Red Beans and Rice, I Dare You

Submitted by Pureyum

"I call this Red Beans and Rice I Dare you because I dare anyone to tell the difference between this recipe and Popeyes famous red beans and rice. And what's really surprising is how easy it is to make using only a minimal amount of ingredients....my guess is, you'll love it. When I first tried to duplicate Popeyes red beans and rice it took several tries, because I was making it more complicated than I needed, one thing, it does take awhile to cook, but oh so worth it...the final result is, you'll be making it often."

 

• Ready In: 4hrs 15mins
• Ingredients: 9
• Yields: 4-6 cups
• Serves: 8-10

ingredients

• 3 (15 1/2 ounce) cans pinto beans (Drained)
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1 lb smoked summer sausage, skin removed (preferrebly a butcher shop smoked summer sausage)
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons onion powder
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1⁄4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 cup long grained white rice (makes 3-1/2 cups prepared)

directions

1. Cut summer sausage into 2" inch cubes, combine sausage, 2 cans Pinto beans, beef broth, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper and cayenne in a 2 qrt. sauce pan. Bring to boil.
2. Cover and continue boiling on meduim heat stirring occasionally until beans become soft, about 45 minutes to an hour.
3. Remove from heat. Remove sausage chunks -- all the flavor will be boiled out of the sausage, so I use them for another recipe to fallow later.
4. Return pan to stove, add third can of Pinto beans, cover and let simmer on low for about 3 hours.
5. After 1-1/2 hrs, using a good masher, mash beans to a desired consistency, but don't mash all of them. Once you've reached a preferred consistency and juices are absorbed, just stir occasionally for the next 1-1/2 hours. to keep from scorching.
6. Taste your creation, if you should feel there isn't enough smoke flavor you can always add a few drops of liquid smoke but not too much, I've always found liquid smoke tastes fake and can be overwhelming.
7. The trick to good red beans and rice is to allow a long slow simmering, that's why the three hours, I've actually let is simmer for as much as 5 hours. You can expirement with it as you go. Add to prepared rice and enjoy.