Red Beans and Rice

December arrived and with it the particular feeling of a school year about to close, which is one of my favorite feelings. Not because I want school to end — I like school, I am one of those people who likes school, and I say this without shame — but because the end of a semester means a new one is about to begin and the new one has everything in it still and that is a kind of potential that I find energizing.

Final exams in two weeks. I have a study schedule. The schedule has color coding. Jada looked at the color coding and said she was both impressed and concerned. I told her the concern was unnecessary. She said it usually is.

MawMaw Shirley called this week, which she does less often than I would like because she is seventy-three and not entirely comfortable with the phone, so a phone call from her feels like a gift. She called to say she had been thinking about my science fair project and she wanted me to know that she had been paying closer attention to the roux lately, watching the color changes and smelling the stages the way I had described in my write-up, and she said the science was right. She paused, and then she said she had known the science was right, obviously, she had been doing it for fifty years, but it was different to see it written down. Different in a good way.

I made red beans on Friday because Mama was working late and it was Friday and Friday is red beans and rice in this house, that is the rule, and if Mama is working late the rule still applies. I made them from scratch, the full version, soaked overnight, cooked all day, holy trinity, andouille, the works. They were right. Mama tasted them when she got home at seven and sat down at the kitchen table without taking off her coat and had a full bowl before she said anything. That is the highest review.

So here it is — the recipe that kept the Friday rule alive even when Mama was working late. This is the full version, the one MawMaw Shirley would recognize, soaked overnight and simmered low and slow until the beans go creamy and the kitchen smells like something that’s been loved all day. If you make it right, someone will sit down without taking off their coat and eat a whole bowl before saying a word, and that’s how you’ll know.

Prep Time: 20 minutes (plus overnight soak) | Cook Time: 3 hours | Total Time: 3 hours 20 minutes (plus soak) | Servings: 8

Ingredients

1 pound dried red kidney beans, rinsed and picked over
1 pound andouille sausage, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 cups chicken broth (or water)
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (adjust to taste)
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
3 green onions, sliced, for garnish
Hot sauce, for serving
Cooked long-grain white rice, for serving

Instructions

Soak the beans. Place the rinsed beans in a large bowl and cover with water by at least 3 inches. Soak overnight, or at least 8 hours. Drain and rinse before cooking.
Brown the sausage. Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add the andouille slices and cook until browned on both sides, about 4 to 5 minutes. Remove and set aside.
Build the holy trinity. In the same pot with the rendered fat, add the onion, bell pepper, and celery. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until softened and the onion is translucent, about 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more.
Simmer the beans. Return the sausage to the pot. Add the drained beans, chicken broth, bay leaves, thyme, smoked paprika, cayenne, salt, and black pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 2 to 2-1/2 hours, until the beans are tender and starting to break down.
Make it creamy. Using the back of a wooden spoon or a potato masher, mash about 1/4 of the beans against the side of the pot. This thickens the sauce and gives it that signature creamy texture. Stir well and continue simmering uncovered for 20 to 30 more minutes until the liquid is thick and rich.
Season and serve. Remove the bay leaves. Stir in the apple cider vinegar and taste for salt and pepper. Ladle generously over cooked white rice. Top with sliced green onions and hot sauce.

Nutrition (per serving)

Red Beans and Rice — The Friday Rule Still Applies