Red Beans and Rice

Given the many folks on here who hail from NOLA or thereabouts, or who have taken up the cause in a faraway kitchen, I thought this might be a good resource for some tried and true Monday special Red Beans and Rice recipes. I'm thinking of making this for a NOLA themed dinner party in a couple of months and may try it out first for the small household food exchange. I made it a few times years ago but have gone through all of my NOLA cookbooks with no luck. It was pre-Internet as well so not sure where I would have gotten the recipe and no idea what I did with it in any case, so I'm appealing to the LTH community for some assistance. Would anyone have a family or NOLA restaurant recipe that they'd be willing to share. Figure that with all the gumbo talk lately, there might be others interested in these recipes as well since RB&R is as much a NOLA staple as da gumbo. Thanks ya'll!

Thanks for posting this request. I have tried and mostly failed to find a worthwhile recipe. I am eager to hear from our own experts on this and look forward to hearing/reading their contributions.

A staple in my house. I pretty much wing it, so pardon a lack of strict measurements.
I'm not a huge kidney bean fan- I don't like the toughness of their skin and I prefer a bean that cooks down to a creamier texture- pink beans being my first choice, pintos subbing in a pinch. So yeah soak those and/or just cook em till tender. Throw in a bay leaf or two during cooking. I also sometimes throw in a dried chipotle or two at this stage. Reserve enough cooking liquor to top off the beans.
Chop a trilogy of onion, celery, and green pepper (I use poblano sometimes if I'm feeling sassy and sometimes I skip the pepper).
Chop up some good smoked slab bacon (I buy it at Polish delis) and saute that in a little oil until just brown, remove and add the veg to the rendered fat- saute until tender.
Add bacon and veg to beans in liquor. Season with a pinch of thyme and black pepper. Simmer for up to an hour.
Meanwhile, cut up some sausage in 1" half moons- typically I use smoked kielbasa also acquired from the Polish deli. Use good andouille if you've got it. Brown the sausage and add to the beans during the last 10- 15 minutes of cooking. Salt the beans to taste after adding the sausage.
And of course you should have some cooked rice at hand, use your favorite technique for this.
Serve it up!

Thanks Jefe--love the idea of subbing Poblanos for Green peppers (don't like 'em!!).

Cook's Illustrated did a recipe earlier this year. The classic dish, according to them, uses a local kidney bean called Camellia that is "smoother and softer and overwhelmingly preferred by tasters" to the nationally available Goya dried red kindey beans.

Since it's a simple meal they didn't think you should have to order the beans so they went with "small red beans" also called Mexican red beans.

Here's the recipe.

pairs4life wrote:The classic dish, according to them, uses a local kidney bean called Camellia that is "smoother and softer and overwhelmingly preferred by tasters" to the nationally available Goya dried red kindey beans.

I've seen camellia beans around town before. I can't remember where for sure, but my prime suspects would be Lincolnwood Produce, Fresh Farms & JP Graziano. Also, Tenuta's in Kenosha almost surely carries them.

Jefe, my recipe is very similar to yours, but subbing smoked hocks or smoked turkey carcass for the bacon and andouille.

Camellia is the brand name of a New Orleans company selling dried beans and legumes. Cooks seem to prefer the Camellia brand of red kidney beans for this recipe. Any small red bean will do.

stevez wrote:I've seen camellia beans around town before. I can't remember where for sure, but my prime suspects would be Lincolnwood Produce, Fresh Farms & JP Graziano. Also, Tenuta's in Kenosha almost surely carries them.

Please let us know if you come across them. Camellia is the gold standard for this dish.

I'll definitely be going in search of Camellia beans and will let you know what i find. Thanks all for the recipes and variations. Keep 'em coming!

Also, been doing a bit of hunting around on here for leads on where to purchase good tasso and andouille for the dish--any current info? Most of the threads either suggest mail order (anyone order any recently and have a rec) or are quite old (2-3 years). Rather than hunting all over, just wondering if anyone has found a good version lately.

Hi there,

I haven't had much luck finding good andouille around here. I've comes to terms with the fact that I'll soon be putting in a phone order.

I haven't seen tasso ham in the stores either. But you can make a very good tasso ham yourself. It's not ham, but pork shoulder that has been cured and then hot smoked. Good flavor and you have the ability to vary the spices to your liking.

take care,
dan

gonefishin wrote:Hi there,

I've comes to terms with the fact that I'll soon be putting in a phone order.

Mind sharing from where?

gonefishin wrote: I haven't seen tasso ham in the stores either. But you can make a very good tasso ham yourself. It's not ham, but pork shoulder that has been cured and then hot smoked.

If only I had the means to do this I am, sadly, not in possession of a smoker or suitable substitute.

