Oh my oh my I am in love with Red Beans and Rice.
Never been a dish I liked, but I started experimenting with it about a year ago and have zeroed in on what is now one of my favorite dishes.
Here is how I make it.
Ingredients:
1 lbs of dried red beans, I like to use red kidney and another red bean.
3 tbs of beef tallow
½ cup of chopped up Red Pepper
½ cup of chopped up Green Pepper
½ cup of chopped up Carrot
1 cup of chopped Onion
½ cup of chopped celery with leaves
½ tsp of ground black pepper
¼ tsp of cayenne
1 tsp of chili powder
2 bay leaves
2 tbs of parsely
1 tsp of thyme
¼ tsp of oregano
A little salt (depending upon how salty your stock is)
Ground Pepper as you like it.
¾ cup of chopped up Ham
1 smoked or cooked sausage cut up
4-5 cloves of garlic minced
8 cups of chicken stock
1-3 cups of water
1-2 shots of tequila
Some chopped up green onion for garnish over the top.
Weigh and sort out the dried beans. Put in a bowl, cover with water and allow to sit for 8 hours or overnight.
Heat up the beef tallow in a pan, add the vegetables and fry them over high heat for 4 minutes. Add the meat and seasonings and continue to fry for another 4 minutes. Add the minced garlic and fry for one minute.
Drain the beans. Hit the pan with the tequila and immediately add the beans and chicken stock. Stir together and bring to a boil on high heat. Reduce the heat to medium or medium high and continue to boil for 2 hours uncovered. You will need to add water a ¼ to ½ cup at a time as the mixture cooks for the first hour and a half for a total of 1-3 cups of water. The last ½ hour you will see the mixture thicken. After the 2 hours, mash about ¼ of the mixture with a potato masher. Mix together and continue to cook for another 15-25 minutes until the beans become a nice thick mass.
Serve over rice and sprinkle the top with fresh green onions.
Notes: You can use other types of stock if you like or omit the meat and go with another oil to make it vegan friendly.