored by Kingsford Charcoal, all opinions are my own.

Grilled baked beans takes a traditional pot of beans to the next level by infusing them with the wonderful flavor of charcoal, making this is the perfect dish to serve at a backyard tailgate. Not only is the flavor enhanced by the charcoal, but the cooking pot used also spends most of its time simmering off to the side of the charcoal, leaving you plenty of room to grill up more tasty tailgating fare!

Tailgating may look a little different this year, there is no need to keep your charcoal grill in the garage, or miss out on special time with your family bonding around great food and the anticipation of kickoff. So next time your favorite sports team is playing, get your family and your taste buds ready by firing up some charcoal and make a bubbling batch of these grilled baked beans.

Smoking or Grilling Baked Beans

I prefer to grill my baked beans rather than smoking them. Not only does Kingsford Charcoal impart a wonderful flavor, but you can also purchase briquettes with additional bold flavors added, like Mesquite, which adds authentic wood smoke to the flavor. I typically keep Kingsford Original on hand for most of my grilling, but I like using Mesquite when creating recipes like this which will linger on the grill longer, allowing plenty of time to soak in the flavors.

The other reason to grill baked beans rather than smoke them is because charcoal gives you the high heat you need to saute the onions, peppers, and bacon in the pot prior to simmering all of the ingredients together. You simply can't do that in a smoker, and if the family is gathered outside to enjoy the cookout, who wants to seclude themselves to the kitchen to work on half the recipe?

Ingredients Needed

• 56 oz canned great northern beans - You will be using the liquid as well.
• 8 oz thick sliced bacon - I recommend cutting the bacon into 1" pieces prior to cooking.
• 1 sweet onion - chopped
• 3 jalapenos - chopped
• ¼ cup molasses
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• ¼ cup ketchup
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 teaspoons yellow mustard
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• Charcoal - Kingsford Orignal works great for this recipe, but for added flavor, I really like Kingford Charcoal with Mequite.

How to grill them

To start, you need to get those briquettes roaring hot. My favorite way to do that is by using a charcoal chimney starter. Not only does this lite the charcoal quickly and evenly, I like how easy it is to pour the hot coals exactly where I need them in the grill.

For this recipe, you want the charcoal piled up on one side of the grill giving you a high heat source for sauteing, and then you can move the pot away from the coals to get a gentler heat for simmering. This is your temperature control.

Add chopped bacon to a pot (I like using a cast iron chicken fryer) and set the pot on the grill grate directly over the pile of coals. Let cook until the bacon is almost crispy, then add onion and pepper, and continue cooking until they are tender.

At this point, all of the remaining ingredients can be added and stirred together. The pot should be slid to the far side of the grill, away from the coals, and cover the grill with the lid. Let the pot simmer for an hour.

After an hour the beans are ready to enjoy. If the liquid is a little too thin yet, mash a few beans with a fork and stir everything again. Mashed beans are a wonderful thickener!

More Tailgating ideas

No true tailgate is complete with just one dish. While you have the Kingsford charcoal still burning, pair these beans with grill country styled ribs, steak bites, or even a perfectly grilled burger as well. Then finish it off with a side of grilled corn on the cob and get ready for a game day feast!