A Butta Way to Cook: Red Beans & Rice

Red Beans and Rice with Ham & Andouille Sausage

1 pound dry red kidney beans

Water to cover the beans

1 ham bone (Honey Baked or Heavenly Ham)

2 1/2 cups finely chopped celery

2 cups finely chopped

2 cups finely chopped green bell peppers

2-3 cloves fresh garlic, finely minced

2-3 bay leaves

2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves

1 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Hot sauce to taste

1 pound andouille sausage, sliced

Hot steamed rice

Cover the beans with water 2 inches above the beans. Let stand overnight. Drain just before using. ** This step is optional. If you don't soak the beans, they will just take longer to cook and require more water**

Place the beans, ham bone, 10 cups of water, celery, onions, bell peppers, garlic, bay leaves and seasonings in a large Dutch oven; stir well. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until meat is falling off the bone, about an hour, stirring occasionally. Remove bone, chop meat into bite sized pieces removing excess fat as you go, then put the ham back into the beans. Add sliced andouille sausage (brown first if you wish), add more water if required, them simmer until beans are soft and creamy!

Serve over mound of rice!

(This recipe is a meaty one - when we made this dish we doubled the beans and the spices but I think next time I make it on my own I'll make it this way!)

Here are pictures and helpful tips when making this dish!

Everything is added and starting to boil.

This is our sausage that we used - we sliced it into thin coins. Slice it, chunk it do whatever you would like, bite sized pieces are easier to eat!

This step is optional since the sausage is pre-cooked, but it gives it a great smokey flavor when you sear the sausage. If you chose to do this step, after you add the sausage to the pot - take some of the broth and put it into the empty hot sausage pan. Take a rubber spatula and scrape all of the leftover greasy goodness off the pan and add it back into the bean pot. This will kick up the sausage flavor!

Take the ham bone when the meat is tender and beginning to fall off - use tongs because it will be HOT! Since Mama Butta made a batch of beans for us to eat and we cooked our own for later, we let the ham bone cool down while we ate before we picked the meat off. Just leave it for a little while until it stops steaming. Pick off the meat to add back into the pot and feel free to sample!