Red Beans and Rice
I was first introduced to New Orleans style red beans and rice by my aunt. Years ago, she gave me her recipe, which is included here with a few modifications that I’ve made over the years. Whenever we cook ham, the bone and a bit of the meat is saved so that I can cook a large batch of red beans and rice on the weekend. We freeze leftovers for a quick and hearty dinner during our busy weekdays.
Red Beans and Rice
A family favorite from New Orleans. This recipe is doubled and makes one large stock pot. Serve over white rice.
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Ingredients
- 2 lbs dried red beans small red or kidney
- 4 tbs butter
- 2 lbs smoked sausage sliced and quartered
- 2 yellow onions chopped
- 2 green bell peppers seeded and chopped
- 4 stalks celery chopped
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1 large ham bone with meat or smoked ham hock
- 3 bay leaves
- 2 tsps salt
- 2 tsps Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 tsp thyme
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp Tabasco sauce
Instructions
- Soak beans overnight in room temperature water.
- In a large stock pot, melt butter over medium high heat, add the sausage and cook until it starts to brown (about 5 to 7 minutes). Remove sausage from pan and set aside.
- Lower heat to medium. Add onions, pepper and celery and cook until tender (about 7 minutes). Add garlic and cook for another minute.
- Pour 12 cups of water into the pot over the vegetables. Add the soaked beans, ham hock, bay leaves and remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and cook uncovered for one hour.
- Add reserved sausage to stock pot. Continue cooking until beans are soft, another 1.5 to 2.5 hours
