Aaron Franklin’s Beans

First made April 30, 2016 based on Aaron Franklin’s Beans on page 196 of his book A Meat Smoking Manifesto. Our changes are cited along with his original. Turned out really good although a bit too hot for Mary.

1 pound dried pinto beans, picked over and rinsed
1/2 Cup diced yellow onion
1/2 Cup bean seasoning (recipe follows)
8 cups water
3/4 cup drippings from a smoked pork butt that was underway and some chopped smoked pork from last weekend. Aaron adds 1 cup chopped brisket bark and shredded meat and no pork.

1. Rinsed the beans and poured them into a pot of boiling water, covered and turned off the fire. Let them soak for an hour then poured off the water and lightly rinsed to remove the bean sugars.
2. Combine the beans, onion, bean seasoning and water in a large pot and bring to a boi. Reduce to simmer and cook uncovered for 4-6 hours until the beans are tender. Adjust salt. Aaron lets the dry beans, onion and bean seasoning soak for 4 to 6 hours, or for up to overnight, “which is what we do in the restaurant”.
3. Added the drippings and chopped smoked pork about an hour in.  Aaron adds “brisket bark and meat to the soaked beans and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a slow simmer, cover, and cook for 3 to 4 hours, until the beans are tender.”

Aaron’s Bean Seasoning

These portions are 1/4th of Aaron’s as we made it for one pound of beans and his seasoning portions would make 2 cups of seasoning and used 1/2 cup of the mix in 1 pound of beans.

• 1/4 cup chile powder. Used home made Ancho the first time. the second day it was fairly hot. Rewarmed, it was hotter and too hot for Mary. Next time try 3T of chile powder; i.e. 3/16ths of a cup.
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• Almost 1 tablespoon coarse black pepper
• 1.5 teaspoon onion powder
• 1.5 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

“Combine all of the ingredients and mix well. Store in an airtight container.”

Coleslaw like Franklin BBQ

Same day as the first time we made the beans I made his cole slaw that is on the next page. It was ok but quite different from what we like. His use of mustard was worth trying in our seasoning as well as the rice vinegar but the sour cream did not work for us.

The next day I thinly sliced then cut crossways the rest of the head of cabbage and added shredded carrots, celery and red onion . We used his seasoning ingredients other than the sour creme and added a two count of EVOO. It was ok but maybe needed more mayo than the heaping tablespoon I added to a little over 1/4 C of the vinegars. Also added celery seeds.

Potato Salad like Franklin BBQ

The ingredients below are derived from his recipe cited in the Smoking Manifesto on page 197.

• 2 pounds white thin-skin potatoes. Boiled 15 minutes, left out to cool, then cut into 1/2″ squares or the equivalent. His called for 3 lbs of Russets.
• 2/3 cup mayo.  His called for 1C.
• 1/4 cup yellow mustard.  His called for 1/2 C.
• 3/8th cup or a little less than 1/2 cup chopped dill pickles  His called for 3/4C.
• 1T dill pickle juice. That is what he called for for 2 lbs. of potatoes.
• 2t black pepper.  His called for 1T.
• a little less than 1t kosher salt.  His called for 1t.

It was good as the dill/mustard flavor profile was quite different from what we normally make. It did have a sort of German-Czech style.

We had too much for the potatoes so kept it in an small pyrex dish. It got better and would make a great dip or sauce of other salads. Great mild pickle/mustard profile. Adding a little cayenne could be good. Also smashed up capers would be a nice contrast.