Chef Johns Red Beans And Rice Food

JOHN'S RED BEANS AND RICE

Steps:

• Either soak beans overnight according to package directions, or for a quick soak, cover beans with 2 inches of water and bring to a boil for 25 minutes. Turn off heat and let beans rest for 4 hours.
• The key to good red beans and rice is the stock. To make stock, boil ham shanks with a carrot, one stalk of celery and half an onion until the meat falls off the bone. This will take about 1½ hours. Remove the shanks, shred the meat off the bone and set aside.
• You want about 8 cups of stock.
• Add red beans to the ham stock and bring to a boil. Reduce beans to a gentle boil and cook for 1½ hours until beans are almost tender. Be sure to check them after an hour. Bean cooking times can vary, and you don't want them to get mushy.
• Chop remaining celery,onion and bell pepper.
• Slice andouille sausage and saute until browned. Then, pour off most of the fat and cook the vegetables in the remaining fat for a few minutes. (The vegetables should still be crisp.).
• When beans are almost done, add the vegetables, shredded ham, sausage, soy sauce and garlic to them. Add onion powder to taste and if desired, Cajun seasoning. If you add Cajun seasoning, be careful not to add too much because some have a lot of salt.
• Simmer 10 minutes more, or until beans are tender in the middle.
• Before serving, remove several tablespoons of beans and mash them. Return to pot to thicken the sauce.
• Serve over rice garnished with parsley and a slice of baguette.

CHEF JOHN'S RED BEANS AND RICE

Steps:

• Place beans in a large container and cover with several inches of cool water; let stand 8 hours to overnight. Drain and rinse.
• Heat vegetable oil in a large pot over medium heat. Cook and stir sausage in hot oil until oils slightly release from sausage and edges brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir onion, celery, and poblano pepper into sausage; cook and stir until vegetables soften and start to turn translucent, 5 to 10 minutes. Stir garlic into sausage mixture; cook and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Stir red beans, chicken broth, ham hock, bay leaves, black pepper, thyme, cayenne pepper, and hot sauce into the sausage mixture; bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, for 1 1/2 hours. Add salt and continue simmering until beans are soft, meat is tender, and desired consistency is reached, 1 1/2 to 2 hours more. Season with salt.
• Spoon rice into bowls, ladle red beans mixture over rice, and top with green onion.