Smoking the beans...have always put beans in a tray (more surface, more smoke)...and placed tray under ribs, butts, briskets, to pick up drippings. Must be hellaciously bad healthwise, but it sure tastes good. In regular smoker I stirred once an hour. Just got Mod50, so will experiment. If you don't stir, you get a crust. But, that's not such a bad idea either, because it can be stirred when removed from Cookshack.