Red Beans And Rice

[Dinny Bossa Nova]

Anybody got a good recipe?

I'm smoking some andouille sausage today that I have been making this week. Got some neckbones to smoke with it.

I love red beans and rice, but when I order it in a restaurant, it is usually too spicy. I have found that the andouille they use is already too hot, and makes the entire dish unbearable. (yes, i'm a woos)

I'd like to wind up at a medium spicy level. When my taste buds are blistered, they no longer work for me.

I believe there are better cooks here than google.

Ideas?

Dinny

[luv]

Originally Posted by KcMizzou

...didn't miss her.

It took me a minute, but I finally got that.

[JimNasium]

Originally Posted by Dinny Blues

I would like to get involved or help or just get in the way when you brew your next batch. I've long wanted to brew my own, and would like some pointers/practice before I start buying the wrong stuff.

Dinny

No problem. You'll have to drink while you help. I hope that's not a deal killer.

[luv]

Originally Posted by Phobia

Awesome thread. I too have been using brown rice in everything. It's even good in fried rice recipes. It's different but good.

I've been on a rice kick lately. Uncle Ben's whole grain brown rice, FTW.

[JimNasium]

Originally Posted by BucEyedPea

Quick coooking rice is devoid of B Vitamin complex. Subsitute that with authentic brown rice.

Not with red beans...that's blasphemy. Long grain white rice in a rice steamer is the only way to go for cajun/creole.

[Dinny Bossa Nova]

Originally Posted by JimNasium

Not with red beans...that's blasphemy. Long grain white rice in a rice steamer is the only way to go for cajun/creole.

I couldn't agree with you more, Nas. I have an electric steamer that I use for fish, seafood and vegetables, and I discovered that there is no better way to prepare rice.

Dinny

[Predarat]

Originally Posted by kstater

Call me a cheat, but I like the mix that Zattarans(sp?) puts out.

Thats some good stuff, I use that all the time. That or I buy a large side at popeyes and take it home. Though there are some great recipies on here so i may try one of those.

[Stewie]

Originally Posted by Dinny Blues

I use a very large pork loin roast (tender'na muthas luv) at a 2 to 1 ratio of boneless country style ribs (fat and flava).

Then I use these recipes as suggestions, not necessarily directions.

Breakfast Sausage

4 feet small hog or sheep casing
2 1/4 pounds lean pork butt, cut into one-inch cubes
3/4 pound pork fat, cut into one-inch cubes
3 teaspoons coarse (kosher) salt
3/4 teaspoon finely ground white or black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 1/2 teaspoons dried sage
1/4 teaspoon dried summer savory
3/4 teaspoon sugar (optional)
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper


Andouille

step 1 Gather Ingredients
5 pounds of nice shoulder pork and diced it into 1/2 inch cubes.
3 tablespoon Kosher Salt
3 teaspoons Cayenne Pepper
1 teaspoon Pink Salt(Curing Salt)
2 teaspoons Fresh Minced Thyme
1/8 teaspoon Nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon Cloves
1/8 teaspoon Allspice
3/4 teaspoon Dry Mustard
3/4 cup chopped Onion
1/4 cup chopped Shallot
1 tablespoon Minced Garlic
10 Feet or so of washed hog casings
Couple poundsof Applewood Chips
Smoker and Whole Wood Charcoal


step 2 Cube the Pork and Combine the Spices, Vegetables and Herbs
Cube the Pork Shoulder into 1/2 inch cubes and combine all of the pork and the herbs, vegetables, spices, salt into a non-reactive container and refrigerate for 8-10 hours or overnight.


step 3 Grind the Pork, Emulsify the Meat and Chill for the next Step
1) Create a ice water bath for your steel bowl and using a larger grinding disk, chop all of the meat into the chilled bowl (be careful, do not let the meat fat smear or get warm!).

2) Place 1/2 the ground meat into the KitchenAid bowl and using the paddle, mix for 2 minutes to emulsify and bind the meat and distribute the spices, etc.

3) Repeat the step above for other 1/2 of the meat and place back into the non-reactive container and move the ground meat back into the refrigerator for another 4 hours.


step 4 Stuff the Sausage in the Casings
1) Place your sausage stuffing attachment onto the KitchenAid and work the casing onto the tube (hint place a little bit of water into the opening of the casing before you slide it on the tube and it will slide on easier) and slowly stuff the sausage keeping excess air out of the sausage.

2) Tie off your sausages the non-reactive container and move the ground meat back into the refridgerator for another 4 hours.


step 5 Smoke the Sausages
1) Prepare Applewood chips by placing them into water.

