Emeril’s New Orleans-Style Red Beans and Rice

"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: 3 hrs 20 mins
• 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.