Auntie Em's New Orleans Red Beans

Here at Auntie Em’s house we eat a lot of what Mr X calls “farm food.” It’s his favorite, and since it’s easy to cook, it fits in my schedule and lifestyle. We went to Nachtitoches, Mississippi in December and I bought their local Service League cookbook- I love to buy local cookbooks as souvenirs when we travel!

Here is one of my favorites (and I measured this time!):

1 small pkg red kidney beans

1 tsp salt and pepper (add more, or Tony Chachere to taste after they cook.)

1/4 c chopped onion

1/4 c chopped celery

1 large carrot, diced

1 large clove garlic, minced

2 bay leaves

1 hunk of tasso (That’s frozen tasso there- it looks bad, but tastes good! It’s a heavily seasoned pork, for cooking. I usually don’t use it up fast enough to keep fresh, so I freeze it and take it out as I need it.)

4-6 c water or broth (If you don’t have broth, add a bouillon cube or 2!)

Put in a large, heavy pan and add water or broth about 3 times the depth of the beans. (If you have 2″ of beans, add 4″ of water above the beans- make sense?) Bring to a boli, stir, cover, and let soak an  hour. Check on it periodically because you might need to add water during the soak time!

Then add water if needed, and simmer for 2-3 hours. Check often and add water. They should be tender. If you want to make it over the top, slice up some link sausage and stir in before you serve, or serve it with a link! Put it over rice or Granny’s Cornbread.

;

;

About these ads

---