Saw a mention of a place called Poche's in an earlier thread--they appear to have tasso and andouille, as well as some other items (crawfish boudin) that look interesting. Looks like I may be checking them out.

ive used those beans before..I order through Cajun grocer..never saw them in any store around here

www.cajungrocer.com

Artie wrote:

stevez wrote:I've seen camellia beans around town before. I can't remember where for sure, but my prime suspects would be Lincolnwood Produce, Fresh Farms & JP Graziano. Also, Tenuta's in Kenosha almost surely carries them.

Please let us know if you come across them. Camellia is the gold standard for this dish.

Hello there! Thank you all for your kind comments on Camellia Beans! Down here in Louisiana, Red Beans and Rice is an absolute favorite! It's practically a ritual in many families to cook red beans every Monday. If you'd like to get your hands on some of our beans and find a great recipe, you can order them online at http://www.camelliabrand.com/. The Camellia standard of quality for beans makes Camellia's red beans taste so much better than some other red beans you may have tried. Come by our site and see what we mean, and have a taste of New Orleans. Also, let us know how it works for you! Laissez les Bean Temps Rouler!

CamelliaBeans wrote:If you'd like to get your hands on some of our beans and find a great recipe, you can order them online at http://www.camelliabrand.com/.

Can you provide us with the names of any retailers in the Chicago area that stock them?

I like the raw andouille from Whole Foods - its the only raw andouille I've seen. I picked up some fully cooked andouille from Gepperth's a while back, and stuck them in the freezer; they're actually thawing in my fridge right now as I plan on making jambalaya with them when I get home... I'll report back as to whether they're any good.

I make no claims as to having any knowledge of what authentic cajun andouille should taste like, so take my thoughts with a grain of salt...

Gepperth's
1964 N. Halsted
Chicago, IL 60614
(773) 549-3883
www.gepperthsmarket.com

Kid Charlemagne wrote:I like the raw andouille from Whole Foods - its the only raw andouille I've seen. I picked up some fully cooked andouille from Gepperth's a while back, and stuck them in the freezer; they're actually thawing in my fridge right now as I plan on making jambalaya with them when I get home... I'll report back as to whether they're any good.

I don't think I've seen raw andouille. The recipes I'm familiar with call for hot smoking at low temp to avoid rendering out too much of the fat.

boudreaulicious wrote:

gonefishin wrote:Hi there,

I've comes to terms with the fact that I'll soon be putting in a phone order.

Mind sharing from where?

I was going to order from Jacob's, http://www.cajunsausage.com/

boudreaulicious wrote:

gonefishin wrote: I haven't seen tasso ham in the stores either. But you can make a very good tasso ham yourself. It's not ham, but pork shoulder that has been cured and then hot smoked.

If only I had the means to do this I am, sadly, not in possession of a smoker or suitable substitute.

Saw a mention of a place called Poche's in an earlier thread--they appear to have tasso and andouille, as well as some other items (crawfish boudin) that look interesting. Looks like I may be checking them out.

Even if you don't have a smoker you can still cure the pork shoulder and cut for tasso.

I use this as a basic recipe for a 10lb shoulder:

The cure:
7oz salt
3oz sugar
1oz Prague powder #1 (pink curing salt)

I slice the deboned shoulder into 1.5lb sections. Then rub the cure into the meat, shaking off the excess.. Cure in the fridge for 4 hours. Rinse well and dry (repeat second rinse if the ham is too "salty"). Add your seasoning rub. The rub can be anything you want to flavor it with. You can use a pre-made cajun seasoning or make your own. Rub the pieces of shoulder and let sit in the fridge for a bit (4-5 hours is fine...but more or less won't hurt a thing). Since you're not smoking it, I imagine you could finish in the oven to an internal temperature of 160f.

dan

boudreaulicious wrote: I am, sadly, not in possession of a smoker or suitable substitute.

But you know people with smokers.

stevez wrote:

boudreaulicious wrote: I am, sadly, not in possession of a smoker or suitable substitute.

But you know people with smokers.

Smoke me up some tasso and I will cut you in on the final product...
I'm happy to drop off the necessary ingredients.

If you are willing to drive to Elburn Il to Reams market, they produce both Tasso and the sausage. There is a meat stand at the French market in the train station which sells Ream products (near the northwest corner of the market) you could inquire as to their ordering capability.

The store in Enburn is quite a place, take the drive if you have the time.




Ream's Elburn Market
128 N Main St
Elburn, IL 60119
630 365-6461

boudreaulicious wrote:

stevez wrote:

boudreaulicious wrote: I am, sadly, not in possession of a smoker or suitable substitute.

But you know people with smokers.

