The Christmas Elf Eats an IMP ["Beans"] for Breakfast Christmas Morn

[rattattoo]

On other regionalisms:
The "bee-hive" oven that I mentioned in the review is just that, a small oven adjoining the open fireplace that was shaped inside like a cartoon beehive and closed with a cast iron door. It was located up at the level of the flue and vented out of the side of the fireplace and then back into the chimney above, so that the very hot air would pass-through... You can think of it as the pioneer's slow-cooker/crockpot.

I come from old families, with old homes, and I'm old. I forget that others might not know or remember some of the things that I do.

[Vlaanderen]

Hi Rattattoo,

Don't worry my friend, I'm old also .

My searching on Google relates to many customary American terminations, for instance, when I first arrived on this excellent forum, the first thing what I didn't understand was "Entrees", what the hell are them I thought.

This was not to be detrimental to anyone on the forum, far from it.

After reading our good friend Housils reviews and write ups, everything fell into place. ( Housil is from this side of the "pond". )

I have learnt recently that "Elandil" is from the South, and he brews his tea in a Southern style, would never have brewed my tea that way, but seriously that is how tea is made in his neck of the woods.

Ah, you have mentioned Northumberland!, " mi mam is fray the "Nuf East", bun an' livvd afore war".

My mother was born in Newcastle, so, "My mother is from in the North East, she was born and lived there before the war"..

We share the same language, both sides of the "pond", I, am lucky to speak the different dialects around these parts, within thirty miles of where I live, Scouse, Manc, Easr and West Lancs, and even the Wigan area, even Geordie,

Many years ago when I was a kid, I watched the "Beverley Hillbillies", an attempt by the US t.v. companies to move away from violence,etc., what were "Hog Jowl and Grits"?, especially smoking "Crawdads"?.

All in all, to me, living in "The Hub Of The Universe", Fulwood, North West England , I hope everyone had a Good Christmas and the very best for the forthcoming New Year, a better one than last year.

Sat here with a "Jim Beam" bourbon over ice,with Pepsi.

Have a good holiday everyone,

Regards, Norman.

[Norton]

....Pork and beans are just a cheap lunch in Virginia, except picnic beans. Those are closer to what you described for Maine. The beans looked good in the photos.

Yeah. I am aware that that golden retriever pushes "Bushes" beans for you folks down south, however, I will hold to my stance that if you have ever tried the gen-U-ine B&M beans you will never, ever go back.
I am fairly certain that B&M actually have national distribution now. They're well worth trying.

Rattattoo I was not talking about the Golden Retriever's picnic beans, although they are not that bad and that dog is good salesmen in the South.
What I meant by picnic beans was the casserole dish served at summer outside events such as picnics or family reunions
The beans I was talking about would be normal canned navy beans that were all doctored up with brown sugar, thick cut bacon or sweet ham and some of your own spices.
They were cooked to thicken up so they almost had to served with a spatula. or they had to be peeled off the big spoon
This dish was served cold in a casserole dish. with fried chicken, hot dogs, hamburgers ,lemon sheet cake sweet iced tea etc. You more than likely saw and ate this type of side dish in the Carolina's It was not anything special and some versions are to sweet (Not always cold, but in July yes it would be served cold)

But I always wanted to try some real New England or Boston baked beans, I have never had them and now you have me interested. I would like to travel to Maine at least once in life to canoe. The idea of beans for breakfast is new to me, but I am changing my mind

That Bee Hive cooker sounds interesting, I googled it and can't find a good representation. I enjoy reading about traditional cooking methods in day past
If you have a photo I would like to see it, my brother is very interested in that sort of thing as well

[rattattoo]

