| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 2 hr 50 min |
| Prep: | 20 min |
| Cook: | 2 hr 30 min |
| Yield: | 8 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried red beans, rinsed and sorted over
- 3 tablespoons bacon grease
- 1/4 cup chopped tasso, or chopped ham
- 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onions
- 3/4 cup chopped celery
- 3/4 cup chopped green bell peppers
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Pinch cayenne
- 3 bay leaves
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme
- 1/2 pound smoked sausage, split in half lengthwise and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 pound smoked ham hocks
- 3 tablespoons chopped garlic
- 10 cups chicken stock, or water
- 4 cups cooked white rice
- 1/4 cup chopped green onions, garnish
Instructions
- Place the beans in a large bowl or pot and cover with water by 2 inches. Let soak for 8 hours or overnight. Drain and set aside.
- In a large pot, heat the bacon grease over medium-high heat. Add the tasso and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the onions, celery and bell peppers to the grease in the pot. Season with the salt, pepper, and cayenne, and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are soft, about 4 minutes. Add the bay leaves, parsley, thyme, sausage, and ham hocks, and cook, stirring, to brown the sausage and ham hocks, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the beans and stock or water, stir well, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the beans are tender and starting to thicken, about 2 hours. (Should the beans become too thick and dry, add more water, about 1/4 cup at a time.)
- Remove from the heat and with the back of a heavy spoon, mash about 1/4 of the beans against the side of the pot. Continue to cook until the beans are tender and creamy, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and remove the bay leaves.
- Serve over rice and garnish with green onions.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 8 servings |
| Calories | 679 |
| Total Fat | 23 g |
| Saturated Fat | 7 g |
| Carbohydrates | 77 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 16 g |
| Sugar | 8 g |
| Protein | 42 g |
| Cholesterol | 72 mg |
| Sodium | 1352 mg |
Reviews
Question: fresh or dried bay leaves?
Review: seems to have all the right ingredients, but I need clarification before I complete it.
Review: seems to have all the right ingredients, but I need clarification before I complete it.
This recipe is by far the best I have ever tried! The simple, clean taste with that hint of Smokey earthiness in the background is divine! Way to go, Emeril! You still rock the kitchen!
Use Camellia red beans. No need to soak over night. Cover beans with cold water, bring to a boil. Turn off heat, cover pot for 1 hour. Drain and proceed with recipe.
For #2 beans, I use 3/4C minced tasso, 1# salt pork (remove before serving), 2 ham hocks, 1# diced seasoning ham (or ham steak) 1# sliced then sauteed smoked sausage or andouille (add last 10 minutes to avoid flavor loss) plus the obligatory garlic, onions, bell pepper, scallions, parsley, bay, thyme, black, white and cayenne pepper. When I have smoked pulled pork in the freezer, I omit the tasso and add 1# pulled pork the last 10 minutes.
For #2 beans, I use 3/4C minced tasso, 1# salt pork (remove before serving), 2 ham hocks, 1# diced seasoning ham (or ham steak) 1# sliced then sauteed smoked sausage or andouille (add last 10 minutes to avoid flavor loss) plus the obligatory garlic, onions, bell pepper, scallions, parsley, bay, thyme, black, white and cayenne pepper. When I have smoked pulled pork in the freezer, I omit the tasso and add 1# pulled pork the last 10 minutes.
This freezes well. Thin with stock or water when reheating.
I’ve been making this since the episode aired a bazillion years ago. It’s the best. The only thing I do a little different is remove some of the sausage after it’s been browned before adding beans. Gotta leave some in for the taste and have some that hasn’t cooked for 2 hours for serving 🙂 ham hocks & Tasso really make this. If you can’t find Tasso try any spicy ham. If you can’t find ham hocks, yikes, keep looking. Seriously tho that smokey pork lends huge flavor. Before serving, I remove any actual meat left on the ham hocks and put it back in the beans. I have to laugh bcuz the 1st time my daughter saw me make this, she asked why I was cooking ankles LOL
One of the best bean recipes I have ever made. Simply amazing. Some modifications that I did do to ingredient accessibility. I used 1 teaspoon of dried thyme because I didn’t have fresh. I used a ham shank because I didn’t have ham hocks. No Tasso ham so I used a little bit of bacon. So good this recipe. So good this recipe is a complete keeper and I will be making it again and again I might try using it with different beans just to see how it comes out, like with cannellini or something like that.
I made this recipe which isn’t really much different from my own. I used 1/4 tsp of Cayenne pepper and added some Carolina Reaper hot sauce. The only difference from mine was the 10 cups of chicken stock that I used this time, instead of water. This is absolutely fantastic, and will be using the chicken stock going forward.
I usually make this after cooking a baked ham. I cut the scraps off the ham bone and use them. I also put the bone in as well which adds lots of flavor to the beans and then I discard it in the end. I try to use Camilia brand dried kidney beans if I can find them. That ‘s what most native New Orleanians use. The beans always taste better and creamier by the next day.
This is an amazing good dish for a simple recipe. Par boil the beans as an alternative to soaking. I saute pancetta for the grease, and add about 1/2 pond of chorizo that kicks up the dish a notch! The key is to monitor the simmer, and prevent this from drying out or overcooking the beans.
Delicious! That’s how I make it too,
We always use 2 cartons chicken stock instead of water. (A few cups of water also)
I don’t ever soak the beans though.
It just takes a little longer on Mondays, but it’s traditional.
In the last 45 minutes, I add carrots for color and texture.
We always use 2 cartons chicken stock instead of water. (A few cups of water also)
I don’t ever soak the beans though.
It just takes a little longer on Mondays, but it’s traditional.
In the last 45 minutes, I add carrots for color and texture.
I just made this and I could be totally wrong but how do you brown the ham hock and sausage while they are mixed in with the other ingredients? Shouldn’t you brown them first or separately? Also, 10 cups of stock? I have a pretty large pot and it would overflow. Any comments appreciated.. thank you