Louisiana Red Beans and Rice

All across Louisiana you’ll see Red Beans and Rice served up in the finest restaurants all the way down to the “Mom and Pop” corner stores. Growing up in Louisiana this was one of the main things my Mom cooked all the time. Basically it’s our lifeblood! Holding close to long ingrained traditions in the South, Red Beans and Rice is normally served up as a Monday lunch (or dinner) special around here. Many years ago the women of the deep south cooked up a big pots of beans on Monday. They chose Monday because that’s traditionally when the ladies would wash and tend to laundry, which as you can imagine was an all day ordeal! So something was needed that would feed the entire family but didn’t need a lot of time or attention.

It still holds true today. I find myself making Red Beans and Rice on Days where I have a lot going on but still need to make a meal to feed the family. I’ve been making it just like this for many years!

Ingredients

• 1 lb dried red beans ( I prefer Blue Runner Beans)
• 10 Cups of water
• 6-8 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Pepper
• 32 oz Beef Bone Broth (4 cups)
• 3 cups of reserved water
• 2 Tablespoons bacon grease (olive oil will work as well)
• 1 lb cajun smoked sausage, sliced in rounds
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 2 stalk of celery, diced
• 2 Tablespoons of garlic
• 1 15oz can of Fire Roasted tomatoes
• 1/2 t salt, pepper to taste
• rice
• green onions or parsley to garnish

There’s many soaking methods for dried beans. I only EVER use the ONE HOUR QUICK SOAK method!”

• In a large pot put in all your beans
• add 10 cups of water
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• pepper to taste
• Bring to a rolling boil. Let boil for 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat, cover and set aside for 1 hour.
• After an hour drain the beans using a colander, reserving all the liquid.

Instructions

1. Back into your large pot over medium heat, add 2 Tablespoons bacon grease
2. Add smoked sausage and lightly brown for 4-5 minutes
3. Add onion, bellpepper, celery, garlic, saute together for 3-4 minutes
4. Add fire roasted diced tomatoes (this can be optional) stir well
5. Add the beans along with 3 cups of reserved liquid from the quick soak. (keep all the reserved liquid until the end in case you need to add more)
6. Add 32 oz of Beef Bone Broth, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 4-5 bay leaves
7. Bring up to a boil over medium high heat, then turn down to a true simmer
8. Simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally for at least two hours or until the beans have begun to break down and get creamy
9. Towards the end, if needed, use the back of a large serving spoon to further break down the beans to make it extra creamy
10. Keep in mind you may need to add more reserved liquid. Only add 1/4 cup at a time
11. Serve over white rice and garnish with green onions or parsley

When you first put it all together it’s going to look like a lot of liquid in the beans. It will begin to cook down and much of the liquid will evaporate so don’t worry! In the end it’s going to be creamy and perfect!

You’ll also notice that I don’t add any heat to my beans. It’s typically done like this so the entire family, young and old can enjoy it! Serve it with a dash of your favorite hot sauce, such as Crystal or Tabasco. The cajun sausage I use also lends a some heat to the beans.