Red Beans and Rice

Ingredients

• • 1lb dried small red beans

  • 1/4 cup bacon drippings, ham fat or oil

  • 1 lb andouille sausage cut 1/4"  in rounds

  • 1 lg onion, chopped

  • 1 lg green bell pepper, chopped

  • 4 stalks of celery, chopped

  • 1 tbsp minced garlic

  • 1 teaspoon (about 4g) ground sage

  • 1/2 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon ground cayenne pepper (as hot as you like)

  • Freshly ground black pepper

  • 4 sprigs fresh thyme

  • 3 bay leaves

  • 4 oz bacon scraps or ham bone and scraps

  • 8-10 cups ham stock or other meat stock

  • 1 smoked ham hock (optional)

  • Louisiana Hot sauce, such as Crystal or Frank's, to taste

  • Cider vinegar, to taste (optional; see note)

Preparation

1. Prepare beans night before. Clean and sort through beans to remove foreign objects. Rinse several times. In a large mixing bowl combine beans with 6 qt water and 2 tbsp of kosher salt. Set aside , room temp, 8-12 hrs. 

2. In a large Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add andouille and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add onion, bell pepper, and celery. Season with salt and cook, stirring, until vegetables have softened and are just starting to brown around the edges, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 45 seconds. Add cayenne pepper, sage, and a generous 10 to 12 grinds of fresh black pepper. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add beans, along with enough water to cover by about 2 inches (roughly 6 to 8 cups), ham hock (if using), pickled pork (if using), thyme, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil and reduce to a bare simmer. Cover and cook until beans are completely tender, 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours. (*Older beans can take longer.)

3. *About the beans.  When finishing up the recipe if there is not enough liquid then add some broth about 1/2 cup at a time and stir.  If there is TOO much liquid then a small amount of roux can be added to thicken. I actually prefer the latter because it makes a lot of the sauce to pour over rice or to dip the bread.  I happened to have some pre-made roux on hand and took about 2-3 tbsp in a small sauce pan then added about 1/2 cup of the hot liquid from the red beans broth. Heat over medium heat stirring and adding more liquid until melted but still thick.  Add back to the pot and stir in well.   

4. Serve over rice with crusty French bread.

 Jeffrey Cowgill 2010 (updated 2024)