April 2007 - Red Beans and Rice

New Orleans-style Red Beans and Rice

After returning home from a trip to New Orleans I just had to find a recipe that came close to the red beans and rice I ate almost every day while I was there. The only one that appeared to come close was from America’s Test Kitchen. After following their recipe the first time, I thought it needed some minor adjustments to the ingredients and cooking method. This is my take on their recipe and I think it is just as good, if not better than, anything I had in “The Big Easy”.

This recipe works best to soak the beans the night before and then start cooking in the crock pot in the morning before you head out the door. If you are usually pinched for time in the morning, everything in Step 2 can be cooked and refrigerated overnight and then added straight to the crock pot in the morning. If cooked on low, this recipe will be ready for you whenever you return home in the evening.

NOTE: The dried beans, bacon and sausage usually come in packages that are twice the amount you will need, so I put the other half of the uncooked bacon and sausage in the freezer to save me a trip to the store when I make the next batch.

Serves: 6 to 8

1 pound dried small red kidney beans, soaked overnight in water
4-6 slices of bacon, chopped fine
1 medium yellow onion, minced
1 bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and chopped fine
4 ribs of celery, chopped fine
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
6 cups water
½ pound andouille or kielbasa sausage, quartered and sliced half-inch thick
4 bay leaves
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1-2 tablespoons Louisiana-style hot sauce (e.g. Crystal)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
Salt and pepper to taste

Step 1: Soak dried red beans overnight in large bowl of water. Beans will almost double in size so be sure to use a big enough bowl and cover with plenty of water.

Step 2: Brown the bacon over medium heat in large frying pan. After the bacon is browned you can either leave in all the drippings or remove all but 1-2 tablespoons if desired. Add onions, bell pepper, celery and 1 teaspoon of salt and continue to cook over medium heat until vegetables just begin to brown, about 8 minutes. Stir in garlic, oregano, thyme and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in 1 cup of water to loosen any browned bits from the bottom of pan and then transfer everything to crock pot.

Step 3: Drain beans and transfer to crock pot. Add remaining 5 cups of water, sausage, bay leaves, cayenne pepper, hot sauce, brown sugar and pepper to taste (wait to add additional salt until after the beans have cooked and the sauce is reduced). Cook on low for about 8 hours.

Step 4: If the beans are a little runny when you return home, transfer the contents from the crock pot to a large stock pot and cook uncovered over medium-high heat on the stove to let some of the liquid evaporate. Sauce should reduce to be the consistency of gravy. Add additional water if sauce gets too thick. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve over plain white rice.