Emeril’s New Orleans-Style Red Beans and Rice

Submitted by lisar

""Oh yeah, this is it!" - are the words my husband declared when he tried this recipe for red beans and rice. He was craving New Orleans-style red beans and rice and I had never made it before- so this is the recipe I searched for and tried and it was delicious!! The kids thought it was great too. I only made a few small changes to Emeril's, like adding more sausage than the recipe called for and letting a smoked ham hock cook with the beans for the first two hours..other than that everything is the same. This is not a quick meal, but great for a lazy day at home."

 

• Ready In: 3hrs 20mins
• Ingredients: 15
• Serves: 8

ingredients

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 cup onion, chopped
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 1⁄2 cup celery, chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1⁄4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 smoked ham hock
• 12 ounces smoked sausage, cut cross-wise into 1/4 thick slices
• 1 lb dried red beans or 1 lb red kidney beans, rinsed, sorted, soaked overnight and drained
• 3 tablespoons garlic, chopped
• 10 cups water
• steamed rice

directions

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over med-high heat. Sauté the onions, bell pepper, celery, salt, cayenne, black pepper and thyme for about 5 minutes. Add the bay leaves, ham and sausage and sauté for 5 to 6 minutes
2. Add the beans, garlic and 10 cups water to the pot. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, and simmered uncovered, stirring occasionally for about 2 hours.
3. Add more water if the mixture becomes dry and thick.
4. After about 2 hours of initial cooking use a wooden spoon to mash about half of the mixture against the side of pot.
5. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for about another hour or until the mixture is creamy and the beans are soft.
6. Add more water if it becomes too thick. The mixture should be soupy but not watery.
7. Remove the bay leaves and serve with steamed rice.

Reviews

[GinaCucina]

Came back from NOLA from a vacation centered around all of the NO foods I love. I ate red beans and rice from the Praline Connection (off Frenchman) 3 times because it was sooo good. When I came home I went thru withdrawls. These taste just like the ones I had over there. I made them twice in one week to kill my craving. One recommendation is to use converted rice (Uncle Ben's) for your rice portion in this recipe to keep it authentic. Oh and I don't add the salt, hock, or sausage until the beans have cook for at least one hour. Salt can sometimes mess with the tenderness of the beans if added too soon. thanks for the recipe!

 

[clintonfisher]

I'm 26 and admittedly never cooked this dish. I lived in Mississippi for 18 years (less then a hour from New Orleans's) and this is really a staple of Southern cooking. Everyone makes it everyone loves it. At first I disliked it but the stuff grows on you. My fiancé and two children along with myself moved to Iowa a few months back and I wanted to make it. Realized while at the store I never cooked it... I followed the ingredients and directions. It came out watered down and lacking flavor of the sausage. I called my mother and grandmother and they both told me you're suppose to add the sausage at the end once the beans have broken down and thickened up. Put it all in the pot with all the drippings and let it simmer for another 30 mins. While the directions where fairly accurate (I will use it for reference in the future) but I also highly suggest adding the meat in last as the cookie time breaks down the fats and leave it somewhat bland. It can vary tho based on the quality of ingredients (or lack there of) in my case

 

[rosslare]

Very tasty beans! I prepared this in a pressure cooker. I halved the recipe and used only 2 cups of water and cooked it half an hour on high pressure. After that, I added the sausage and cooked some more to reduce the liquid. Really good!

 

[Erica Jolene W.]

Didnt have the sausage the recipe called for But I had Roger Wood spicy sausage. Still tasted great. Added chicken bouillon and Cajun seasoning as some one wise suggested. Came out delicious. Started cooking at 1 finished by4. I made it with baked lemon pepper wings, garlic spinach, and white rice. Hubby loved it

 

[Matthew D.]

I think the opinions may be varied on this. I also personally disagree. From another site, "Soaking beans in salted water helps them cook up more tender."