Featured Recipes
- Introduction
-
Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from The Dooky Chase Cookbook by Leah Chase and are part of our story on Mardi Gras.
In Madisonville, where I grew up, we would use smoked ham to add flavor to our red beans. In New Orleans, they would use pickled meat. Pickling of pork was done in the Creole community. Pickled ribs with potato salad were popular. The meat was pickled in a brine, more or less, along with seasonings. There is a market in New Orleans that still makes pickled meat, in just this way. They might also use some kind of vinegar. In this red beans recipe, I stick with the smoked meats, just like in the country.
- Serving Size
- Makes 6 servings.
- Ingredients
- 1 lb. red kidney beans
- 2 qt. water
- 1 large onion (chopped)
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 lb. smoked ham (cubed)
- 1 lb. smoked sausages (in ½-inch slices)
- 1 cup water
- 1 tbsp. chopped garlic
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tbsp. black pepper
- 2 tbsp. chopped parsley
- 1 tsp. whole thyme leaves
- 2 level tbsp. salt
- 6 cups cooked white rice
- Preparation
-
Pick through beans, removing all bad beans or any other particles. Wash beans well. Place beans in a 5-quart pot. Add the 2 quarts of water. Add onions; bring to a boil. Lower heat and let beans boil slowly for 1 hour. When beans are soft, stir well, mashing some against the side of the pot.
Heat oil in frying pan; add ham and sausage. Sauté in oil for 5 mintues. Then add the sausage, ham, and oil to beans. Deglaze pan with the cup of water, then pour into beans. Add all other ingredients. Let simmer for 30 minutes. Beans should be nice and creamy. Serve over rice.
- Credits
- From THE DOOKY CHASE COOKBOOK © 1990
- Created by: Leah Chase
- Permisssion: Pelican Publishing Company, Inc.
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