This past Wednesday (July 13) was “National Beans and Franks Day”. I approve that. But how did Beans and Franks get started?
Welp, it all begins with the proliferation of canned baked beans.
Van Camp’s, an Indianapolis based company, began selling tins of “Pork and Beans” to the Union army during the Civil War. In the late 1880s, they marketed to the public where they became a huge hit. How huge? Van Camp’s is still in business, though owned by ConAgra now.
However, nothing compares to true New England Baked Beans done in the crock pot and buried on Friday night. Then, on Saturday, they are unearthed and the famous Bean Supper takes place. This technique became a go to dish for Jewish families in New England as they did not have to do any cooking on Shabbat.
In my research, I haven’t found out when hot dogs were first put in baked beans, but it caught on hugely in New England in the 1950s.
What I have in my title photo is a stock photo of a “typical” New England Saturday 1950s supper. And that is baked beans with hot dogs, served with B&M canned brown bread. Or homemade brown bread, for those who had bakers in the family. In my research for this diary, THAT is what stood out to me the most—how so many Yankee people remember THAT as their Saturday dinner.
Now, my particular situation is NOT going to have me bury beans in the ground with all the good seasonings and wait overnight until the magic happens. I have decided to use both what I’ve learned from Steven Raichlen and from Chef John to create MY version of “Beans and Franks”.
So—from BBQ master Steven Raichlen, I begin with part of his recipe for smoked baked beans. It’s basically starting with bacon, then doing the vegetables with the bacon.
The rest of the recipe, however, I am inspired by this group’s old friend Chef John.
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So, here is Chef John’s version of what he calls “Billionaire Franks and Beans”
Here’s what I do:
1. I get bacon going in the pan
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2. Add onions and celery, with a pinch of salt and pepper.
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3. After the veggies sweat to your desired tenderness (I like a bit of texture), add your hot dogs. I used 2 packs of Dietz and Watson New York style, and one pack of Klement Chicago style
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I decided to be a bit saucy and added some black garlic in as well.
4. When the weenies have browned to your liking, I added ketchup, Dijon, a bit of brown sugar, and some Worcestershire. The ketchup and mustard are the variants from my baked bean recipe. I usually just use the brown sugar and Worcestershire
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5. I added my beans next. I used large butter beans instead of the usual cannellini or great northern because I like how they taste, and they break up pretty easily, thickening the stew with that starch. I then added chicken stock.
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Mix it all up, let it stew for like 45 minutes at a nice simmer, reduce or add liquid as you desire, and you get some good eats. Forgive the lightness, but in the previous picture you can see how dark things were getting. All those flavors concentrate. And all you low sugar folks: I only used about a half cup of brown sugar max.
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You get the slight sweetness, plus the tang from the vinegars in the ketchup and mustard, the umami from the Worcestershire, plus the creaminess of the beans, and the good flavor of the high end hot dogs. That said, use the weenies and beans YOU like. After all, these recipes I post are only “guides” and not the Gospel Truth. Whatever you make is correct if it’s the one you love.
You are, after all, the Martin Sheen of your franks ‘n beans.
And it’s always fun to try new ways and new ingredients when making the dishes you love. That’s how we learn and grow. Here endeth the Life Lesson.
Anyway, at this writing, I’m not sure what I’m going to prepare for the week ahead, but the idea of karaage and furikake rice is sounding SO tempting. When I make it, it will become a diary. After all, for a teacher like me, summer is the time of trying out new things I haven’t done yet.
UPDATE JULY 16: I’ve got the chicken for the karaage, but this weekend I’m making a “whole hog” pulled pork in my crock pot. Going to serve that in some low carb tortillas with the vinegar sauce, onions, and some sweet and spicy bread and butter pickles and make little burritos. That will also be another diary. For a preview, I give you Chef John:
So, what NEW things will y’all be trying out THIS summer?