# New Take on Pork and Beans



## Chief Longwind Of The North (Jan 7, 2014)

Beans and Sausage is nothing new.  People have been combining the two probably since Adam.  You might not have seen this combination before though.  And I have to say, for an experiment, it was pretty tasty.  The individual meats each contributed to the flavor, but weren't lost in the amalgamation.  I could taste each part seperately, and all complimented the beans.

I wouldn't make this every time, but for a change of pace, it was pretty good stuff.

Ingredients:

15 oz. VanCamp's Pork and Beans
2 tbs. brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped, fresh onion
12 slices good pepperoni (about three inches off the stick)
20 slices Koegle's Summer Sausage (about 4 inches off the stick)
1/4 cup diced, smoky ham
Dash of yellow mustard

Combine all in a saucepan, cover, and simmer until onions are soft.  Serve hot.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


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## Zagut (Jan 7, 2014)

How would you do the beans if you started with dry beans?

 This looks good Chief and I bet it would do well as a dip with corn chips or as a bean sandwich.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Jan 7, 2014)

Wash and rinse the beans.  Remove any floaters.  Place in a pot with enough water to rise 2 inches above the beans, and bring to a boil for 10 minutes.  Remove the beans from the heat and cover.  Let rest for 20 minutes.  Discard the water and refill to the same lever with water.  Bring to a boil, turn to simmer and cook for 45 minutes.  Test the beans by eating a spoonful.  If they are tender, discard most of the water (leave about a quarter-cup).   Add 3 tbs brown sugar, with six strips of uncooked bacon that have been cut into bite-sized chunks.  Turn heat up to simmer and cook for 30 minutes or so.  Taste and add a little salt.  If it tastes the way you want, then add the Tabasco, Sriracha, pepperoni, etc.  Cook until the onions are tender.

Seeeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


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## Zagut (Jan 7, 2014)

Thanks Chief,

 A simple Bacon. Sugar, Molasses cook. 

 Just wondered if any other of the Van Camp spices added or subtracted from the profile.

 Spicing up canned beans can be a real time saver and sometimes they just taste real good.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Jan 8, 2014)

Zagut said:


> Thanks Chief,
> 
> A simple Bacon. Sugar, Molasses cook.
> 
> ...



I've eaten many brands of canned beans, or beans in a jar.  My Dad was a big fan of B & M baked beans, though usually, it was VanCamp's.  I personally like the pork flavor in the VanCamps brand.  Bush's beans are pretty good, but a little too sugary.  Besides, I remember the wonderful baked beans my mother used to make from scratch.  I usually try to duplicate that flavor, and don't often have time on a weekday to make beans from scratch.  The VanCamp's flavor is fairly neutral and allows me to add onion, bacon, or pork, brown sugar, or maple, or molasses, or some combination of the three, and a little prepared yellow mustard to get that "just-right" flavor balance.

But there are times, me being me, that I just have to change things up, experiment a little, or a lot.  Sometimes it comes out great;  sometimes it's edible; and I even create something that nothing living will eat.  The good experiments, I pass on to others.

I only have two regrets with beans; I rarely find that little chunk of pork in a can of beans anymore; and two, I dearly love beans with no sweetener, cooked with a good, smoky pork hock, or a chunk of pork butt.  But DW doesn't like them that way.  She has a major sweet tooth, and isn't into savory as much as I am.  Ah well, maybe next time I make up a batch of beans from scratch, I'll take half and make it into bean soup, and the other half into baked beans.  That'll make the world spin in the right direction again.

Seeeeeeya' Chief Longwind of the North


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## CarolPa (Jan 8, 2014)

Chief, whenever I find that little chunk of pork in a can of beans, the dog gets it.  I love baked beans, but the traditional syrupy sauce is not good for my diabetes, so many times, I will buy a cheap can of baked beans and rinse them in a colander and eat them like that.  The taste of the sauce is still there, but not all the sugar.


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## Zagut (Jan 8, 2014)

You have a lucky dog Carol. 


 Tweeking canned beans a time honored tradition here just as tweeking frozen pizza.

 Chopped onions and mustard are classic tweeks.

 I like the thought of the roni, sausage, and ham. That's what made me think dip or sandwich. 

 I agree most canned beans are to sweet for me as I've aged so I've taken to scratch to cut down on the sweet.

 They are an easy crock pot cook.

 In my playing around I've found a hint of cinnamon works wonders.


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## CarolPa (Jan 9, 2014)

Zagut said:


> You have a lucky dog Carol.




He thinks so, too.  He always wanders into the kitchen when I'm cooking, waiting for me to drop something.


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## mmyap (Jan 9, 2014)

CarolPa said:


> He thinks so, too. He always wanders into the kitchen when I'm cooking, waiting for me to drop something.


 
Your dogs are much more polite then mine.  Mine will try and snatch stuff right off the counter when I'm not looking. Hooligans.


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## CarolPa (Jan 9, 2014)

mmyap said:


> Your dogs are much more polite then mine.  Mine will try and snatch stuff right off the counter when I'm not looking. Hooligans.




Oh, well, my dog is a Maltese....only about a foot high.  The coffee table is more within his reach.


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