I love the simplicity of this recipe. It takes all day to cook but the prep is very easy. And, get this, if you don’t want to use dry beans and go through the wait for them to soak feel free to use canned beans. I, personally, do not think this method tastes as good but it’s ok. So, do whatever tickles your fancy and works for you and yours. I find that if I get my beans soaking overnight there really isn’t a wait because you’ll be sleeping while the beans are doing their thang in the pot 🙂
Louisiana is the only place to get this authentic dish and experience it in all of its glory. However, this recipe gives us a little idea of how amazing the cooking is down in the bayou.
Ingredients
1 lb. dry red kidney beans
3 heaping tablespoons bacon grease (If you don’t have any bacon grease, fry a pack of bacon in the pot you are going to cook the beans in, remove the bacon and leave the grease in the pot.)
8 cups water (2 quarts)
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped
3 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon Old Bay Seasoning
1/2 teaspoon Tobasco hot sauce
1 tablespoon Heinz Worcestershire sauce
1 Lb. of Andouille sausage peeled and sliced ¼ in. thick
2 medium ham hocks
Morton salt to taste
Instructions
Pick through beans to remove bad beans; rinse thoroughly. Soak overnight. (Change water every 2-4 hours when possible)
In an 8-quart stock pot (or 7qt. cast iron Dutch oven), add the bacon grease and let dissolve on medium heat.
Once dissolved, add onion, green pepper, garlic, green onions and sauté until the onions are translucent.
Add seasoning mix, hot sauce, Worcestershire Sauce and mix well.
Add beans, water and ham hocks. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low-med. Cover and cook over low-med heat for about 6 hours. (stir beans at least once an hour)
After 6 hours, remove ham hocks, let cool, remove the ham from hocks and discard the bone and fat. Add the ham and Andouille sausage to the beans and cook 2 more hours or until beans are tender. (stirring the beans at least once an hour)
If beans are too watery, bring beans to a low boil and cook uncovered stirring very frequently so the beans don’t burn until the desired thickness is achieved.
Serve over hot cooked rice.
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Quick Tip: I love serving this delicious casserole with steamed veggies and freshly baked bread. Yum!