Pork and Beans with Franks

By the 1960s and 1970s, canned pork and beans had become a pantry staple even in the most remote rural households. Heated with sliced hot dogs (franks), sweetened slightly with brown sugar, and doctored with yellow mustard and a little ketchup — this combination was both lunch and dinner for rural families during the lean stretches between harvests and paychecks. Hot in a mason jar or cold from the can.

Ingredients

• 1 can (16 oz) pork and beans (Van Camp’s was the dominant brand)
• 3–4 frankfurters (hot dogs), sliced into rounds
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp yellow mustard
• 1 tsp ketchup
• ¼ cup onion, diced
• Black pepper

Directions

1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, cook onion in a small amount of bacon grease until softened, 3–4 minutes.
2. Add sliced frankfurters and cook until lightly browned, 2–3 minutes.
3. Pour in pork and beans.

Stir in brown sugar, mustard, and ketchup.

1. Simmer over low heat 10–15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened and everything is heated through.

Season with black pepper.

1. Serve hot over cornbread, or pack hot in a mason jar for the lunch pail.
2. Also acceptable cold, eaten straight from the can or a bowl — this was weekday reality.

Notes

This dish represents the intersection of traditional mountain food culture and postwar packaged food convenience. By the early 1970s, most rural Appalachian families were buying canned goods at the store rather than only eating preserved foods. Pork and beans with franks was the bridge between subsistence cooking and processed food America.