- 1 pound dry red kidney beans
Water to cover the beans
About 5 quarts Basic Stock, either pork, turkey or chicken (he recommends pork but I've always used turkey)
4 cups finely chopped onions
2 1/2 cups finely chopped celery
2 cups finely chopped green bell peppers
5 bay leaves
1 pound andouille smoked sausage or any other good pure smoked pork sausage such as Polish sausage (kielbasa), cut diagonally into 3/4" pieces
1/4 pound tasso ham (preferred) or other smoked ham (I like Cure 81), cut into 1 1/2x1/4x1/4" julienne strips
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Prudhomme's Meat Magic seasoning
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 cups hot cooked rice (preferably converted)
2" above the beans. Let stand overnight. Drain just before using. In a 6-quart saucepan or large Dutch oven, combine
6 cups of the stock, the drained beans,
1 cup each of the onions, celery and bell peppers and the bay leaves. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally and scraping pan bottom each time to make sure beans don't stick. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer and simmer
30 minutes, stirring and scraping pan bottom frequently. Add
2 more cups of stock,
1 cup more onions and the remaining
1 1/2 cups celery and 1 cup bell peppers; bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat and simmer
35 minutes, stirring and scraping often. Stir in
3 cups more stock, the andouille, tasso, Meat Magic, salt and the remaining
2 cups onions; bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally, then reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring and scraping pan bottom occasionally. Stir in
2 more cups of stock and return to boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until beans are tender and start breaking up, about 1 hour to
45 minutes more, stirring and scraping pan bottom frequently. Continue adding more stock,
1 to 2 cups at a time, as gravy cooks down and becomes very thick; you probably will need to add about 6 cups more stock. (If the beans start to scorch, do not stir. Immediately remove from heat and change to another pot without scraping any scorched beans into the mixture.) Remove bay leaves and serve immediately.
3/4 cup rice in the middle of a large heated plate. Spoon a generous
1 1/4 cups of the beans around the rice and arrange
2 pieces of andouille on top of the beans.
Makes 8 servings.
