My Red Beans and Rice.
1 - Package of smoked Hamhocks or 1 package of smoked pork neck bones. I like to do both.
1-2 packages of small red beans - soak for 8 hours.
1-2 package of long grain rice. Don't use sticky Asian rice or Indian Basmati rice. Just plain cheap long grain rice is good enough.
2-3 celery stalks
2 - Yellow or white onion
2-4 cloves of garlic
1 - red or green bell pepper
1 - Smoked Andouille sausage. Get the good kind from a butcher or deli. The hilshire farms / johnsonville stuff is just not as good.
1-5 tablespoons of cayenne pepper or paprika if you want it mild. I recommend at least 2 tablespoons of cayenne or paprika.
2-4 tablespoons of thyme. 2-3 tablespoons should be good enough.
2 - bay leaves
1-4 tablespoons of louisiana hot sauce. I just eye it as I'm pouring the bottle. Not sure, but I do like a lot of it
Optional - Chipotle peppers or even the canned stuff in adobo sauce. Use less cayenne pepper if using chipotle peppers.
Soak red beans over night.
In a large pot, cook the holy trinity (diced up onions, celery, and bell peppers) in olive oil. If you want to keep it traditional, you may use lard or even chunks of pork fat / bacon fat.
Cook the holy trinity until the onions are soft and start to become transparent and becomes mushy.
Throw in chopped garlic and chopped andouille sausage.
I like to cook my andouille sausage so it has a bit a char around the outside of it. The bottom of the pan will start to get sticky and caramelize from the sugars from the sausage and onions. Everything is going to smell amazing and you're going to have to keep yourself form wanting to scoop out the goodness onto a bed of rice and eat it all, as is
Some people like to char the hamhocks and neckbones, but I rarely have a pot that's big enough to do this. Instead, I just dump the smoked hamhocks or neckbones, beans and lots of water. I don't have an exact measurement for the water. I just eye it. Should be enough to have everything submerged under atleast 3 inches of water.
I add the bay leaves and let the water boil. Once the water boils, I scoop out any foam or crud that floats to the top along with any extra grease or oil.
Once the water is "cleaned," I add the thyme, cayenne pepper, some louisiana hot sauce and a little bit of salt. From here on, it's a long 4 - 8 hour simmer.
Usually about the 4 hour mark, I'll check the water and add some if needed. I'll give the broth a little taste to measure saltiness to judge if I'll need to add more. If it's a hint of a salt is tasted, it should be fine to add just a dash more. At this time, you may wish to mash some of the beans in the pot with a large spoon to give it a combination of creamy and whole bean texture.
I then simmer for another 4 hours or I'll put it in the absolutely lowest setting covered and go to bed. Next morning, you'll have a nice, smokey, zingy pot of red beans ready.
You can scoop out all the bones at the bottom. All the meat should have melted off the bones, at this point. For the hamhocks, I'll pull out all the hamhock goodness onto a cutting board and chop them into smaller pieces and dump them back into the pot. Otherwise, I just serve it in whole pieces in the bowl.
This is good enough to enjoy without any rice and most people I serve this to actually prefers it without the rice. I like it with the rice, personally.
Enjoy.
1 - Package of smoked Hamhocks or 1 package of smoked pork neck bones. I like to do both.
1-2 packages of small red beans - soak for 8 hours.
1-2 package of long grain rice. Don't use sticky Asian rice or Indian Basmati rice. Just plain cheap long grain rice is good enough.
2-3 celery stalks
2 - Yellow or white onion
2-4 cloves of garlic
1 - red or green bell pepper
1 - Smoked Andouille sausage. Get the good kind from a butcher or deli. The hilshire farms / johnsonville stuff is just not as good.
1-5 tablespoons of cayenne pepper or paprika if you want it mild. I recommend at least 2 tablespoons of cayenne or paprika.
2-4 tablespoons of thyme. 2-3 tablespoons should be good enough.
2 - bay leaves
1-4 tablespoons of louisiana hot sauce. I just eye it as I'm pouring the bottle. Not sure, but I do like a lot of it
Optional - Chipotle peppers or even the canned stuff in adobo sauce. Use less cayenne pepper if using chipotle peppers.
Soak red beans over night.
In a large pot, cook the holy trinity (diced up onions, celery, and bell peppers) in olive oil. If you want to keep it traditional, you may use lard or even chunks of pork fat / bacon fat.
Cook the holy trinity until the onions are soft and start to become transparent and becomes mushy.
Throw in chopped garlic and chopped andouille sausage.
I like to cook my andouille sausage so it has a bit a char around the outside of it. The bottom of the pan will start to get sticky and caramelize from the sugars from the sausage and onions. Everything is going to smell amazing and you're going to have to keep yourself form wanting to scoop out the goodness onto a bed of rice and eat it all, as is
Some people like to char the hamhocks and neckbones, but I rarely have a pot that's big enough to do this. Instead, I just dump the smoked hamhocks or neckbones, beans and lots of water. I don't have an exact measurement for the water. I just eye it. Should be enough to have everything submerged under atleast 3 inches of water.
I add the bay leaves and let the water boil. Once the water boils, I scoop out any foam or crud that floats to the top along with any extra grease or oil.
Once the water is "cleaned," I add the thyme, cayenne pepper, some louisiana hot sauce and a little bit of salt. From here on, it's a long 4 - 8 hour simmer.
Usually about the 4 hour mark, I'll check the water and add some if needed. I'll give the broth a little taste to measure saltiness to judge if I'll need to add more. If it's a hint of a salt is tasted, it should be fine to add just a dash more. At this time, you may wish to mash some of the beans in the pot with a large spoon to give it a combination of creamy and whole bean texture.
I then simmer for another 4 hours or I'll put it in the absolutely lowest setting covered and go to bed. Next morning, you'll have a nice, smokey, zingy pot of red beans ready.
You can scoop out all the bones at the bottom. All the meat should have melted off the bones, at this point. For the hamhocks, I'll pull out all the hamhock goodness onto a cutting board and chop them into smaller pieces and dump them back into the pot. Otherwise, I just serve it in whole pieces in the bowl.
This is good enough to enjoy without any rice and most people I serve this to actually prefers it without the rice. I like it with the rice, personally.
Enjoy.
