My dad shared this recipe with me sometime around college so I wouldn’t waste my money on cheap fast food. He always had food right. As a kid in Korea, when we would make a Christmas trip to Hong Kong, I’d dive into McDonald’s the moment we landed. Korea didn’t have McDonald’s back then. While I was eating quarter pounders Dad would quietly go to a noodle shop next door and eat right, soaking up the flavor and the culture. I was a little slow to figure out what good food was.
Anyway, red beans and rice. I always looked forward to my dad making this when I was growing up. Born in New Orleans, my dad has Tabasco in his blood. It was always a treat to visit family in the summer and taste some of the amazing Cajun dishes they could whip up like red beans and rice. It reminds me of the crawfish boils, French Quarter parades, and using chicken necks to catch crabs from under the dock.
This is an easy one-pot meal that you can start in the morning and let cook all day. Be sure to soak your beans in water overnight. They’ll cook faster and more evenly if you do.
If you add hot sauce to your beans, Tabasco is the most traditional. And it’s made in Louisiana so it’s certainly at home amongst red beans and rice. But feel free to substitute whatever hot sauce is your favorite to make it your own.
Serves 4
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 6-8 hours
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 lb red kidney beans
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 cup celery, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced (sometimes I do 5 though. We love garlic!)
- 1/2 lb ham, cut into bite sized pieces
- 1/2 lb Italian sausage
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
- Your favorite hot sauce, to taste (Tabasco, if you want to be traditional)
- 2 bay leaves
- Salt, to taste
- Rice, to serve
- Chopped green onions for topping (optional)
RECIPE:
Soak the beans in water over night. When ready to prepare, drain the beans and place in your crock pot.
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil, add cooking spray, and lay the sausage on the sheet. When temperature is reached, place the sausage in the oven and let cook til browned on one side, about 15 minutes. Turn over and place back in the oven for another 15 minutes. When browned on both sides remove from the oven and let cool enough that it can be sliced. If it’s not all the way cooked through, no problem. It will cook plenty in the crock pot.
Add to the crock pot the sliced sausage, the rest of the ingredients up to and including salt, and enough water to almost cover the mixture. Set the temperature to cook for at least 6 hrs.
When done, serve over rice and top with chopped green onions. Enjoy!
