New Orleans Style Red Beans & Rice

[DougGuy]

A good friend sent me a couple 2lb bags of Camellia brand red kidney beans. Camellia is *the* authentic New Orleans original red kidney beans traditionally used in making this iconic Cajun dish.. We can get red beans anywhere, but when you get lucky and someone sends you the real deal, you certainly want to do them up right...

This is my own recipe I just make them the way I have always made beans of any kind really, you season them as you go, and you keep enough liquid in the pot that the beans themselves don't sit on the bottom of the pot where they will stick and scorch, yes even on low heat. I cook them and stir often until the beans break down and cook to pieces, and they thicken the mixture as they cook to doneness. You just kinda know when to turn off the heat and serve them.

Ingredients:

1lb Camellia brand red kidney beans
1cup sliced celery
1cup chopped bell pepper
1/2 bunch green onions chopped
1/4cup finely chopped tasso
3 cloves garlic chopped
2-3 bay leaves
1tsp thyme
1tsp rosemary
1tsp oregano

1-2 tbsp Tony Cachere's creole seasoning

1lb andouille sausage sliced thin

Directions:

Use 3qt water in a large pot, put beans, tasso, thyme, rosemary, oregano, and bay leaves in water, bring to full boil and turn off heat, cover pot and let sit 1hr.

Brown sliced andouille sausage in cast iron skillet and turn off heat.

Bring beans back to boil for 1hr, add enough water to return to original level in pot, then add in garlic, celery, bell pepper, green onion, turn heat to medium boil, cook stirring often until beans are fairly large and begin to break up, stirring often.

Reheat sausage and add to beans, deglaze iron skillet using bean juice and add this to the beans, cook until beans make a thickened gravy, sprinkle in as much Tony Cachere's creole seasoning as you would like, serve over freshly cooked rice..



Tasso = A smoked and highly seasoned ham product used to impart a strong smoked flavor along with the spicy heat of cayenne and other creole seasonings, it is used where you would use salt pork or fatback or smoked pork jowl and you can substitute whatever smoked or seasoned meat you like in this recipe.

Andouille sausage = another distinctly Louisiana flavored sausage, nothing tastes like andouille except andouille, it is spicy but with complex and very tasty overtones that won't get cooked out or stomped on in beans, soups, gumbo, this stuff says Louisiana like no other sausage. Good stuffs when you can find it!

When you brown it in the skillet, be sure to almost burn some of it, let it get that fully caramelized look to it, where it cooks onto the skillet in browned bits that are stubborn to clean, but use the bean juice in the warm skillet to deglaze or boil off these bits from the skillet, put this back in the beans, this is 3/4 of the flavor of andouille, and it cleans the skillet for you in this manner. You lose none of the wonderful flavor, and clean the skillet with half a paper towel and re-oil it..

Bon Appetit!

[Outpost75]

Thanks DougGuy!

Your recipe is close to the way Texas FlyBoy gave me my check ride at the hunting camp, except we used chorizo and bacon...

[gwpercle]

"Deglazing the browned bits from the bottom of the pan", "Tony Cacheres" , "Crystal Hot Sauce" .....if you weren't born and raised in Cajun Country then you got that recipe from someone who was.

I've only had Red Beans, that were not Camelia Brand once , they were out and my young wife grabbed a store brand....BAD, they were terrible , all red beans are not created equal , will never make that mistake again. Except for the rosemary , that's the way we make them.

PM me if you need Camellia's , I hate to see a displaced Cajun go without. Will be glad to send a Camellia Care Package. Red Beans and Rice is an important food group for us .

There are three ways to become Cajun...by birth, by marriage and by the back door, we are an inclusive bunch.

All you non-Southerner's just follow DougGuy's recipe , you will be rewarded with a pot of deliciousness !
Gary

[flyingrhino]

One of my absolute favorite dishes. I used to watch Justin Wilson years ago. Have a couple of his cook books. Loved his humor and his cooking.

I add a few ounces of Merlot to the beans when cooking them. I've seen recipe's that add a few ounces of beer but have never tried beer. I like the Merlot.

Walmart sells Camellia's here.

[texasnative46]

gwpercle,

REAL Orleanians will tell you that RED BEANS & RICE is a CREOLE dish, rather than Cajun. - Fyi, I went to grad school for a year at Tulane & grew to LOVE the foods of Louisiana.
(I also worked for a year as a Criminal Deputy Sheriff for Charlie Foti & helped open the New Parish Prison.)


What I really miss from "down there" is decent RED & WHITE BOUDIN. = NONE here in San Antonio that's "fit for man nor beast".

yours, tex

[Nueces]

Amazon has pound bags of Camellia red beans. I just ordered a 4 pack for lots more that the pintos we usually use in Texas. But, it's time to make the real stuff.

