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

[Dinny Bossa Nova]

Originally Posted by JimNasium

Best I've ever had:

RED BEANS AND RICE

The quintessential New Orleans dish, traditionally served on Mondays.
A lot of this is going to be trial-and-error, and it's going to take a little practice before you get it right. Me, I got good at it by making it once a week for over two years, and putting out an open invitation to my friends that there'd be red beans 'n rice at Chuck's place every Sunday (well, it was tough to cook on Mondays back then).
This dish holds a very special place in my heart. While I have many favorite dishes, and have had fabulous meals the likes of which come along very rarely ... this is tops. It's delicious, it's cheap, it's simple, and it makes me feel good. It's the number one comfort food in the world for me.
You'll probably want to fiddle with it each time you make it, and arrive at the exact, instinctual combinations of seasonings that you like. Feel free to alter this recipe to your taste, but don't stray too far.
You can make this dish completely vegetarian, and it's still really good; instructions are below.
This recipe is featured on pages 116-117 of the 2001 Frommer's Guide to New Orleans, for which I also wrote a bunch of restaurant reviews. Neato!

• 1 pound red kidney beans, dry
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 5 ribs celery, chopped
• As much garlic as you like, minced (I like lots, 5 or 6 cloves)
• 1 large smoked ham hock, 3/4 pound of Creole-style pickle meat (pickled pork), or 3/4 lb. smoked ham, diced, for seasoning
• 1 to 1-1/2 pounds mild or hot smoked sausage or andouille, sliced on the bias
• 1/2 to 1 tsp. dried thyme leaves, crushed
• 1 or 2 bay leaves
• As many dashes Crystal hot sauce or Tabasco as you like, to taste
• A few dashes Worcestershire sauce
• Creole seasoning blend, to taste; OR,
o red pepper and black pepper to taste
• Salt to taste
• Fresh Creole hot sausage or chaurice, links or patties, grilled or pan-fried, one link or patty per person (optional)
• Pickled onions (optional)
Soak the beans overnight, if possible. The next day, drain and put fresh water in the pot. (This helps reduce the, um, flatulence factor.) Bring the beans to a rolling boil. Make sure the beans are always covered by water, or they will discolor and get hard. Boil the beans for about 45 - 60 minutes, until the beans are tender but not falling apart. Drain.
While the beans are boiling, sauté the Trinity (onions, celery, bell pepper) until the onions turn translucent. Add the garlic and saute for 2 more minutes, stirring occasionally. After the beans are boiled and drained, add the sautéed vegetables to the beans, then add the ham hock (or ham or pickle meat), smoked sausage, seasonings, and just enough water to cover.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a low simmer. Cook for 2 hours at least, preferably 3, until the whole thing gets nice and creamy. Adjust seasonings as you go along. Stir occasionally, making sure that it doesn't burn and/or stick to the bottom of the pot. (If the beans are old -- say, older than six months to a year -- they won't get creamy. Make sure the beans are reasonably fresh. If it's still not getting creamy, take 1 or 2 cups of beans out and mash them, then return them to the pot and stir.)
If you can ... let the beans cool, stick them in the fridge, and reheat and serve for dinner the next day. They'll taste a LOT better. When you do this, you'll need to add a little water to get them to the right consistency.
Serve generous ladles-ful over hot white long-grain rice, with good French bread and good beer. I also love to serve grilled or broiled fresh Creole hot sausage or chaurice on the side. Do not serve with a canned-beet salad, like my Mom always used to do. (Sorry, Mom ... try something interesting with fresh beets and we'll talk. :^)
I like serving a few small pickled onions with my red beans -- I chop them up and mix them in with the beans. It's great! Why does it taste so good? As my sister's friend (and dyed-in-the-wool New Orleanian) Cherie Valenti would say ... "It's da vineguh!"
YIELD: 8 servings


Vegetarian Version
Follow the same instructions as for the regular version above, except:
Omit the ham hock (or ham or pickle meat), and the smoked sausage.
Add 2 tablespoons vegetable oil along with the seasonings.
Add 1 teaspoon (or enough as you like, to taste) of liquid smoke seasoning. The vegetable oil helps replace the fat you get from the sausage, and the liquid smoke flavoring helps replace the smokiness you get from the smoked sausage and smoked ham hock. Be very careful with liquid smoke, though ... a little goes a long way and it's really easy to overdo it.





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Chuck Taggart (e-mail chuck)

This looks like what I'm seeking.

I'm smoking some neckbones for the hamhock. I've got lots of andouille, so I will make several attempts with this and other recipes 'til I get it right.

There will be a certain air about me....

Dinny

[GESteve]

Go buy some Blue Runner Beans.

[RJ]

A couple of tips.

Don't drown your beans. When you add the water, only cover them by about two inches. As they cook, you can always add a little more if needed. This will create a sort of "gravy" that you won't get with a pot full of water.

Also, if you like that creamy consistency, take a couple cups of beans out towards the end and mash them a bit with a fork, then return them to the pot.

Whatever recipe you choose, those two things will help the end result.

Damn, that's sounding good now. I probably have a bag of red beans in the house.....

[Dinny Bossa Nova]

I've had a blast this week making sausage.

Made ~9lbs. breakfast sausage and ~6lbs. andouille.

I'll never buy store-bought sausage again.

mmmmmm.... SAGE!!!!!

Dinny

[JimNasium]

Originally Posted by RJ

A couple of tips.

Don't drown your beans. When you add the water, only cover them by about two inches. As they cook, you can always add a little more if needed. This will create a sort of "gravy" that you won't get with a pot full of water.

Also, if you like that creamy consistency, take a couple cups of beans out towards the end and mash them a bit with a fork, then return them to the pot.

Whatever recipe you choose, those two things will help the end result.

Damn, that's sounding good now. I probably have a bag of red beans in the house.....

Yep, you've got to be patient and let the bean break down. They are actually best if cooked and cooled then reheated.

[Dinny Bossa Nova]

Not a problem on the time.

I don't want quick, want tasty.

I'm all tasted up for a Dixie.

Dinny

[JimNasium]

Originally Posted by Dinny Blues

Not a problem on the time.

I don't want quick, want tasty.

I'm all tasted up for a Dixie.

Dinny

Awesome. Where are you living these days?

[RJ]

Originally Posted by Dinny Blues

I've had a blast this week making sausage.

Made ~9lbs. breakfast sausage and ~6lbs. andouille.

I'll never buy store-bought sausage again.

mmmmmm.... SAGE!!!!!

Dinny

Since you're too far away to share the sausage how about you share the process/recipe?

[Dinny Bossa Nova]

Originally Posted by JimNasium

Awesome. Where are you living these days?

Springville.

You in Nawlins now, or local?

I'd love to sample some of your home brew.

Dinny

[JimNasium]

Originally Posted by Dinny Blues

Springville.

You in Nawlins now, or local?

I'd love to sample some of your home brew.

Dinny

I'm still local. I'll give you a shout next time I brew.

[Dinny Bossa Nova]

Originally Posted by RJ

Since you're too far away to share the sausage how about you share the process/recipe?

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

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

[KcMizzou]

...didn't miss her.

[Dinny Bossa Nova]

I like brown rice for most everything.

But in red beans and rice, I prefer the standard Uncle Ben's converted. Can't get the white off it.

Dinny

[Dinny Bossa Nova]

Originally Posted by JimNasium

I'm still local. I'll give you a shout next time I brew.

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