# Beanie-weenies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 14, 2015, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beanie-weenies/727872 "2015-08-14T21:36:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2015, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beanie-weenies/727872/21 "2015-08-15T12:16:15Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > That’s a go-to dish for me if I’m making a dinner for myself. Of course these days it involves a few more added ingredients and better quality hot dogs. Onions, peppers, bacon all make an appearance. WE had it for dinner last week. I have always added those three ingredients along with some minced garlic ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2015, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beanie-weenies/727872/22 "2015-08-15T12:39:59Z")
> [@seal\_cleaner](#): > > Last week. One of my go-to’s since my wife and I have pretty much given up cooking. Also: sliced hot dogs in macaroni and cheese. Same here, 'cept I don’t have a wife, I’m just a lazy bachelor ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2015, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beanie-weenies/727872/23 "2015-08-15T13:08:02Z")
I grew up with a local brand version, but it’s been many years since I last had them as my local supermarket doesn’t stock them anymore. Might specially seek them out, actually, now that you’ve brought them up. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2015, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beanie-weenies/727872/24 "2015-08-15T13:17:17Z")
I haven’t had them at least since I was a kid, and can’t be certain I did then. I don’t have any particular objection to them, but they aren’t something I’d seek out, either. ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2015, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beanie-weenies/727872/25 "2015-08-15T13:17:55Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > Just got back from the supermarket – Albertsons, here in San Diego – and they didn’t have them at all! No “franks and beans” combo at all! They did have “pork and beans” but that doesn’t include actual franks, just pork fat and gravy. (Which is fine; I love the stuff!) > > I’ll have to look farther afield! This might explain why I’d never heard of this product before; it might not be a regional thing here. Would you normally buy hot dogs in a can? If not then don’t buy the pre-made version. Just get a good canned baked beans and a package of your favorite hot dogs (you can even use smoked sausage or the sort if you want). Slice the dogs up and add them to the pan with the beans, heat it all up and you are all set. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2015, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beanie-weenies/727872/26 "2015-08-15T15:16:28Z")
> [@LH75](#): > > WE had it for dinner last week. I have always added those three ingredients along with some minced garlic Garlic! I never thought of that. Good addition! ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2015, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beanie-weenies/727872/27 "2015-08-15T15:21:32Z")
Yeah you gotta add good dogs to a big can of Campbell’s beans. Bacon, onion, brown sugar, and ketchup are a must. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2015, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beanie-weenies/727872/28 "2015-08-15T15:26:58Z")
No brown sugar. (Or baked beans.) Proper beanie-weenies are made with pork & beans. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2015, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beanie-weenies/727872/29 "2015-08-15T15:31:14Z")
Now I’m reminded of Grandma Brown’s canned baked beans, made right here in the region. A pale pasty can of white cooked beans meant to be doctored up with whatever ingredients floats your boat. And hot dogs, or better - sausages - on the side. Those are good eats, different from the reddish sauce in Bushs beans (of which there seem to be a million versions now). ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2015, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beanie-weenies/727872/30 "2015-08-15T16:05:18Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > Probably 6 months ago - it feels lie winter food to me. When it’s cold out prolly every other week. It’s quite cheap, yummy, and filling. Same here. We keep some on hand for snowstorm power failures. That’s the only time we open a can, so we eat them cold. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2015, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beanie-weenies/727872/31 "2015-08-15T16:19:10Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > No brown sugar. (Or baked beans.) **Proper beanie-weenies are made with pork & beans**. Correct! Using baked beans just makes it a cheap-ass cassoulet of some sort. Beanie-weenies are strictly pork & beans. After decades of experimentation, I’ve discovered that hot sauce and a dollop of BBQ sauce can add a nice zing to beanie-weenies. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2015, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beanie-weenies/727872/32 "2015-08-15T17:20:25Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Beanie-weenies are strictly pork & beans. Yes. > [@silenus](#): > > After decades of experimentation, I’ve discovered that hot sauce and a dollop of BBQ sauce can add a nice zing to beanie-weenies. Now, that’s just crazy talk! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2015, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beanie-weenies/727872/33 "2015-08-15T17:27:07Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > After decades of experimentation, I’ve discovered that hot sauce and a dollop of BBQ sauce can add a nice zing to beanie-weenies. Which is pretty much all you have to do to transform Pork and Beans into Baked Beans. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2015, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beanie-weenies/727872/34 "2015-08-15T17:33:59Z")