For y'all that like good pepper sauce (and Crystal is good pepper sauce), try to find some Yellowbird habanero sauce. Wonderful flavor. Got some at Whole Foods, had to shoo away the hippies cluttering the aisles, though.

[DougGuy]

Amazon has pound bags of Camellia red beans. I just ordered a 4 pack for lots more that the pintos we usually use in Texas. But, it's time to make the real stuff.

For y'all that like good pepper sauce (and Crystal is good pepper sauce), try to find some Yellowbird habanero sauce. Wonderful flavor. Got some at Whole Foods, had to shoo away the hippies cluttering the aisles, though.

Good to know about Amazon!! Did they do a drone drop?

I got a good welder buddy from Trinidad and Tobago, he it totally into the "Island" flavors of his homeland. I give him Red Caribbean, Red Sovina and Scotch Bonnets that I grow and he makes me Island style hot sauce with the shado beni and so it's REALLY authentic stuff. Well this past season I grew some Chocolate Habaneros, which are half again hotter than any of the other habanero family, measuring around 450,000 scovilles compared to the 325,000 ~ 340,000 for the Red Caribbean, Red Sovina and Scotch Bonnets.

When he came and got the peppers I asked him to make me a special batch of Island hot sauce with just the Chocolate Habs, and when he brought it to me he look me in the eye and he says "You are warned!" He wasn't kidding! I used half a teaspoon in a bowl of some beef and dumplings and then maybe another 1/3 because I didn't stir in the first spoon but oh man by the time I got it all stirred in, my scalp was sweating, my ears were ringing, I had the hiccups, the patina of light in the room changed, and I had a full blown endorphin rush coming on from the heat of the Chcolate Habanero in the sauce.. Oh yeah baybie!!

But the best part about these wonderful peppers? NO BURN AT ALL ON EXIT!!

[Outpost75]

Full afterburner beans is where Blue Angels came from, NAS Beeville, TX.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I've never been crazy about red kidney beans, but I do like Pintos, I like them a lot.
I'll have to keep an eye out for these Camellia Brand red beans.

[Nueces]

The Yellowbird habanero sauce is the hottest I have tried, so not much is needed, but, Oh man, the flavor is wonderful. It rightly tunes up a bowl of Ramen noodles. And DougGuy is right, no afterburn.

My kids used to joke that they knew Dad was enjoying his food when my forehead started sweating.

[MaryB]

Friend sent me a tiny bottle of Carolina Reaper sauce... hottest pepper on earth right now... 1 drop to a bowl of chili lit me up! 2.2 MILLION scovilles! But it actually tastes really good. I ordered a small packet of seeds and have some started, they will go out in pots for the summer and come back in this fall so I maybe get a crop.

[bullseye67]

Good evening,
Well I live a long ways from the "South", but I LOVE the food...OK....maybe more than Love, is that possible? Last fall I took my wife and son along to New Orleans while I attended a conference. I eat almost everything including Ocra? the green kinda slimy stuff in lots of Southern dishes. This recipe made my mouth water! We stopped by a small bar that had food and ordered some of the "best eats" we had during our stay. One of the dishes was Beans and sausage looked just like your picture. Absolutely fantastic, followed with some barbque and Gator bites, all washed down with a local craft brew. The best part was our son got to brag when we got home that "I ate Gator in a real bar and got to watch a football game". The "street" barbque was another highlight. My wife said a week was all I could stay there, any longer and I would need 2 seats on the plane

[texasnative46]

bullseye67,

It's OKRA, a vegetable that is originally from Sub-Saharan Africa. - FRIED OKRA is anything but "slimy", though stewed okra & tomatoes is one of my favorite "side dishes".

yours, tex

[oldblinddog]

Here are two recipes you need to have because this is authentic. If you can't get Camellia use "light" red beans.


Pickled pork, or "pickle meat", as it's called in New Orleans, is what some folks consider the quintessential seasoning meat for red beans and rice, as well as other bean dishes. Some folks use ham hocks, some smoked ham, some even use tasso. But you'll find a significant number of Creole mamas who'll tell you that it ain't red beans without pickle meat. It's readily available at many New Orleans markets, but you can make it yourself:

• 2 pounds boneless pork butt, cut into 2-inch cubes
• 1 quart distilled white vinegar
• 1/2 cup mustard seed
• 1 tablespoon celery seed
• 2 tablespoons Tabasco sauce
• 1 bay leaf
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled and cracked (not smashed)
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 12 peppercorns

Combine everything except the pork in a non-reactive saucepan and boil for three minutes. Cool and place in a refrigerator container (plastic, glass or stainless-steel) and add the pork. Stir to remove bubbles. Cover and refrigerate for three days.


