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red beans ready to eat

Chez Dobie Red Beans and Rice

Dawn Dobie
A South Louisiana speciality, traditionally served on Mondays but good any day of the week.
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Ingredients
  

For the beans:

  • 1 pound bag red kidney beans picked over and rinsed (I like Camellia brand)
  • 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 yellow onion chopped
  • 2 stalks of celery chopped
  • 5 cloves of garlic minced
  • 1 large smoked ham hock --find a good one
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin –or more
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme –or more
  • 1 bay leaf
  • ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper

For serving:

  • Cooked rice
  • 1/4-1/2 cup finely minced fresh parsley leaves optional
  • 1/4-1/2 cup thinly sliced green onion tops
  • Tabasco
  • Tony Chacere or other Cajun seasoning

Instructions
 

For the beans:

  • Two nights before you want to serve the beans (or at least one night before), soak the beans in water. Put the beans in a large bowl and cover with cold water by 1 ½ inches. The next morning, drain the beans before proceeding with the rest of the recipe.
  • Crockpot method: Place beans, broth, onion, celery, garlic, ham hock, cumin, thyme, peppers, and bay leaf in crock pot. Cook on high 3-4 hours or low 7-8 hours. The beans should be tender and the meat should be falling off the bone.
  • Stove-top cooking: Place beans, chicken broth, chopped vegetables, and ham hock in large soup pot. Bring to boil over high heat. Lower heat to simmer and cook uncovered about 10 minutes. Skim off any foam that rises to the top. Add cumin, thyme, cayenne pepper, black pepper, and bay leaf. Stir. Continue cooking bean mixture with cover slightly ajar over low simmering heat for 1 ½ to 3 hours, stirring occasionally. The beans should be tender and the meat should be falling off the bone.
  • Before serving, move ham hock from pot to a bowl and allow to cool slightly. Discard all but good ham meat. Chop this meat and set aside. Scoop about 1 of cooked beans from pot and mash well in a bowl. Return the mashed beans and the chopped ham to the pot. Stir and taste for seasonings. You may want to add salt at this point or more pepper. I sometimes add another ½ teaspoon of cumin and thyme to the beans at this point, depending upon seasoning preferences.

For serving:

  • When you’re ready to eat---Serve the beans over cooked rice in bowls. Garnish with chopped parsley and green onion tops. Pass the Tabasco and Tony’s around the table.

Notes

I think red beans are always better the day after they’ve been cooked. So if you can refrigerate them and then reheat the next day, you will be pleasantly surprised. The cooked beans also freeze well.