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.

RED BEANS AND RICE

Steps:

• Place the beans in a large bowl or pot and cover with water by 2 inches. Let soak for 8 hours or overnight. Drain and set aside.
• In a large pot, heat the bacon grease over medium-high heat. Add the tasso and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the onions, celery and bell peppers to the grease in the pot. Season with the salt, pepper, and cayenne, and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are soft, about 4 minutes. Add the bay leaves, parsley, thyme, sausage, and ham hocks, and cook, stirring, to brown the sausage and ham hocks, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the beans and stock or water, stir well, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the beans are tender and starting to thicken, about 2 hours. (Should the beans become too thick and dry, add more water, about 1/4 cup at a time.)
• Remove from the heat and with the back of a heavy spoon, mash about 1/4 of the beans against the side of the pot. Continue to cook until the beans are tender and creamy, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and remove the bay leaves.
• Serve over rice and garnish with green onions.

THE BEST BAKED RICE AND BEANS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Pour white rice into a casserole dish and season with salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, cayenne, and oregano. Pour in olive oil and stir until rice is thoroughly coated with oil. Add salsa, chicken broth, and kidney beans; stir until evenly combined. Cover very tightly with heavy-duty aluminum foil.
• Bake in the preheated oven until rice is tender, about 1 hour and 10 minutes. Remove foil, taste and adjust seasoning if necessary, and fluff with a fork. Serve hot.

CHEF PAUL'S RED BEAN S AND RICE WITH HAM HOCKS

Steps:

• Cover the beans with water 2" above beans.
• Let stand overnight.
• Drain just before using.
• Place the ham hocks, 10 cups of the water, celery, onions, bell peppers, bay leaves, and seasonings in a 5.5 qt saucepan or large Dutch oven; stir well.
• Cover and bring to a boil over high heat.
• Reduce heat and simmer until meat is fork tender, about 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
• Remove ham hocks from pan and set aside.
• Add the drained beans and 4 cups of the water to the pan; bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasinally.Add the remaining 2 cups of water and simmer 30 minutes, stirring often.
• Stire in the Andouille and continue simmering until the beans start breaking up, about 35 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan fairly often.
• *If the beans start to scorch, do not stir. Immediately remove from heat and change to another pot without scraping any of the scorched beans into the new mixture.
• Add the ham hocks and cook and stir 10 minutes more.
• Serve immediately over hot, white rice.

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.