Red beans and rice

Red Beans and Rice

I know I've mentioned this before, but South Louisiana is one of my favorite places to visit (along with Michigan's Upper Peninsula). For seven years in a row, my son and I vacationed there. We stayed at Cajun Cabins of Bayou Corne, just outside of Pierre Part, Louisiana and always enjoyed it. If you want to see the real Louisiana Bayou, this is the place to stay!

Most restaurants in the area offer this on their menu. In South Louisiana, red beans and rice is traditionally a Monday night dinner. I don’t know why that is, but so be it. Make up a big batch of this on Sunday while you watch a football game and then, when you get home from work on Monday, all you have to do is heat it up while you make bread. What else do you have to look forward to on Mondays?

1 lb. dried red beans

Water

4 slices of bacon

2 onions, chopped

1 bell pepper, chopped

2 jalapeño peppers, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 lb. smoked sausage

2 bay leaves

1 tsp. thyme

1 tsp. oregano

1 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. garlic salt

1 tsp. fresh ground white pepper

1 tsp. paprika

1 cup white wine

3 smoked ham hocks

Tabasco

Cajun seasoning (I like Slap yo Mama!)

Freshly steamed rice

Preparation

Sort through the red beans and remove anything that isn’t a red bean. You’d be surprised what I’ve found mixed in with beans over the years. Rinse the beans and place them in a pot. Cover them with water. Bring the water to a boil and cover the pot and turn off the heat. Let them soak at least an hour, or even over night. 

In a large pot, cook the bacon until crisp and set aside. Add the smoked sausage to the bacon fat and brown on both sides. Add the onion, celery, peppers and garlic. Stir and let them cook a few minutes. Crumble up the bacon and add that with the smoked pork hocks, bay leaves, thyme, oregano, onion powder, garlic salt, pepper and paprika. Stir and allow it to cook a few minutes.

Add the wine and scrape up anything that has stuck to the bottom of the pot. Add the drained beans and enough water to cover everything by at least an inch, at least three quarts. Use fresh water, not the soaking water. 

Bring everything to a boil. Give it a few sprinkles of Tabasco and several shakes of cajun seasoning. Reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 2-1/2 to 3 hours. Stir often. 

During the last hour, smash a few of the beans with your spoon against the side of the pot as you stir. When everything is ready, the sauce should be nice and thick. The ham hocks should have broken up as it cooked. If not, help them along. Taste for salt, pepper and Tabasco.

Serving

To serve this, take a large soup bowl and place a big scoop of rice in it. Now ladle on the red beans, getting plenty of meat. You also want fresh baked bread and butter, a large salad, ice cold beer and plenty of Tabasco. Dat good, you know!