Nah. Baked beans have a lot more sweetener in them. All of the Bush’s varieties, for example, are an invitation to diabetes. ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2015, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beanie-weenies/727872/35 "2015-08-15T17:43:31Z")
I always browned the sliced hot dogs in a little butter before adding the beans. Same thing if I am using cubed spam, brown it a little first. If I’m using Campbell’s beans I add a little mustard, catsup and brown sugar. Bush’s beans don’t need anything else. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2015, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beanie-weenies/727872/36 "2015-08-15T17:47:26Z")
A couple of years ago I saw some microwavable “Franks and Beans” kiddie meals in a can at the local grocery and got nostalgic and went through a minor phase. They were quite good in a comfort food sort of way once I doctored them a little with catsup and mustard. Then the grocery stopped carrying them and I kind of forgot about them. Until now, damn it. I’ll have to start looking for them again, now I’ve got the craving. Damn it. ---
**Author:** ![BrassyPhrase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea666f/32.png) [@BrassyPhrase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrassyPhrase)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2015, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beanie-weenies/727872/37 "2015-08-15T18:48:44Z")
I probably make them a couple of times a year, but I don’t use the brand or any other versions of them. I use the Ranch Style Beans brand of beans (usually with the jalapenos) in it and some smoked sausage chunks. Some other hot sauce or BBQ sauce if I’m pretending I’m cooking and not assembling. And a side of cornbread. It’s cheap, quick and filling. It’s mostly a winter thing for me though. Although I had tons of the classic pork n beans and beanie weenies when I was younger, they are way too crazy sweet tasting for me now. (And one of my favorite memories is of my younger sister (11 years apart) who LOVED beanie weenies and would do this odd frankenstein singing voice anytime she got them when she was a kid “Beanie Weenieeeees. Beanie Weeeeeeeeeeeenies.” ) ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2015, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beanie-weenies/727872/38 "2015-08-15T18:57:39Z")
You are all in a conspiracy to make me break my reducing diet. _ **AREN’T YOU?** _ 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2015, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beanie-weenies/727872/39 "2015-08-15T19:50:03Z")
I’m inserting a hijack, which I hope doesn’t derail the thread; but it’s tangentally related. When I was little my (eight years older) sister made this: Slice hot dogs longitudinally, not all the way through. Slice hot dogs laterally, not all the way through. Fill the lengthwise slot with Campbell’s condensed Bean with Bacon Soup straight out of the can. Fold and bread American cheese into little rectangles. Insert the cheese rectangles into the lateral slots in the hot dog. Bake in the oven until it’s heated through and melty. I made this sometime in my early [del]adultery[/del] adulthood. Wasn’t as good as when I was a kid. Too salty. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2015, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beanie-weenies/727872/40 "2015-08-15T20:46:17Z")
Indeed, I ate a many bowls of that perennial “kid food”, beanie weenies as a child. Well, not exactly the type of beanie weenies I’m confident most of _you_ ate, but my family’s version of beanie weenies—_beluga oogas_. Our head cook always prepared quite elaborate multi-course meals for Mater and Pater and their snobbish guests, typically starting with an appetizer of hummingbird tongues marinated in a balsamic vinegar reduction, followed by 6-8 courses featuring mainly exotic and endangered animals, concluding with a thin mint wafer. Yes, Mater and Pater et al ate well, but our kitchen maid usually served my siblings and me dinners with no more than 5 courses (_I know, right?_), the main often being lowly beluga oogas (i.e. bite-sized beluga whale “dogs” suspended in beluga caviar). The sibs and I often rebelled at being served such plebian food by vomiting it all up in the kitchen on the shoes of our scullery maid (besides, blubbery whale meat didn’t sit well in the stomach on our after-dinner fox hunts). I had a rough childhood. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beanie-weenies/727872.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beanie-weenies/727872.md?page=3)