Louisiana red beans and rice
Creamy small red beans simmered with ham hock, andouille, and the trinity, served with separately cooked white rice.
Prep30 min
Cook180 min
Rest10 min
Servings8
Adapted from Explore Louisiana's Red Beans and Rice, with a measured small-red-bean yield, conservative kidney-bean guidance, and a separate rice quantity for this archive.
Ingredients
Written for a 6 L pot
Units
Temperature
Servings
Red beans
- 450 g dried small red beans rounded
- 2 1/6 L water rounded
- 30 ml neutral oil or bacon drippings rounded
- 250 g onion, diced rounded
- 150 g green bell pepper, diced rounded
- 120 g celery, diced rounded
- 20 g garlic, minced rounded
- 500 g smoked ham hock, bone in rounded
- 250 g fully cooked andouille, cut into 8 mm coins rounded
- 15 g homemade Creole seasoning rounded
- 2 g dried thyme rounded
- 2 bay leaves rounded
- 15 ml Louisiana-style hot sauce rounded
- 40 g scallions, sliced rounded
Rice
- 350 g long-grain white rice rounded
- 630 ml water rounded
Method
- Soak small red beans overnight and drain. Cook onion, pepper, and celery in oil for 7 minutes, add sausage for 4 minutes, then garlic for 30 seconds.
- Add beans, ham hock, fresh water, seasoning, thyme, bay, and hot sauce. Bring to a real boil, then lower to a simmer. Cook 2 to 3 hours until fully creamy, adding hot water if needed.
- Remove hock. Shred edible meat, discard skin, bone, and excess fat, and return meat. Mash about 250 g beans against the pot. The mixture should be soupy but not watery.
- Cook rice separately in its measured water. Remove bay, add scallions, and rest beans 10 minutes before serving over rice.
Ingredient substitutions
- Small Louisiana red beans are preferred. In Germany use kleine rote Bohnen or kidney beans; in Canada use small red beans or kidney beans. Kidney beans are larger, firmer, and less creamy. Soak dried kidney beans at least 5 hours, discard soaking water, and boil in fresh water at least 30 minutes before simmering. Never cook raw kidney beans only in a slow cooker.
- In Germany replace ham hock with geräucherte Schweinshaxe or leaner, saltier Kasseler; weigh edible boneless meat separately and reduce salt. Canadian smoked ham hock is direct.
- Fully cooked Louisiana andouille is preferred. In Germany use firm, fully cooked Krakauer or smoked Mettwurst; in Canada use fully cooked kielbasa or another smoky cooked sausage. These alternatives are less peppery and garlic-forward. Verify the label: raw pork or beef sausage must reach 71°C and raw poultry sausage 74°C. Check the beans before adding more salt.
Notes
- Cool beans and rice separately in shallow containers within 2 hours. Refrigerate 3 to 4 days or freeze beans without rice up to 3 months.
- Loosen beans with water and reheat both components separately to 74°C.
Sources consulted
Good with
Sources consulted
From Christoph Mayer