Pork & Beans

Jan 14, 2025 • Tom Jackson

Get ready to elevate a classic comfort dish with a gourmet twist! This hearty Pork & Beans recipe features the rich, nutty flavor of Rancho Gordo Christmas Lima Beans paired with the bold, smoky kick of Cattleman’s Grill Road House Seasoning. Perfect for cozy gatherings or a satisfying weeknight meal, this dish combines the best of rustic charm and elevated flavor. Let’s dive into a bowl of pure comfort!

What You'll Love

Christmas lima beans are the reason this isn't just pork stew. Rancho Gordo's heirloom limas have a chestnut-like, buttery flavor and hold their shape through a 2-hour braise — they don't turn to mush, they absorb the pork fat and seasoning and become the backbone of the dish.
The pork gets a real sear at 500°F before the braise begins. Starting hot — directly over the firebox in a preheated Dutch oven — builds a crust on the pork shoulder cubes that holds through the long braise and adds flavor that simmered-only pork doesn't have.
The soak water goes into the pot with the beans. Direction step 5 says "beans with soak water" — that's not an oversight. The soak water has absorbed starch and flavor from the beans overnight; adding it to the braise gives the liquid body right from the start.
The aromatics are classic and minimal for a reason. Onion, carrot, celery, garlic, thyme, bay leaf — that's it. The Cattleman's Grill Road House Seasoning on the pork is doing the heavy flavor lifting; the aromatics build the broth without competing.

Pork & Beans

Tom Jackson

Rated 5.0 stars by 7 users

Cuisine

American

Servings

6

Prep Time

20 minutes

Cook Time

2 hours 5 minutes

Calories

137

When it comes to comfort food that soothes the soul, few dishes rival the hearty goodness of pork and beans. And when you cook this classic dish on the Yoder Smoker YS640S, it transforms into something truly unforgettable. The gentle kiss of smoke infuses every bite with deep, rich flavor, turning a humble combination of tender pork and savory beans into a masterpiece!

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Ingredients

For the Pork & Beans

1 lb Rancho Gordo Christmas Lima Beans
1 qt water
2 tbsp Texas Olive Ranch Roasted Garlic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 lb Boston butt pork shoulder, 1” cubes
6 tbsp Cattleman’s Grill Road House Seasoning
2 cups yellow onion, diced
1 cup carrot, peeled, diced
1 cup celery, diced
3 cloves garlic, crushed, peeled
8 sprigs thyme, tied with twine
1 bay leaf

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Directions

The night before your cook, place the lima beans in a container and cover with cool water by a couple of inches. Let soak overnight.
Preheat your Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill to 500ºF, set up for direct grilling. Place a Lodge 7 Quart Dutch Oven inside the grill to preheat for 10 minutes.
Add the oil to the dutch oven, placed over the direct flame on the left side of the grill. Add the pork to the dutch oven and sear without stirring until a crust is formed. Stir and repeat, about 15 minutes total.
Add the onion, carrot, celery and garlic and cook until the veggies start to soften, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the thyme, bay leaf and beans with soak water.
Reduce the grill temperature to 425ºF.
Let the pork and beans braise until the beans and pork are tender, about two hours. Add liquid, as needed to keep the beans submerged, as needed.
Remove the bay leaf and thyme. Serve as a stew, over rice or cornbread.

Recipe Note

Recipe FAQ

Do I have to soak the beans overnight, or can I skip it?

Soaking is strongly recommended for Christmas limas specifically. Unsoaked dried beans can take significantly longer to become tender — often 30–60 minutes more — and can cook unevenly, with some beans soft and others still firm in the same pot. The overnight soak also softens the bean skin so it doesn't toughen during the high-heat braise. If you're short on time, a quick soak works: bring the beans and water to a boil, turn off the heat, and let them sit for one hour before draining and proceeding.

Why start at 500°F and then reduce to 425°F?

The 500°F start is for the sear — you need the Dutch oven screaming hot to build a proper crust on the pork shoulder cubes without them steaming. Once the pork is seared and the vegetables are softened, you reduce to 425°F for the two-hour braise. At 425°F the liquid stays at a steady simmer inside the covered Dutch oven without boiling violently, which would break the pork down too aggressively and cloud the braise liquid.

How do I know when to add more liquid during the braise?

Check the pot every 30–40 minutes. The beans need to stay submerged — when the liquid drops below the bean level, add hot water or unsalted chicken or pork stock a cup at a time. Cold liquid added to a hot braise can drop the temperature significantly and extend the cook; keep a small pot of hot water on a side burner or inside the grill. By the end of the two-hour braise, the liquid will have reduced and thickened into a rich, starchy broth — that's the goal.

Can I use a different bean if I can't find Rancho Gordo Christmas limas?

Yes — any large, firm heirloom bean works well here. Rancho Gordo's Royal Corona, Cassoulet beans, or Good Mother Stallard beans all hold up to a long braise. Standard supermarket large lima beans are an acceptable substitute but produce a blander, softer result. Avoid small beans like navy or pinto — they'll turn mushy long before the two hours are up.

Can I make this indoors?

Indoor cooking rating: 4 out of 5 — Great in the kitchen, better on the grill. A heavy Dutch oven on a high-heat stovetop burner replicates the sear and braise identically — start on high for the pork sear, reduce to a low simmer for the braise, and finish in a 400°F oven with the lid on if you want more even heat distribution. What you lose is the ambient pellet smoke that the YS640s adds during the braise, which gives the dish a faint outdoor character. Everything else translates directly.

Recipe Highlights

Preheat the Dutch Oven Before Adding Oil or Pork: Direction step 2 calls for placing the Lodge 7 Qt Dutch Oven inside the grill to preheat for 10 minutes before anything goes in. A cold Dutch oven dropped from room temperature to 500°F alongside the pork will produce an uneven sear — the pork will stick and steam before the surface gets hot enough to crust. A properly preheated Dutch oven sears on contact.
Sear in Batches, Don't Crowd the Pan: The direction says "sear without stirring until a crust is formed, stir and repeat" — that 15-minute total means multiple rounds. Adding all 2 lbs of pork shoulder cubes at once will drop the Dutch oven temperature and produce steamed, gray meat rather than a seared, crusted exterior. Work in batches if needed, letting the pot recover temperature between each one.
Tie the Thyme Sprigs — They're Coming Back Out: The 8 thyme sprigs are tied with twine before going in so they can be removed cleanly in direction step 8 without picking individual stems out of a finished braise. Untied thyme leaves fall off during cooking and distribute through the dish, which is fine in some contexts but creates an unpleasant texture here against the large beans and chunky pork.
Serve Over Cornbread to Absorb the Broth: The braise liquid by the end of the cook is starchy, pork-fat-rich, and deeply seasoned from the Road House rub and aromatics — it's the best part of the dish. Serving over cornbread or rice means that liquid gets absorbed rather than left in the bowl. As a standalone stew it's excellent; over cornbread it's complete.