There is nothing better to go with your smoked meats than some good baked beans. Prep 'em and throw 'em on the grill with your meat, the smoker won't know the difference when delivering the heat and the flavor from the smoke will make a big impact on how the final product tastes.
Don't use old beans! If they've been in your pantry longer than you can remember, throw 'em out and buy new ones. I never store beans, I always buy before cooking and then check the dates to get as fresh as possible. If you're beans aren't getting tender it's usually because they're old.
Some people will discuss the benefit of brining, but for me there is no question, I always brine. I find the brine helps soften the beans and they absorb the salt better before they're cooked.
Pro Tip: Brined beans do not result in excessive flatulence, so if you like beans, but hate the fallout, I would highly recommend give them a salt soak first.
Brining Formula:
For each pound of dried beans, dissolve 3 tablespoons of table salt in 4 quarts of cold water. Soak the beans at room temperature for 8 to 24 hours. Drain and rinse them well before using. Additionally, pick out the shells and low quality beans that float to the top. I like to stir a couple of time to get the salt evenly distributed and let any bad beans trapped at the bottom float to the top for removal.
Double, triple, or quadruple that recipe to fit your needs, I usually cook in 2 pound batches so that's what my recipe will reflect.
This recipe has been adapted from another one I found a while back. Due to dietary concerns of my wife I had to adapt the recipe to remove garlic and onions, plus I use homemade ketchup and BBQ Sauce for the same reasons. I was so impressed with how they turned out I'm not sure if the garlic and onions are needed, but if you want them add 2 large diced onions and 4 cloves of minced garlic to complete the recipe.
2 lbs Navy Beans (Brined, drained and rinsed)
4 qts water
2 bay leaves
1½ cups Maple Syrup
⅔ cup ketchup
½ cup BBQ sauce
3 tsp dry mustard
3 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
Plan ahead! This recipe requires overnight time!
Remove beans from brine and discard liquid. Add beans and fresh water to a pot.
Bring the beans to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the bay leaves and reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer the beans until tender, 1 to 1-1/2 hours. Drain the beans, reserving the liquid. Discard bay leaves.
Stir in the maple syrup, ketchup, barbecue sauce, mustard, and salt and pepper. Place prepped beans in aluminum foil pan and add reserved bean water to just cover the beans in liquid. Cover the pan with foil.
Place the aluminum pan into the smoker and tent the foil up so the smoke from the fire is able to get at the beans. I use an offset smoker so I always put the beans between the meat and fire, but I have known people using vertical smokers putting the beans uncovered underneath the meat that is being smoked, allowing the beans to act as a drip tray.
Cover the beans and bake for 5 to 6 hours, stirring occasionally. Add some of the reserved bean cooking liquid if the beans seem too dry.
After 5-6 hours the beans should be done, so I transfer to a slow cooker on the "Keep Warm" setting until meal time.