Chef Mik's Red Beans and Rice

There is a dish in Sweden named “ärtsoppa” (Swedish style (yellow) split pea soup) enjoyed on Thursdays which is in composition quite similar to the red beans portion of red beans and rice, traditionally enjoyed in Louisiana on Mondays using the bones along with whatever left over’s were available, more often then not ham and/or ham bones, today salt pork, pickled pork or tasso which is a portion of ham from either the shoulder or butt that has been cured according to Cajon/Creole traditions and then slowly smoked for 2 to 3 days are often used in place of left over’s, more over now a days there are countless versions of this recipe some of which with meat some not, some using sausage while others not so much, some recipes call for stock or broth which is fine, although I am not using any myself as I will be building flavor profiles layer by layer over the entirety of the cooking process through the ingredients and seasonings used, while I won’t be using a Cajon or Creole spice mix this time around many people do so I am including a recipe for our in house blend, both spice mixes are quite similar to one another so we just use ours with either Cajon or Creole cuisine, when it comes to vegetables you can keep it simple with just some onions and maybe some celery or add green bell pepper, together these three are known as the “holy trinity”, techniques very in terms of cooking methods applied to the beans most people preferring to cook the beans stove top while others prepare them in the oven, I remember when I was in New Orleans the person I was staying with prepared hers in a slow cooker over the coarse of 2 and a half days, needless to say it was by far and a way the best dish I had during my stay there, in fact it was so good before I was done I ended up having 4 bowls of the stuff, unfortunately this was the same day I was heading back to Los Angeles by air plain and do to hazardous weather conditions it took 11 agonizing hours before we finally touched down at L.A.X.

Spice Mix: (this is enough for two recipes)
3 TBS paprika + 1 TBS smoked paprika
2 TBS garlic powder or granulated garlic
2 TBS onion powder
2 TBS oregano
1 TBS thyme
1 TBS celery seed powdered
1 TBS chili powder (cayenne) or as desired
1 TBS white pepper
1 TBS black pepper
1 tbs salt

Shopping List

Small red beans

Andoulle sausages

Ham shank

Onion

Celery

Green bell pepper

Spice blend homemade or store bought

My Mad Method

Day 1, rinse and soak 450g red beans over night in plenty of fresh water

Day 2, the beans will now have been reconstituted and will be ready to cook

Drain and rinse the beans well

Dice 1 onion

Dice about 3 stalks of celery

Dice 1 green bell pepper

Sauté the onions, celery and bell peppers in either canola oil, olive oil, lard, bacon drippings or shortening to desired consistency, add 2-3 cloves garlic minced, 1 ts thyme, ½ ts cayenne pepper, ½ ts granulated garlic, and ½ ts paprika stir for about a minute longer

Add 1.5 liter water, broth or stock, the beans, 1 ham shank (about 400g), and 1 or 2 bay leaves, bring to boil reduce heat and simmer for about 2 hours

For drier beans reduce liquid by 2.5-5 dl, for soupier result add an additional 5 dl liquid

Meanwhile slice 4 sausage links (combined weight 350 g)

I am using Andoulle sausages, but Polish kielbasa or other preferred sausage is fine

Remove ham shank from the beans after the first two hours or when you notice the meat pulling away from the bones

Remove the flesh from the ham shank

In a separate bowl or container puree about 5 dl of the beans to use as the thickening agent, return the thickened bean paste, the ham along and the sausage to the pot with the beans and continue to cook about 30 minutes longer or until desired tenderness

When the beans are ready adjust seasoning with salt and pepper to taste

Ready to serve!!

 

Ready to eat!!

Shown here mounted on steamed long grain rice

Serve with hot sauce