Red Beans and Rice

Folks, you need to trust me here on this. We are native New Orleanians and my wife makes the best red beans you will ever eat! She learned at the heels of her family who owned a neighborhood restaurant. Soak the beans for 10 minutes, bring to a boil for 20 min, take off the heat and let them sit til ready to cook. When it's time, bring back to a simmer and then add onions, celery, etc. Mash those beans towards the end for creaminess and if you are brave, add a little butter. YUM!

I agree with Tim. Been making variations of red beans all my adult life. (Nor from Louisiana, but close, Beaumont Texas.) It's almost impossible to go wrong in my view, if you actually enjoy traditional rb&r. Being from Texas, I add chopped fresh jalapeño and Fresno chiles and twice the garlic. Also serve with Louisiana hot sauce on the side. And Alexander is dead on as to how to cook the beans.....

INSTANT POT (ELECTRIC PRESSURE COOKER) ADAPTATION: Rinse beans, set aside (no soak required). Follow directions above using the SAUTE mode to process the sausage and vegetables. Add beans, seasonings and 7 cups of water. Set MANUAL pressure to HIGH, for 55 minutes, followed by a 10-15 minute natural release. Remove lid, add parsley and green onions, mashing some beans against side of pot. Simmer on SAUTE for 15 minutes, or until desired thickness.

White beans (navy beans) and others such as field peas, limas, and butter beans, are all part of the Cajun/Creole food traditions. No horror in a good pot of white beans and these are frequently served in neighborhood restaurants around New Orleans. Red beans just get the limelight because they're featured in most tourist venues. Try your white beans with fresh fried fish on the side and pickled bell pepper. Thousands of Cajuns can't be wrong.

I don't mean to sound negative but as a LA native do we really need another RB&R recipe? There's really not much variation from recipe to recipe. However no self-respecting LA native would dare make it without throwing in a smoked ham hock. And as far as sausage goes, andouille really isn't the best sausage to use. Spicy pork sausage (my favorite is Conecuh brand) adds the best overall flavor. Save the andouille for your gumbo and shrimp & grits.

Two suggestions: 1. Add a couple of splashes of vinegar. The acid is needed. 2. If you go vegetarian, add a teaspoon or more of smoked paprika ... smokiness is a ket part of the taste of RBR.

Any red bean recipe that doesn't include some form of on-the-bone pork AT BARE MINIMUM should be disregarded. The absence of smoked pork hocks in this one is glaring to say the least...

Made this as directed, and it was delicious. The only change I will make next time is that I will remove the sausage after frying it and add it to the bean mixture about 30-45 minutes before the end of the whole cooking process. My sausage, which was a very good sausage made by local butchers, donated a little too much of its flavor to the beans, so the sausage pieces weren't that flavorful in the final product.

I'd guess most people do use kidney beans, and I'm sure they'd be fine, but no, there is a different kind of bean, sometimes called "small red beans," that are significantly smaller than kidney beans and a darker red. In my area they're easiest to find in hispanic grocery stores, both dry and canned (Goya, for example).

Yo Y'all, I am from NOLA, now living in Colorado.. this was one of The Best RBnR creations I have EVER made. One of the main ingredients that accentuated the end result was I bought a LOCAL smoked ham hock at the farmers market. OMG. I added a Serrano pepper for spice and left off the Sage, Cayenne, Parsley, and green onions. Cut way back on salt. The final color and texture were just what I was imagining. Always mash my beans. Laissez les bonnes temps roulez y'all! Marty

I'm sorry and a bit surprised to hear that. It's pretty much the standard recipe (though you'll also find dried thyme in many). I cook it once a week just a to have a pot on hand. I've gone from expensive sausages to very cheap "red hot" ones, and it's been great every time. I don't bother pre-soaking the beans, just cook them until done, and then mash a portion at a time until I get the texture I want.

This isn't supposed to be a fancy dish, but I used pricey Rancho Gordo Domingo rojo beans - small, red, and very tasty.

Took Alexander's advice re: soaking/cooking the beans because I didn't want to cook this tomorrow and (horrors) had to use white beans because the specialty grocer I went to had everything BUT small red beans. But, I'm happy to report that this is one of the most delicious recipes I've ever tried, and I will definitely make it again! I'll have to freeze some, because it's a huge quantity and there were only two of us eating. Still...a great success!

The Louisiana restaurants in Louisiana would NEVER serve red beans with cheese.....

There are many ways to successfully cook dried beans. I always cover them with cold water and bring them to a boil for three minutes. Then I take the beans off of the burner and let them soak for an hour. After an hour I just simmer the beans until done.