Red Beans and Rice (from Staples +5 Cookbook!)

An authentic and deeply delicious Red Beans and Rice from Tanorria Askew’s debut cookbook, Staples +5. This recipe calls for dried beans that are soaked overnight, which is ideal, but if you don’t have the time or simply forget to plan ahead, you can use canned – just read the notes at the bottom of the recipe for the easy swap.

Author: Lauren McDuffie
Yield: 12 cups 1x

Ingredients

Scale

1 pound dry kidney beans
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 pound smoked sausage, sliced
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon granulated garlic
1/2 tablespoon paprika
2 bay leaves
3 sprigs fresh thyme
3 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
10 cups chicken stock, divided
2 cups long grain white rice, thoroughly rinsed

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Instructions

Rinse the beans and place them in a large bowl. Add cold water to cover by at least 1 inch and soak overnight. The beans will plump up and there will be minimal water left. Drain and set aside.
In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the sausage, and cook for 5 to 7 minutes until it is brown on both sides, rendering as much fat as possible. Remove the sausage from the pot and transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.
Add the onions, bell pepper, celery, and minced garlic to the pot. Saute for 5 to 7 minutes, or until caramelized and tender. Add the granulated garlic, paprika, bay leaves, thyme, and salt. Cook for 2 minutes more, stirring frequently. Add the Worcestershire sauce, and cook for one minute more.
Add the beans and 6 cups of chicken stock (the liquid should come just to the top of the beans). Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low, and cover. Simmer, covered, for 1.5 hours. Remove the lid from the pot and stir. Simmer, uncovered now, for 1 hour more. Remove the bay leaves and thyme stems. Using the back of a wooden spoon, mash about one-fourth of the beans against the side of the pot, and continue stirring. Add the cooked sausage and continue to cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Prepare the rice during the last 30 minutes of the cook time for the beans. To a medium pot, add the rice and the remaining 4 cups of chicken stock. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and cover. Simmer for 25 minutes. Do not remove the lid during this time.
Remove the lid from the rice and fluff it with a fork to prevent it from clumping. Serve the beans over the steamed rice.

Notes

Note 1: To store, refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Note 2: Cooled beans can be transferred to a gallon-sized freezer bag and frozen for up to 3 months. To reheat, thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Heat in a pot over medium heat with 1 cup chicken stock.

To make with canned beans:

You’ll still use all of the same ingredients, but will sub 2 (15-ounce) cans of drained kidney beans for the dried (no need to rinse), and you’ll only need 6 cups of chicken stock.
Skip step 1 and begin with step 2. Proceed through the recipe, and when it’s time to add the beans, do so and then only add 2 cups of stock. Simmer, uncovered, for 15 to 20 minutes, just to reduce a bit and to allow the flavors to marry and deepen. Remove the herbs, smash the beans as directed, add the sausage back in, and prepare the rice as directed.

Keywords: Red Beans and Rice

Find it online: https://mykitchenlittle.com/2021/12/12/red-beans-and-rice-from-staples-5-cookbook/