Vlaanderen- Hog jowls are just that. Stewed for ages until fall off the bone tender. The mastoid muscle there is really good, flavorful meat if cooked long enough. As my mother used to say, "the closer to the bone, the sweeter the meat". I am sure it is an acquired taste, ...like trotters.
Grits are a course ground corn [maize] meal that gets slow cooked as a thick mush. Southerners eat it as a breakfast side dish with butter, salt and pepper, but it can get cheezed up, or cooled and then fried like Italian polenta and even it can be eaten with crawdads or shrimp.
Crawdads are also known as crayfish/crawfish and are a 3"-4" freshwater "lobster. Very good and a staple of New Orleans/Cajun/Creole cooking. As far as "smoking crawdads", I just don't know. Usually, they are just tossed in boiling water until they turn bright red just as you would with a lobster. You can also "throw them on the barbie'", like the Aussies do with their "prawns" [shrimp to us]
All three of these featured on the Beverly Hillbillies because they were considered poor folks food, Jeb and the family were "just" poor folks who had come up in the world. The truth is that they "just" knew good food, even if it was simple, and the real joke is actually on those who laughed down at their rural tastes back then, because shrimp-and-grits, and crayfish, are both served in some pretty high end American restaurants these days. For hog jowls you still have to go to an afro-American, "Soul-food" restaurant.

Norton- the thing about beehive ovens is that almost anything you might see today was built to be strictly decorative. Most of the pictures I searched for my post above they are actually just an open brick niche that people put dried flowers and the like in. They aren't even vented into the fireplace. My village was incorporated in 1785. We actually still have quite a number of homes that date back to the 18th-century, so the ovens are not uncommon up here. I suspect that the 19th century cast-iron cookstove dealt the deathblow to the beehive oven.

[elandil]

I have learnt recently that "Elandil" is from the South, and he brews his tea in a Southern style, would never have brewed my tea that way, but seriously that is how tea is made in his neck of the woods.

And its made a gallon at a time....don't forget that part..

Many years ago when I was a kid, I watched the "Beverley Hillbillies", an attempt by the US t.v. companies to move away from violence,etc., what were "Hog Jowl and Grits"?, especially smoking "Crawdads"?.

Crawdads are like baby lobsters. Usually about the size of a big prawn,they grow well in the swamps of the south, especially around Cajun country.

Hog Jowls are pork cheeks. Usually brined/cured and smoked, its similar to a fatty bacon.

Grits and Polenta are very similar. Polenta is a yellow corn hominy fine ground into meal and cooked as a mush. Grits are a white corn hominy coarse ground and cooked as a mush. Polenta tends to be a dinner staple, grits are a breakfast staple.

Sat here with a "Jim Beam" bourbon over ice,with Pepsi.

Have a good holiday everyone,

Regards, Norman.

Cheers, and a Happy Boxing Day. Im about to have a snifter of Glenfiddich 12yr old single malt myself.

[rattattoo]

I see that great minds worked in tandem, and in synchronicity here to educate the masses.... LOL

elandil- "Hog Jowls are pork cheeks. Usually brined/cured and smoked, its similar to a fatty bacon."

I actually have only had them pulled right off the skull at a whole hog barbecue. It's a piece that I always grab for. They don't last long though. Somebody knowledgable will pick them off awfully quickly.

[Paul Buikema]

Nice to see someone else looking in to IMP's. I had this one a few weeks ago and have a vid coming out early next year about it. Gotta love that fibre!

[RockyRaab]

Great job. I'm a huge fan of beans on toast "wif a egg" as the Brits would say. Buttered toast, a heaping helping of baked beans, and a fried egg to top it off. Wonderful breakfast. I use Bush's brand but I'm always on the lookout for B&M beans. There really is a difference in canned beans, although none of them touch real crockery-baked beans as described.

[rabidwolf]

Great review, can't wait to get my hands on an IMP.

[rattattoo]

RockyRaab- one of the other interesting things about New Englanders and baked beans is that they are a fairly common breakfast side. I guess that's part of the northeast's English heritage.
Additionally, baked beans is a traditional side dish to go with codfish balls... These are a concoction of shredded salt cod soaked in milk, and then combined with just enough mashed potatoes to hold them together. Rolled into small balls, and then very lightly deep-fried, they are delicious. And they are far better than they sound. My late wife's mother used to make some for us every Christmas Eve. Always with beans on the side.