Smoke me up some tasso and I will cut you in on the final product...
I'm happy to drop off the necessary ingredients.

I would be willing to smoke the tasso for you. Have you thought of adding black eyed peas to your exchange.

boudreaulicious wrote:
Smoke me up some tasso and I will cut you in on the final product...
I'm happy to drop off the necessary ingredients.

I am going to be doing up some tasso ham either next weekend or the weekend after that, when I smoke off about 20 lbs of pork butts(Im going to trim off some piece to cure for the tasso).

thinking of using pecan wood for this batch.

Id definitely be interested in trading some of my tasso for some of the tasso steve might do for you. Let me know.

gjdad--welcome to the board! Are you offering or asking on the peas? I grew cow peas in my shared community garden bed but I only got a few peas out of it--I think others beat me to the harvest which is the way those things work. However, if you have some, I'd love to take some off your hands! And thanks for the offer on the tasso--it's looking like we have a number of folks interesting in trying/exchanging so happy to have you get in on that as well!! Have you done it before because if you have, we may be tapping your expertise

Jim--consider that a done deal!

I'm out of town this weekend and I have OOT visitors the following so my realistic target is the weekend of 10/15 for doing this.

thanks all!

boudreaulicious wrote:
Jim--consider that a done deal!

ill defintely have some for you @ Shay's b-day on the 23rd.

jimswside wrote:ill defintely have some done by the 23rd.

jimswside -- I get the impression you are not much of a cookbook guy (or at least certainly not a follow-the-recipe exactly kind of guy), but considering your proclivity for Cajun cooking, I would highly recommend Donald Link's Real Cajun. Even for those who have followed other recipes or simply honed techniques and/or family recipes over the years, this is a really good book for refining those recipes and getting some great ideas for new dishes. I have not made a single thing from his cookbook that was not either an improvement on an existing family recipe (or recipe from another source) or at least offered an improved technique, spice mix, etc., and I grew up eating Cajun food regularly.

Link is the chef/owner of Cochon and Cochon Butcher, so you can likely get a copy in person on your trip to NOLA. I bring this up in this thread because the book has a recipe for tasso, which, while I have not followed (I brought back 3 or 4 pounds of the stuff from my last trip to Louisiana in August), looks very good in terms of getting the right flavor profile.

Jim, where do you get the pecan wood?


I just bought 60lbs of belly for a little bacon...so I got some smokin' ta do!

take care,
dan

Matt wrote:

jimswside wrote:ill defintely have some done by the 23rd.

jimswside -- I get the impression you are not much of a cookbook guy (or at least certainly not a follow-the-recipe exactly kind of guy), but considering your proclivity for Cajun cooking, I would highly recommend Donald Link's Real Cajun. Even for those who have followed other recipes or simply honed techniques and/or family recipes over the years, this is a really good book for refining those recipes and getting some great ideas for new dishes. I have not made a single thing from his cookbook that was not either an improvement on an existing family recipe (or recipe from another source) or at least offered an improved technique, spice mix, etc., and I grew up eating Cajun food regularly.

Link is the chef/owner of Cochon and Cochon Butcher, so you can likely get a copy in person on your trip to NOLA. I bring this up in this thread because the book has a recipe for tasso, which, while I have not followed (I brought back 3 or 4 pounds of the stuff from my last trip to Louisiana in August), looks very good in terms of getting the right flavor profile.

matt,

thanks for the tip, I will be looking for that book for sure.

I do own a few cookbooks, but typically use them for insight into recipes I have never made vs step by step direction.

I have a pretty good recipe for tasso, but am always interested in reading more and possibly improvising/tweaking.

thanks again.

gonefishin wrote:Jim, where do you get the pecan wood?


I just bought 60lbs of belly for a little bacon...so I got some smokin' ta do!

take care,
dan

nice, I bet you knock that bacon out of the park.

right now I can get pecan wood chips(I know chips arn't as good as chunks but in a foil pack buried in the lump they work ok) @ the Ottawa Ace hardware store.

boudreaulicious wrote:gjdad--welcome to the board! Are you offering or asking on the peas? I grew cow peas in my shared community garden bed but I only got a few peas out of it--I think others beat me to the harvest which is the way those things work. However, if you have some, I'd love to take some off your hands! And thanks for the offer on the tasso--it's looking like we have a number of folks interesting in trying/exchanging so happy to have you get in on that as well!! Have you done it before because if you have, we may be tapping your expertise

No I have not made Tasso yet my research shows the process is very similar to boston butt. The only point I would unsure of would be the initial cure recipe. I have a Cajun rub for the smoking that will be excellent.

As for black eyed peas I can do dried ones easily, fresh ones I would have to find a source. Either way I would offer black eyed peas, most likely with smoked hocks.