Smoky Pit Beans with Candied Bacon, Pulled Pork, and Jacket Potatoes

Smoky Pit Beans with Candied Bacon, Pulled Pork, and Jacket Potatoes

Servings: 4 Total Time: 2 hrs 45 mins Difficulty: Intermediate Family Friendly Family Friendly Party Pleaser Party Pleaser Smoke & Sear Fav. Smoke & Sear Fav.
A BBQ feast in one go with smoky beans, candied bacon, pulled pork, and jacket potatoes.

We’re going all out with this one—a hearty, smoky BBQ masterpiece all done in the Ninja Woodfire Grill. Sweet candied bacon meets slow-cooked pit beans, tender pulled pork, and perfectly baked jacket potatoes. It’s not just a side dish; it’s a backyard banquet that will have everyone talking (and coming back for seconds). Fire up the grill, folks—it’s time to make BBQ magic happen!

Smoky Pit Beans with Candied Bacon, Pulled Pork, and Jacket Potatoes

Prep Time 15 mins Cook Time 2.5 hrs Total Time 2 hrs 45 mins
Difficulty: Intermediate Cooking Temp: 120  C Servings: 4 Estimated Cost: £ 20 Calories: Approximately 600 per serving Best Season: Suitable throughout the year

Ingredients

For the Candied Bacon:

For the Smoky Pit Beans:

For the Jacket Potatoes:

For Garnish (Optional):

Instructions

  1. Preheat the Grill:

    Set your Ninja Woodfire Grill to Air Fry at 200°C and let it preheat.

  2. Candy the Bacon:

    • Brush bacon strips with honey and sprinkle with brown sugar.
    • Air fry for 4 minutes, flip, brush with honey and brown sugar again, and air fry for another 4 minutes until crispy. Set aside.
  3. Grill the Onions:

    • Switch the grill to Grill Mode at 190°C.
    • In a foil tray, heat a little oil and cook the diced onions until translucent. (Optional: Add a spoonful of rendered bacon fat for extra flavour.)
  4. Build the Pit Beans:

    • Add garlic, ketchup, BBQ sauce, brown sugar, honey mustard rub, Worcestershire sauce, smoked paprika, cayenne, salt, and pepper to the onions. Stir well.
    • Mix in baked beans, pulled pork, and half of the candied bacon. Combine thoroughly.
  5. Prepare the Potatoes:

    • Prick potatoes with a fork, coat with oil, and season with salt.
    • Place them directly on the grill next to the foil tray with the beans.
  6. Smoke It All:

    • Switch the grill to Smoker Mode at 120°C, adding Ninja Woodfire Pellets to the smoke box. Smoke for about 2 hours.
    • Turn the potatoes occasionally to ensure even cooking.
  7. Finish and Serve:

    • After 2 hours, stir the beans and top them with the remaining candied bacon. Smoke for another 15 minutes.
    • Remove the potatoes and beans from the grill. For serving, slice open each potato, fluff up the insides with a fork, and add butter. Top with a generous serving of smoky beans, cheese, and spring onions if desired.

Equipment

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Note

Tip 1: Check the potatoes by inserting a skewer—if it goes in easily, they’re done. Their internal temp should be 98°C.

Tip 2: Swap pulled pork with shredded chicken or brisket if you prefer.

Tip 3: Leftovers make for epic nacho toppings or a filling for loaded toast.

Optional Add-Ons: Add a splash of beer to the beans for extra depth of flavour.

Keywords: BBQ beans, candied bacon, pulled pork recipe, jacket potatoes, Ninja Woodfire Grill, smoky BBQ recipe, comfort food, BBQ feast, BBQ sides, outdoor cooking
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🔥 THE LAZY BUZZARDS BBQ 2026 🔥

Some weekends you enjoy . . .

Some weekends you remember.

This was definitely one of those.

Fifteen teams. Two days. Incredible food. New friendships. A bit of healthy competition . . .and an evening BBQ Olympics that had teams and judges laughing together long after the turn-ins were done.

A huge thank you to Alan & Jo for creating something that’s so much more than a BBQ competition. It’s a weekend built around great food, great people and a genuine BBQ community.

Massive respect to every team that competed too. Thanks for letting me wander around with a camera all weekend and capture what UK BBQ is really about.

This is the second BBQ competition I’ve attended now—back-to-back—and I’ve genuinely caught the bug. I’d love to shine a bigger spotlight on this side of the UK BBQ scene next year.

Could you see yourself competing one day? Let me know in the comments . . .👇🔥

#TheLazyBuzzardsBBQ #UKBBQ #BBQCompetition #LiveFireCooking #BBQCommunity
Six years ago I stepped into the UK BBQ scene.

I had no idea that buying a smoker during lockdown would completely change my life.

