by Brian Vandenbroek

Created on: November 01, 2010

Red beans & rice is one of those traditional southern Louisiana dishes that belongs in your repertoire whether you live on your own or you cook for a family. Traditionally, red beans and rice was a Monday night dish because Monday was the day you did laundry. One of the wonderful things about this dish is you can assemble the ingredients in one pot and leave it to simmer for 2-3 hours while you go do other things.

Red beans & rice also makes good use of leftovers in the form of leftover bones or meat scraps from the previous night’s Sunday dinner. I particularly enjoy the dish’s ease and versatility. A few modifications for instance can turn it into a delicious vegetarian entrée. Ease of preparation also makes red beans and rice ideal for bachelors as well as parents too busy running their household to slave over a hot stove every night. The recipe that follows is a recipe I’ve been using since moving out on my own.

2 lbs red kidney beans

¼ cup bacon drippings

2 large onions, chopped fine

1 large green bell pepper, chopped fine

2 stalks celery, copped fine

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 beefsteak tomatoes, chopped fine

1 ham hock

Salt to taste

1/8 tsp black pepper

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1/8 tsp dry mustard

½ tsp marjoram

2 bay leaves

1 12oz can lager

2-3 cups broth or water

2 lbs sausage sliced

Hot cooked white rice

12 green onions, sliced thin

½ cup minced flat leaf parsley

1) Sort through beans. Discard any that are discoloured. Rinse beans and set aside.

2) Heat drippings in a large soup pot or Dutch oven. When drippings are hot add onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic. Saute until vegetables are wilted.

3) Add beans, tomatoes, ham hock, seasonings, beer and enough broth to cover. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until beans are soft and liquid has thickened, about 3 hours, stirring occasionally. Add more water as needed. Discard bay leaves.

4) Prick sausage with a fork. Heat oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat. When oil is hot, add sausage. Cook, turning often until browned on all sides, 10-15 minutes.

5) To serve spoon rice onto each plate. Ladle beans with liquid over top. Place a sausage on each plate. Sprinkle with green onions and parsley. Recipe serves 6-8.

Variations: Substitute canola oil for the bacon drippings to make the dish a little more heart healthy. Sometimes I slice the sausage, brown it up and add the slices directly to the beans. This way the sausages add that extra flavor to the dish and its one less pan to dirty up. To make the dish vegetarian omit sausage, drippings and ham hock and cook beans with your favorite vegetable broth.

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