Mamas Red Beans Rice Food

MAMA'S RED BEANS & RICE

Steps:

• Speed soak kidney beans by covering with water and bringing to rolling boil for 2-5 minutes. Cover, remove from heat, and let sit for an hour.
• Render fat from bacon or ham to coat bottom of dutch oven OR use about 2 Tabelspoons oil to brown andouille sausage.
• Once sausage is browned, remove from pan and set aside.
• In fat left over from sausage, saute onions, celery, carrots, and bell pepper until translucent and beginning to brown scraping up the fond from the sausage.
• Add the garlic and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. DO NOT let the garlic burn!
• Add ham hocks and ham bone to the pot and cover with water.
• Bring to boil and simmer, covered, for 2 hours.
• Mix together in small bowl salt, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, cayenne pepper, oregano, thyme, and paprika; set aside.
• Once ham is falling off the bone and ham hocks are beginning to fall apart, remove about 2 cups of water/stock from the pot.
• Remove the bones and return the meat to the pot.
• Drain what liquid is left from the beans and dump beans into the ham and stock mixture.
• Dump browned andouille sausage into ham, bean, and stock mixture.
• Add spice mixture and bay leaves to the pot and mix in well.
• Cover and simmer for 1-2 hours.
• While simmering the beans, cook your favorite rice. You'll need at least 3-4 cups. My family really likes rice so I usually double that.
• Remove the bay leaves and any bone or skin pieces from ham hock.
• When ready to eat, if there still seems to be too much liquid on the beans, just ladle the excess liquid off. (I find that some days are just more humid and there's a lot of liquid, and some days there's hardly any.).
• Serve meaty bean mixture over the top of hot rice.
• If desired, use some good hot sauce on top. Enjoy!

CLASSIC RED BEANS AND RICE

Steps:

• Rinse the beans under cold water in a colander. Throw away any broken beans or pebbles. Put the beans into a large bowl and add enough water to cover them by about 2 inches. Soak overnight or for at least 8 hours. (Quick method = bring the beans and enough water to cover them by 2 inches to a boil in a large pot over high heat and cook for 2 minutes, then remove from the heat and cover tightly, let stand for 1 hour.).
• Heat up the oil in a big, heavy stockpot over med-high heat. Add the onions, bell peppers and garlic - cook, stirring, for about 4 minutes or until softened. Add the sausage, salt, Creole seasoning, cayenne, black pepper, thyme and the bay leaves. Cook, stirring, for about 4-5 minutes or until the sausage is browned. Add the ham hock and cook for 3 minutes.
• Drain the beans and add them to the pot. pour in enough stock to cover the whole mixture by about 1 inch. Bring this to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to med-low and simmer, uncovered, until the beans are tender, stirring occasionally - approx 2 hours. Remove and throw away the bay leaves.
• Mash up about 1/4 of the bean mixture. This will thicken the juices. Remove the ham hock and let cool slightly. Slice the meat from the bone, throwing away the skin and bones. Return the meat to the pot and heat it through.
• Spoon the rice into bowls and top with the beans. Relax and enjoy!

RED BEANS AND RICE

Steps:

• Soak beans as directed on package. Drain the beans and place in large stock pot. Cover with the 2 quarts water. Add ham bone and sausages, onions, green pepper and seasonings.
• Cover, lower heat and simmer several hours.
• Mash some of the cooked beans against the side of the pot to produce a thick creamy sauce.
• Cook 2 more hours over low heat stirring occasionally.
• Season with Red Pepper Sauce to taste.
• Serve over cooked rice.
• The bean mixture can be frozen either in single servings or family style for future use. I have frozen individual servings with rice and this works great. Adjust the heat levels with additional peppers or pepper sauce according to your tastes.

NOT YO' MAMMA'S RED BEANS

Steps:

• Day 1: Rinse beans, place in a medium bowl and add enough water to cover by 3 or 4 inches. Soak overnight in the refrigerator. As the beans absorb the water, they will more than double in volume.
• Day 2: Combine the first 9 ingredients in a small bowl. Drain and rinse the beans. Drain again and set aside.
• Preheat a heavy 5-quart pot, preferably nonstick, over high heat for about 4 minutes. (If using a lighter pot, use lower heat.) Add 2 cups of the onions, bell pepper, celery and 1 tablespoon of the seasoning mix. Stir and cook until vegetables start to brown, about 5 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of the chicken stock, scrape the bottom of the pot to clear all browned bits, and cook 3 minutes.
• Add the remaining onions, stir, and cook 5 minutes. Add the drained beans, 5 cups of the stock, and the remaining seasoning mix.
• Stir and cook for 45 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pot occasionally to check for sticking and reducing heat if mixture is boiling too rapidly. Add 1 cup grape juice and continue to cook for 25 minutes. Caution: At this point, the starches in the beans start to break down and sticking will occur more often. It is therefore important to check and clear the bottom of the pot frequently. Add the remaining stock and grape juice, turn the heat to medium, and cook until the beans are tender, and the liquid is thick and begins to look creamy, about 30-35 minutes.
• Serve over rice.

AUTHENTIC LOUISIANA RED BEANS AND RICE

Steps:

• Rinse beans, and then soak in a large pot of water overnight.
• In a skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Cook onion, bell pepper, garlic, and celery in olive oil for 3 to 4 minutes.
• Rinse beans, and transfer to a large pot with 6 cups water. Stir cooked vegetables into beans. Season with bay leaves, cayenne pepper, thyme, sage, parsley, and Cajun seasoning. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 2 1/2 hours.
• Stir sausage into beans, and continue to simmer for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, prepare the rice. In a saucepan, bring water and rice to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. Serve beans over steamed white rice.