2) Prepare your smoker and smoke the sausage for 3 hours to an internal temperature of 150 degrees. Be careful not to get the smoke too hot or the casings will burst!

3) Remove from the smoker and let them cool.



My hands still smell like onions. But it's a good kinda onions.

Dinny

Those both sound great Dinny. I make sausage at Christmas but that's it. I need to put my grinder to use more often.

It's funny, but I used to buy pre-ground beef and pork and mix them for the sausage I make. That was before I bought a grinder. The recipes I got from my grandfather always said to be sure to grind beef and pork together and I never knew why, until I did it. It's something about the consistency, or the fat dispersion, or... I don't know what. It definitely makes a difference.

[BigOlChiefsfan]

All looks good. I cook a lot of beans, here are a few tips that might be useful.

Buy fresh dry beans. Dry beans 'keep forever' but they don't improve with age. Old beans are 'tougher' than this years crop. *(any brand of dry beans will do, but if you can find Camellia brand red beans...buy 'em)

Do not add salt to the beans until they're almost done cooking. Too much salt during the cooking time can toughen the beans skins. Don't know why, just noted that it happens. If you're using salted meats or broths to cook with, this becomes more important.

As noted, mashing a cup or 2 of beans with some juice and returning to the pot will make for a creamy finished dish. But wait until you're about ready to serve the beans - these creamy beans are more likely to burn.

IF you DO burn the beans - do not stir, you'll just mix the burnt-flavor. Pour them into another pan asap and pay more attention next time.

When the beans are done, pour 3 or 4 tablespoons of olive oil in s small skillet over medium heat. Add 5 or 6 minced cloves of garlic and a tablespoon of cumin seed and/or mustard seed, stir until you can really smell the garlic and then stir the oil and aromatics into the beans. This tip is the typical 'tempering' of Indian bean and lentil dahl/dals, but it works a charm on American beans, too.

Everybody has their favorite rice for this dish - my NOLA inlaws always swore by Riceland extra-long grain white. They'd saute' the rice in canola or olive oil - like rice-a-roni - before they added the water and boiled it. That works well for me.

[Dinny Bossa Nova]

FWIW, I use the Kitchen-Aid for grinding and mixing.

I have a 5lb. vertical sausage stuffer, the Kitchen-Aid stuffer gets bad reviews, so I never got one.

Kitchen-Aid makes awesome tools.

Dinny

[Fishpicker]

Mahatma has a really good packaged mix of RB&R. it reminds me of the RB&R from Red Beans' Bayou Grill.

[RJ]

Originally Posted by Dinny Blues

FWIW, I use the Kitchen-Aid for grinding and mixing.

I have a 5lb. vertical sausage stuffer, the Kitchen-Aid stuffer gets bad reviews, so I never got one.

Kitchen-Aid makes awesome tools.

Dinny

Are you referring to a food processor? If so, what size?

Thanks for posting the sausage recipes. I've been meaning to try that for years but never got around to it. Doesn't look too difficult if you have the time.

[RJ]

Originally Posted by Phobia

Awesome thread. I too have been using brown rice in everything. It's even good in fried rice recipes. It's different but good.

I had some leftover chicken fajitas and some leftover brown rice in the refrigerator. Two eggs, some soy sauce and a few chopped vegetables later it was chicken fried rice. Pretty damn good.

[Stewie]

Originally Posted by RJ

I had some leftover chicken fajitas and some leftover brown rice in the refrigerator. Two eggs, some soy sauce and a few chopped vegetables later it was chicken fried rice. Pretty damn good.

Don't forget the sesame oil. Mmm... good.

I think Dinny was talking about the meat grinding attachment that's an option on the KitchenAid mixer.

[Dinny Bossa Nova]

Originally Posted by Stewie

Don't forget the sesame oil. Mmm... good.

I think Dinny was talking about the meat grinding attachment that's an option on the KitchenAid mixer.

Yup.

The grinding attachment works perfect for me. I have only done about 15lbs for a batch, so it works fine. I think more than that would require some more horsepower. The motor gets pretty warm.

The Kitchen-Aid processor has too high RPM. A facefull of carrots is one thing, a facefull of pork loin would be another.

Dinny

[RJ]

Originally Posted by Stewie

Don't forget the sesame oil. Mmm... good.

I think Dinny was talking about the meat grinding attachment that's an option on the KitchenAid mixer.

Yep, I put a few drops in the eggs before I beat them. A subtle yet fantastic difference.