Well, now ya done it...
Ya'll knows that here at La Casa del Whacko in beautiful downtown Spring, TX, just across the sewage canal from the creosote plant, good eats are valued almost as much as a redbone hound.
Now, Granny LeBlanc passed several years ago. She went out to the back house and the hogs ate her. It was a tragedy, her havin' out lived 4 husbands, three of whom were darn near as mean as her...
She had a nice service at Our Lady of Perpetual Lunacy, all the drunkards in the county attended. Then they chunked what was left of 'er in the clay.
She left her priogue to Cletus an' her trot lines to Ida Mae. But she saved the best for me: Her Red Beans and Rice recipe...
She made me promise to NEVER let that formula fall into Yankee hands, her Grandfather on her Mother's side having been "lost" at the Civil War navel battle of Lake Lostsocks. (He was later "found" passed out drunk under a table at a local tavern.)
I never liked that mean old woman. Especially after I had to spend a night in jail with her after she didn't even remove the Chesterfield from her lips before she told the State Trooper to kiss her ass...
So to git even wit her, here it is.
Granny Leblanc's Red Beans & Rice
Ingredients
1 lb dried red beans 1-1/2 Tblspn olive oil
1-1/2 c sweet onion diced 3/4 cup green pepper diced
1/2 cup celery diced 1 lb pork loin or cooked ham, diced
1-1/2 lbs Andouille sausage 2 tsp minced garlic
1-1/2 Tblspn Cousin Cletesus' Creole seasoning 2 bay leaves
3 dashes Cajun Chef Brand Hot Sauce 2 dashes Worcestershire Sauce
3 qts low sodium chicken broth 1-1/2 c Jasmine rice
Directions
One or two days before service bring 3 cups of chicken broth to a boil in a 3 quart covered sauce pan. Rinse the rice under running water to remove excess starch. Allow to drain in a sieve for 5 minutes. Add the rice and 1 tsp salt to the pan. Return to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 10 min. Remove the pan from the heat and rest for 1 hour covered, don’t peek. Fluff then refrigerate.
To a large pot, add 8-10 cups of water. Add the dry beans. Bring to a boil for 2–3 minutes. Remove from heat, cover and soak for up to 3 hours.
Heat the olive oil in a Lodge cast iron 5 qt dutch oven. Sauté the onions, pepper and celery for 10 -12 minutes or until the onions start to color. Place the trinity in a colander and drain. Wipe out the pot. Reserve 2 Tblspns of grease, and return it to the pot and heat to med-hI. Cut the sausage into 3 inch pieces and dice the pork/ham into 3/4 inch pieces. Add the pork/ham and sausage pieces to the pot and sauté for another 6-8 minutes. Reserve 2 Tblspns of grease. Place the meat in a colander and drain to remove excess grease. Wipe out the pot. Add the garlic and reserved grease to the preheated pot. Sauté for 2 more minutes. Add the soaked beans, Creole seasoning, bay leaves, hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce to the pot. And enough chicken broth to cover the mixture at least 1 inch deep. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour, lightly covered, adding chicken broth as needed. Check and adjust spices then simmer for another 30 minutes. Refrigerate overnight or for up to 48 hours. (It’s always better when re-heated.)
Serve w/ rice, cornbread, baguettes, and cold beer.
Makes enough for a Monday warsh day…
