Red Beans and Rice Recipes

In short, no.

Red beans are not the same variety as red kidney beans. They are smaller and have a smoother taste and texture than their kidney bean cousins. They are the most popular in the Caribbean region, where south Louisiana got it’s passion for red beans and rice.

This also demonstrates that the differences between Creole and Cajun are no longer widely recognized. Red beans are the beans originally used in the Creole or New Orleans recipes that originated in the Caribbean. Red kidney beans are just another type of dry bean Cajuns ate as a staple food along with rice.

Today, however, red beans and red kidney beans are used interchangeably in recipes for red beans and rice. I use red beans when they’re available. Otherwise I use red kidney beans.

Red Beans            Red Kidney Beans

References:
http://www.beans4health.com/dictionary.html

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Louis Armstrong’s Spicy Pepper Cornbread

• 3 cups yellow cornmeal
• 1 cup cream-style corn
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 3 eggs
• 1 3/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup chopped jalapeno peppers

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl and pour in a 9- by 13-inch ungreased pan. Bake in preheated oven at 350 for 30 minutes.

Reference article website: Spice up red beans and rice with fresh additions by Chef Lou Rice

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This is Louis Armstrong’s Recipe:

• 1 pound kidney beans (sorted, rinsed and soaked, see below)
• 1/2 pound salt pork (slab bacon may be used if preferred)
• 1 small can of tomato sauce (if desired)
• 6 small ham hocks or one smoked pork butt
• 2 onions, diced
• 1/4 green (bell) pepper
• 5 tiny or 2 medium dried peppers
• 1 clove of garlic, chopped
• salt to taste

Wash beans thoroughly, then soak overnight in cold water. Be sure to cover beans. To cook, pour water off beans, add fresh water to cover. Add salt pork or bacon and let come to a boil over full flame in (5-quart) covered pot [or dutch oven]. Turn flame down to slightly higher than low and let cook 1 1/2 hours. Add diced onions, bell pepper, garlic, dried peppers, and salt.

Cook 3 hours.

Add tomato sauce and cook 11/2 hours more, adding water whenever necessary. Beans and meat should always be just covered with liquid, never dry.

Serve over cooked rice, with a fresh pot of Community Coffee, and Spicy Pepper Cornbread (recipe in next post).

Dutch Ovens:

• Le Creuset 7.25-qt. Round Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven, Chestnut
• Calphalon 6-qt. Everyday Nonstick Dutch Oven

Reference article website: Spice up red beans and rice with fresh additions by Chef Lou Rice

This is a Creole recipe with a Cajun flare. It uses kidney beans instead of red beans, but notice tomato sauce is an ingredient. Tomatoes, tomato paste, and tomato sauce often immediately distinguish a Creole recipe from a Cajun recipe.

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All dry beans should be hand-sorted, rinsed twice with water and soaked according to any one of the following methods. Dry beans are a raw agricultural product and may contain dirt, stones and other debris.

Gas-Free Method

Beans cause gas because they contain indigestible sugars that ferment in our intestines. Fermentation of sugars produces carbon dioxide gas, and thus intestinal gas.

In a stockpot or dutch oven, place 1 pound of dry beans (sorted and rinsed) in 10 or more cups of boiling water; boil for 2-3 minutes, cover and set aside overnight. The next day approximately 75 to 90 percent of the indigestible sugars will have dissolved into the soaking water. Drain, and then rinse the beans thoroughly before cooking them.

From: beans4health website.

Quick Soak Method

Place 1 pound of sorted and rinsed beans in 8-10 cups of water. Bring to a boil and cook for two minutes. Turn off heat and set aside for one hour. Drain and rinse with water. Beans are now ready to cook.

Overnight Soak Method

Place 1 pound of sorted and rinsed beans in 8-10 cups of cold water. Cover and let soak over night. Drain and rinse beans before cooking.

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Here’s my family’s red beans and rice recipe:

• 1 lb dry red beans, sorted, rinsed and soaked
• 1 lb seasoning meat, chopped into bite-sized pieces (ham or smoked sausage)
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 1/4 C. green bell pepper, chopped
• 2 celery sticks, chopped
• 1-3 toes of garlic, minced
• 1 bunch fresh parsley, washed and snipped
• 1/4 t. cayenne red pepper, or to taste
• 1 T. Tony Chachere’s Original (creole) Seasoning
• 1 large Bay Leaf
• 2 coursly chopped jalapeno peppers without the seeds, if desired
• salt, additional to taste (Tony’s has salt in the seasoning)
• 1 bunch green onions, washed and chopped
• Louisiana Red Hot Sauce to taste
• Rice, at least 2 cups dry (makes 4 cups cooked)
  

Render chopped sausage in 5-7 quart dutch oven, or brown chopped ham in 2 T. vegetable oil. Sausage makes sufficient grease to saute the vegetables.

I use a Le Creuset 7.25-qt. Round Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven
or a Calphalon 6-qt. Everyday Nonstick Dutch Oven The Le Creuset dutch oven comes in a variety of colors. The Calphalon dutch oven is black anodized aluminum and much lighter weight than cast iron.

Add onion, bell pepper, garlic, celery, and parsley and saute until tender.

Add the soaked beans and 8 cups water or stock. Add all seasonings except the green onions.

Bring to a boil and remove the bay leaf, reduce heat, cover, and simmer on low heat at least 4-6 hours. Stir occasionally and add water to keep the beans covered.

Test to see if beans are completely cooked by taking a few from different areas of the pot, allowing them to cool, and smashing them between your thumb and forefinger. If they smash easily and completely and nothing is left intact but the skin, they’re done.

Prepare rice according to package instructions or in rice-cooker.

Serve beans over rice with chopped green onion as a garnish. Have Louisiana Red Hot Sauce on the table for those who like to spice them up. Tabasco Sauce is also a good choice if you like things really hot. Serve with cornbread and a fresh pot of Community Coffee (I prefer freshly ground whole-bean gourmet Columbian).

Vegetarians: I’ve made this exact recipe without the meat before and it’s excellent. I used 2 T vegetable oil to saute the vegetables before adding the beans and water.

Recipe from Sherri Joubert

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Make no mistake, beans and rice are an extremely healthy meal. One of the reasons to put dry beans on to cook all day is undercooked beans will make you sick. Undercooked rice will do the same.

Be sure you test the beans by taking a few from different areas of the pot, allowing them to cool to the touch, and smashing them between your thumb and forefinger. They should smash completely and easily. The only thing left intact should be the skin. I always cook my beans a minimum of 4 hours and usually 6 hours. The bean packages suggest 1.5 - 2 hours, but my beans have never been done after that cooking time. A long cooking time also makes red beans a great Crockpot dish.

Rice cooked according to package instructions or in a rice cooker is sufficient.

If you don’t have time for dry beans to cook thoroughly, use canned beans. They are completely cooked right out of the can. Instant rice is also readily available.

Here’s an article about why undercooked beans (legumes) and rice (grains) make you ill.

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