Oregon Trail Style Pork and Beans

Roast pork from a joint cooked on the middle shelf of an oven at 180 deg C for two hours (1.5kg). Allowed to cool, and then drained of liquid pork fat. Stored overnight in the fridge, and cut into pieces the next day. The crackling was removed with a sharp knife, and the solid pork fat was also removed from the pork pieces. 

Some of the pork pieces were cooked in a medium sized pan in a drizzle of olive oil for twenty-five minutes at a low heat, along with strips of orange pepper, which adds some sweetness to the dish. Then I added a couple of desert spoonfuls of water, and a squirt of tomato puree, plus some freshly ground black pepper. Stirred together and heated under glass until most of the liquid had evaporated. Then I added half a 400g can of standard baked beans in tomato sauce. Stir together. 

Serve once the beans are thoroughly heated. Delicious!

 

Pork and Beans, with Hash Browns

Something comforting from the Oregon Trail. The pork came from an oven roast made a couple of days ago, and the strips of meat were steamed for twenty minutes. The heat was turned down, and 200g of baked beans were added to the bowl in the steamer. Stirred together thoroughly.

The hash browns were made with fresh slices of raw and semi-skinned potato, cooked in a little sunflower oil in a skillet - first at a high heat, and then turned down close to low. This way the potatoes brown, but do not burn. Turned once. Cooked altogether for twenty minutes, mostly under glass.

Once the hash browns are properly cooked, decant to a serving plate, along with the pork and beans, and dress with freshly ground black pepper and a pinch of basil.

Pork and Beans

Referred to in a song by Jim Morrison and the Doors ('Back Door Man', written by Willie Dixon), which didn't make much sense to a Brit on first listening. After the start of WW2 baked beans in Britain became just that: baked beans. Before the war tins of beans in the UK were like those in the US - a mixture of pork and beans. The excuse was saving money and making beans cheaper in straightened times. But in Britain we never went back to pork and beans, and plain baked beans has been ever since an important component of the British diet. I always have about eight tins of beans in my kitchen cupboard. 

So I reconstructed pork and beans with some sliced roast pork. A delicious combination. What would you serve it with? Potatoes are the obvious option, which may have been served with the pork and beans on the cattle herding trail in the old West. Boiled, roasted, or even plain hash browns, cooked on the fire. Excellent with black pepper. 

Pork and Beans