Since then I’ve shared 100+ free recipes, created over 1,000 pieces of content, surpassed ONE MILLION website views, welcomed 600,000+ active users to Smoke & Sear, and built social profiles, groups and communities with 70,000+ members and followers.

But the numbers aren’t what I’m most proud of.

It’s the friendships, the community, and seeing more and more people across the UK discovering outdoor cooking.

A massive thank you to every brand that’s believed in me over the last six years. Whether you’ve trusted me with your products, invited me to events, or somehow flown me to Nashville . . . (still can’t quite believe that one! ❤️)

Then there’s @fourge.bbq . . . 

Starting a business with three great lads I met through the BBQ community is genuinely a dream come true.

It’s still early days, but seeing so many FOUNDERS backing us, our rubs selling so well, and people proudly wearing FOURGE merch honestly means more than I can put into words. Pellets, fuel and plenty more are just around the corner, and I can’t wait to cook for so many of you at @meatupfestival in just a few weeks.

Thank you to everyone who’s followed my journey over the last six years.

I’m just one bloke trying to do his small part to help push UK BBQ forward.

Here’s to the next chapter. 🔥🇬🇧

#UKBBQ #OutdoorCooking #PassTheFlame
First time guest judging at Whole Hog 2026 with @comp_bbq_uk . . . and what a weekend🔥

Six rounds. Two days. Nine teams. A LOT of pork.

Honestly, it opened my eyes to a whole other side of UK BBQ. So much skill, creativity, graft and proper passion for cooking over fire.

Massive respect to Comp BBQ UK for building something special, and huge respect to @weberuk and cranswickplc for everything they do to support this event and help the competition BBQ scene grow.

UK BBQ is gathering serious momentum… and this definitely won’t be the last BBQ comp I attend.

Who’s ever thought about getting a few mates together and entering a BBQ team? 👀🔥

#CompBBQUK #WholeHog2026 #UKBBQ #BBQCommunity #CompetitionBBQ
This started as a daft little comp I set up in the UK BBQ WhatsApp Community to get the regional groups talking, cooking, meeting up and generally giving each other grief.

Most regions went suspiciously quiet.

But two actually stepped up.

SOUTH vs NORTH

The South came in swinging with a proper land, sea and fire feast — venison haunch wrapped in nori, reverse-seared smoked lamb, lobster, scallops, shell-on prawns, Sussex mackerel, monkfish, black sea bream, focaccia, fresh green sauce and a Sussex Smokie finished with a breadcrumb crust.

Then the North answered with an absolute monster board — rack of lamb, black pudding burnt ends with Newcastle Brown Ale sauce, sticky pork ribs, Cumberland sausage, smoked chuck scouse, fish and chips, roast beef, ribeye steaks, venison burgers, grilled potato skewers, sweet Yorkshire pudding with bone marrow crème pâtissière and smoked sticky toffee pudding with bourbon ice cream.

And honestly, this is exactly what it was meant to be about.

People getting together. Cooking outdoors. Making new mates. Sharing ideas. Having a laugh. Creating something that represents where they’re from.

But… there can only be one winner.

To vote, comment:

SOUTH

or

NORTH

I’ll somehow collate the votes from Instagram and Facebook on Monday 6th July, and we’ll find out who takes the regional glory for 2026.

More details on both cooks are on the website, and you can also join the UK BBQ WhatsApp Community there if you fancy getting involved. It really is a cracking bunch.

Now then…

Who gets the glory?

SOUTH or NORTH?
Second walk out with the Lads Project today and honestly… what a proper day.

Hot as anything, big Peak District views, Thor’s Cave, River Dove, miles in the legs, plenty of laughs and just a really good bunch of lads getting outside and doing something positive.

No pressure, no awkwardness, no forced deep chats — just fresh air, good people, proper conversation when it comes, and a reminder that getting out of your usual routine does a lot.

Any lads want to join the next monthly social walk? Drop me a DM and I’ll send you the link to the WhatsApp group where it’s all planned.

#LadsProject #PeakDistrict #MensMentalHealth #MensCommunity #HikingUK
DRAGON01 over Coningsby 🔥

It’s been a few weeks since I last watched Flt Lt Tom Nation put the Typhoon through its paces over RAF Coningsby — but the second I heard today’s slot announced on the NOTAM, there was absolutely no chance I was missing it.

And what a display.

I may have lost half of it to the sun, and the other half to Tom flying so low he disappeared behind the trees . . . but wow. 😂

The speed, power and agility of the Typhoon is ridiculous — but the way Tom handles it is something else entirely.

Huge respect to Tom and the whole Typhoon Display Team behind the scenes.

Absolutely epic.

#DRAGON01 #TyphoonDisplayTeam #RAFConingsby #EurofighterTyphoon #TyphoonFGR4 RoyalAirForce Aviation