Back to recipes
Related Cooking Notes
New Orleans–Style Red Beans
Ingredients
- 1 pound red kidney beans
- Soak (optional)
- 6 cups water
- 2 tbsp kosher salt
- Saute first
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil or lard
- 1 lb cooked andouille sausage, cut into 1/2-inch disks
- Saute second
- 4 ribs celery, finely chopped
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 1 bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped
- Salt and pepper
- Saute third
- 4 medium cloves garlic, minced
- Saute fourth
- 1/2 tsp to 1 tbsp ground cayenne pepper (depending on preference)
- 1 tsp ground sage
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Pressure cook
- 4 cups water (or low-sodium chicken broth)
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 3 bay leaves
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 smoked ham hock (optional)
- Season (optional)
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- Hot sauce
Directions
- Rinse the beans. Optionally soak the beans in salted water for 4 to
8 hours. Rinse the beans again after soaking.
- Heat oil or lard over medium-high heat. Cook the andouille sausage,
stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. About 5 minutes.
- Add celery, onion, and bell pepper, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring
regularly, until vegetables have softened and are just starting to
brown. About 8 minutes.
- Add garlic and cook, stirring regularly, until fragrant. About 1
minute.
- Add cayenne pepper, sage, and a generous 10-12 grinds of fresh black
pepper. Cook, stirring regularly, until fragrant. About 30 seconds.
- Add the beans, water, salt, bay leaves, thyme. Ensure that the water
covers the beans (if not add more). Add the ham hock.
- Cook the beans.
- If using a pressure cooker and the beans are not pre-soaked, cook
on high for 30 mins with a natural release.
- If using a pressure cooker and the beans are pre-soaked, cook on
high for 10 mins with a natural release.
- Continue to cook with lid off, stirring occasionally, until the liquid
has thickened and turned creamy. If the pot starts to look dry before
the stew turns creamy, add a cup of water and continue simmering.
Repeat as necessary until desired level of creaminess is achieved.
- Discard bay leaves and thyme.
- Season to taste with apple cider vinegar, hot sauce, salt, and pepper.
Notes
- For best texture, let cool and refrigerate overnight. Reheat the next
day, adding a little water to loosen to desired consistency.
- Serve red beans over steamed white rice.
History
- 2019.05.15 Wed. Used 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth and 2 tsp of
kosher salt when pressure cooking and it was WAY too salty. Reduced
the amount of salt in the recipe to 1 tsp.
Back to recipes