[Discussion] [Question] Red Beans and Rice
[Discussion] [Question] Red Beans and Rice
So I have never had this dish! Most dishes I cook I have tasted a variant of it so I know how it should taste when I make it, but Cajun/Creole/Louisiana food in general is something I’ve never had the pleasure of trying first hand but the spices always look really tasty. Does anyone have a good recipe to share with me, with maybe some notes about how it should taste? I usually don’t cook with meat at home, so meat substitutes would be useful, but I still use chicken stock and enjoy cooking with sausages like andouille and kielbasas. I think my kitchen is pretty well stocked other than the meat bit! I do lack an instant pot, but I’ve got a Dutch oven and a slow cooker and a rice cooker, etc.
I do lack an instant pot
An instant pot isn't useful here. If you cook it in an instant pot, the liquid used to cook the beans won't thicken up at all. It's one of those things where the liquid both has to reduce, and the starches etc. in the beans have to be extracted to thicken the remaining liquid. This just takes time. Same with extracting some of the flavors from the sausages, etc.
My personal opinion is to roughly quadruple the amount of the spices/herbs used (except the onion); I find truly authentic recipes to have a little less punch than I prefer.
We make Alton Brown's recipe frequently at my house.
We tend to skip on the 3-day pickled pork journey in favor of a much easier kielbasa or andouille sausage. You might be able to try vegetarian sausages, but I don't know how well they'll hold up to the 2 hour cook time.
We use a ghost pepper hot sauce for a nice kick, but halve the amount to a 1/2 teaspoon to keep things reasonable.
It's spicy, savory, and "earthy" with the green peppers, celery, and bay leaves.
The rice recipe he gives is my go to for rice in general, too. I really like fluffy, non-sticky result of using basmati for it.
I'm not really putting measurements on here but I'd say you want to cook minimum a pound of beans.
-Soak red kidney beans overnight
-Sautee onions, garlic, celery in a 4 quart pot
-Pour in beans and cover with water
-Throw in 2-3 bay leaves
-Add meats (if you want them to be tender)
-Salt/pepper to taste
-cayenne pepper, solely based off of your heat tolerance
-mix
-Bring to broil reduce heat
-Cook at least 8 hours on medium low heat
-Stir occasionally
-beans should be a viscous, not runny/watery and not incredibly thick. Add water as needed to thin out beans.
-Serve with white rice
-Garish with Italian parsley and/or chopped green onions
-if you didn't Add meats in the beginning, serve with your choice of smoked sausage, bone in pork chop, Andouille, or boudin on the side and/or French bread with butter
-Top beans and rice with your favorite hot sauce (typically louisiana hot, Tabasco, or crystal)
This is your basic no frills red beans that tastes delish.
Source: lived in n.o. most of my life
I don’t have anything to add other than Michael Franti