re: Fish on Friday because lent...but who knows why Red Beans is a Monday dish?

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Red beans and rice became a traditional dish on Mondays in New Orleans because it made use of the ham bone left over from Sunday dinner. Monday was typically wash day, and the beans could be simmered for a long time on the back of the stove while the laundry was being done.

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We have a winner, and only the second response. Too bad I was peeling 25 lbs. of shrimp to put up in the freezer and only just saw this.

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And who else puts a pat of butter on their red beans?

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I put a stick of butter in the pot when I turn off the heat. Creamier texture and it does affect the flavor. Adds some richness.

And Catholics eat fish on Fridays cos on Fridays, the special of the day was fried catfish at restaurants back in the day...

Friend,

There are many secularist and only partly true answers to your question in this thread. My Great Grandmother was a true Creole, as was her entire lineage from the early 19th century onward.

Red beans became a Monday dish because fishermen, shrimpers and oyster men, being faithful Christians who observed the Sabbath, did not go hit the waters on the Day of the Resurrection. As refrigeration was non-existent, seafood had to be eaten the day of or after being caught. As a result, in New Orleans at least, there was no seafood to be eaten on Mondays. Red beans, which were dry and could be fixed any day of the week, became the staple as a result.

Today, when very few of our fishermen faithfully attend worship services on Sunday that religious centric history is eroding away like the land around the Leeville Cemetery. I am so grateful for Great Grandmother’s wisdom.

Yours,
TulaneLSU

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Red beans and rice became a traditional dish on Mondays in New Orleans

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It isnt a New Orleans tradition.... it is a Louisiana Tradition.