Red Beans and Rice

This is a basic red beans and rice recipe that gets its rich, meaty flavor from smoked ham hocks and pickled pork. Don't forget the hot sauce.

• Prep Time: 30 minutes
• Total Time: 3 1/2 to 4 hours
• Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 cups chopped onions
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 cup chopped bell peppers
• Salt and cayenne, to taste
• 4 bay leaves
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 pound smoked ham hocks
• 1/2 pound boiled pickled pork meat* (see note)
• 1 pound dried red beans, rinsed and sorted over, soaked and drained
• 3 tablespoons chopped garlic
• 10 cups chicken stock, or water
• 4 cups cooked white rice
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions

Directions

• In a large saucepan, heat the oil. When the oil is hot, add the onions, celery, and bell peppers to the saucepan. Season the vegetables with salt and cayenne. Saute the vegetables for 5 minutes, or until the vegetables start to wilt. Add the bay leaves, thyme, ham hocks, and pork meat and saute for 5 to 6 minutes. Add the beans, garlic, and stock or water. Bring the liquid up to a boil and reduce to a simmer.
  
• Cook for about 2 hours, uncovered. Add more stock or water if the mixture becomes dry and thick. Use a wooden spoon to mash 1/4 of the mixture. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for about 1 1/2 hours, or until the beans are tender and creamy. Add more liquid if it is too thick. The mixture should be soupy, but not watery. Remove the bay leaves and thyme sprigs. To serve, ladle into bowls with rice. Garnish with green onions.
  
• * Note: Pickled pork meat needs to be blanched for 5 minutes in boiling water and then drained before using.

[oldblinddog]

bullseye67,

It's OKRA, a vegetable that is originally from Sub-Saharan Africa. - FRIED OKRA is anything but "slimy", though stewed okra & tomatoes is one of my favorite "side dishes".

yours, tex

To prevent sliminess cut the okra with a razor sharp knife and sweat the okra in oil (like onions) before it goes into your gumbo. (Just okra alone can be gumbo.)

I grow it. I pickle it. I make gumbo with it. I fry it.

[Shiloh]

Cajun / Creole Seasoning's
I'm sure you've seen recipe's calling for them , most of mine do , if they are hard to get or you just like to make you're own...much cheaper, I'm going to list a couple.

TONY CHACHERE'S famous Creole Seasoning.

This is the oldest I know of , Tony published the recipe in his first cook book, he kept getting request for it already mixed up , that led to a huge business packaging and selling his seasoning. This recipe was never published again, here's the original.

1 - 26 oz. box Morton's salt
3 - Tablespoons black pepper
4 - Tablespoons red pepper
2 - Tablespoons garlic powder
2 - Tablespoons chili powder
2 - Tablespoons Accent
Mix well and use like salt. When it's salty enough it's seasoned to perfection.

To season seafood - use 1/2 of the above mixture and add:
1 - teaspoon powdered thyme
1 - teaspoon powdered bay leaf
1 - teaspoon sweet basil

In his cookbook it states " this recipe is worth the price of the book ".
I don't know why he called it Creole seasoning , Tony was from Opelousas , La., right in the heart of Cajun Country, he's not Creole...Tony's Cajun, but back then Cajun cooking hadn't caught on and it was considered low class.

This one is from Emeril Lagasse , his Emeril's Essence Seasoning, in the store a 2.8 oz. bottle sells for $3.59. This makes 2/3 cup , I usually double or triple the recipe.

2 1/2 - Tablespoons paprika
2 - Tablespoons salt
2 - Tablespoons garlic powder
1 - Tablespoon onion powder
1 - Tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 - Tablespoon oregano
1 - Tablespoon Thyme
1 - Tablespoon black pepper
Emeril calls his Essence " Creole Seasoning " also , the term Cajun must still be hard to market outside Louisiana. Well , I'm not ashamed to be one .
Gary
Cajun and Deplorable ..


Shiloh

[MaryB]

For those in the north(like me!) this cookbook is a great help to understand the food history of creole and cajun plus it is loaded with some pretty decent recipes! https://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-.../dp/0970445717

[frankenfab]

Lots of great info in this thread! I can get the Camellia beans at Walmart.

I usually just make the Mahatma brand instant, but simmer it twice as long as the instructions say to.

Doug's description of Andouille is very accurate to my perception of it. It's my favorite.

Here's another favorite sausage, made here in Arkansas. It's a little fattier and more red pepper than Andouille:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Petit-Jea...14-oz/21950055

[w5pv]

for non slimy okra add a table spoon of vinegar to the mix,I like the slimy in my blackeye peas but my wife like the non slimy.

[Boaz]

Looks great DougGuy !