merlyn_4401 . (no subject)

First some explanation and back story. My mom made red beans quite frequently when I was growing up (it was one of teh two default dishes when we had company). She always used her mom's recipe, which used ham hocks. I hate ham hocks. I hate the overly salty, fatty meat that comes off of them. Then one spring I spent a week with my aunt, who made red beans with sausage. I never looked back. To me, that was the way red beans was always supposed to be made. I found this recipe in southern living (which, if anyone cares, is probably THE best line of cookbooks ever published. I have never ever had an issue with one of their recipes - they uniformly turn out well and are delicious). It's a soupier red beans - much more liquidy than what you would find in a restaurant, for example. No plate and fork here. Need a bowl and a spoon. But it is delicious, because the rice soaks up the broth. NOM NOM NOM.

I also didn't take a picture of all the ingredients, because this is a 3 hour process, but I got shots of all of them eventually. :)

So, first you take a 1 pound bag of dried red beans and put them in a pot.

Cover them with about 2 inches of water. Cover and let soak for 8 hours.

Drain them, and add fresh water. Amount doesn't matter - I usually go about 1/2 inch over the beans.

Add 1/4 lb salt pork. Turn it on high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 45 minutes.

While that's cooking, chop enough onion for 3 cups, a bunch of green onions, 1 cup parsley, 1 cup green pepper, and 2 cloves garlic.

Amounts don't matter all that much - a little more or less onion won't hurt. You'll also need 1 tsp red pepper, 1 tsp black pepper, 3 dashes hot sauce, 1 TBSP worcestershire sauce, 1 8 oz can tomato sauce, 1/4 tsp oregano, and 1/4 tsp thyme.