Red Beans & Rice

Meridian Dog has a good recipe

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Anyone want to share their ideas?

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I use some tasso

There are several recipes supposedly by Emeril on the web. I like this one the best because it contains the most meat. The longer you cook the beans (low and slow) the more the hamhock will dissolve. The thyme and bay leaf give the beans a great fragrance in the house.

I made these in New York last summer with hickory smoked ham hocks I found in Union Square Farmer's Market. The neighbors said they could smell the beans from down the street. Made collards, Mexican Cornbread, Jambalaya and Crawfish etouffe. Those New Yorkers tore em up. Haha

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 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
Directions
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.

Brown the onions in bacon grease, use a combination of smoked ham and pickled pork (aka "pickle meat"). Gotta have that salty pickled pork for the best flavor.

try italian sausage, the anise flavor mixes well