Well, interesting side note. I inadvertently found my self in a baked-bean cookoff with one of my former class mates at my 40th class reunion tail gate party yesterday evening. I posted about two weeks ago that my side dish would be baked beans. Some days later Fred, my former classmate, posted that he too, would be bringing baked beans.
We were the only two that brought that dish, so there was good natured rivalry from the git go.
So, we were comparing ingredients. I said, “Brown sugar?”
He said, “Yup!”
I said, “Onions?”
He said “Yup! Smoke sauce?”
I said, “Yup. And a touch of maple flavoring.”
He said, “But I put a pound and a half of bacon in mine!!”
I said, “Um, well, I don’t think I put a pound and a half, but probably half a pound. And also, bell peppers.”
One other crucial, (IMO) difference, was that I always cook mine until the ingredients all but disappear. They become as one.
He didn’t. Every bite was filled with chunks of bacon. It was very good, though. Way, way better than most, actually. But the “meat” thing seemed really important to him. The subtle veggie and other flavoring was more important to me.