I consider baked beans to be just about the best side dish. There’s just never anything boring about them. There are so many ways to prepare them. Smoky. Sweet. Tangy. The combinations seem endless. Today I made a nice little batch of hula hula baked beans to go with some grilled burgers. A little sweet, and a little citrusy, these beans hit the spot. And they were super-easy to make, too.
Get Chunky
I went with pineapple rings to top my hula hula baked beans. Why? I thought they looked cool. And everyone knew that the beans had pineapple in them. Upfront. No questions. Ok, sure I could’ve gone with crushed pineapple or pineapple chunks. But why? “Hey, there’s pineapple in here!” that’s what my baked beans said.
Can you substitute canned apples like all those other recipes? Sure. But don’t call them hula hula beans any more if you do!
Note: This recipe was developed using the Char-Broil Big Easy Oil-Less Fryer. If you are cooking using the Char-Broil Smoker-Roaster Grill you should cook with the lid open and the temperature set to High. You might also need to adjust the cooking time.
Oh me. Just thinking back to these apple pie baked beans on the Char-Broil Big Easy has me wanting to make another batch. Now. Right now. In just over an hour I could be enjoying these slightly sweet, flavor-packed beans. And so could a few others, because this recipe makes a big batch.
A Bunk Bed Basket makes it even easier
To make these apple pie baked beans on the Char-Broil Big Easy, I needed a few things. First, a Bunk Bed basket. This is the first thing you should buy after getting a Big Easy. It nearly doubles your cooking space and makes sides dishes like this one a breeze. It also makes it easier to add and remove dishes from your cooker. You can fit three baskets in the Big Easy at once, but it takes a good bit of adjusting and luck to make it work.
Next up, I needed pans for the apple pie baked beans on the Char-Broil Big Easy. I recently discovered that Dutch oven line pans fit perfectly. They are 8″ in diameter and have tall sides so they hold a lot of food. They’re great so I ordered a big lot of them. I know I’ll use them up quick because I use my Big Easy a lot.
Place pie filling into a blender and pulse a few times. You don't want to puree the filling, you just want to chop up the larger pieces of apple. Transfer to a bowl.
Add the beans, BBQ sauce and BBQ seasoning plus any add-ons if using. Stir to combine.
Divide the bean mixture between two pans (they'll be completely full) and carefully transfer the pans to the Big Easy basket and bunk bed basket.
Lower the basket into the Big Easy and cook for 1 hour. If possible, stir the beans every 15 minutes or so. It can be hard to stir the bottom pan. Don't worry if you can't stir they'll be just fine either way. If you've added bell pepper or onion you might want to check if they've cooked to your liking. They might require another 15-30 minutes of cooking time.
Once the beans are hot and bubbly remove the basket from the Big Easy.
Let cool slightly before carefully removing the pans. Remember the pans are full and aren't rigid. Try to support the bottoms of the pans as you remove them.
