Red Beans and Rice
1 1/2 lb. smoked sausage; bulk
1 lb.dry red kidney beans
1 large onion (chopped)
6 cups water
1 tbsp. oil
2 tsp. salt
1 tbsp.chili powder
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. worcestershire sauce
1 bay leaf
1 lb. smoked ham, cubed, shredded or chopped
Soak beans overnight. Drain. In a large stewing kettle put oil and soften
the onion about 1 to 2 minutes. Pour water into the kettle, then beans and all ingredients except sausage. Cook over low flame for 1 hour ( keep kettle covered but allow a little steam to escape), or until beans begin to get soft. Remove 3 or 4 tablespoons of beans and mash, then return them to the pot and stir. Continue cooking until bean gravy becomes milky and thickened. Cut up sausage into bite size pieces and add to beans. Continue to cook, covered for 30 minutes. DO NOT fry or boil sausage before putting them in the beans. Left over ham or ham hocks may be substituted for sausage, but must be cooked along with the beans from the start. If this is not hot enough for you then add enough pepper to suit your taste. Serve over rice. Don't forget to remove the bay leaf.
Note: We pressure cook the red beans 45 minutes using the 6 cups of water. Fry the bulk sausage and drain grease. Return to pan and add onion; saute until onion is opaque or tender. Add beans, bean water and all other ingredients and simmer for a while. We like to eat it the next day; it allows the flavors to marry better. We also use three teaspoons of creole seasoning rather than the salt, cayenne and black pepper.
Original recipe called for regular long sausage cut into edible size pieces.
