Yinzer Red Beans and Rice

Yinzer Red Beans and Rice

I’m a Pittsburgh girl, so maybe there are cultural Red-Beans-And-Rice nuances I am not getting here. Made on Monday, check.  Our own Auburn Meadow Farm Classic Cajun Andouille, check, check.  Slow cooked all day? Nope. This is a quicker version, because I had already cooked beans in broth waiting in my freezer for just such a day.

All you real-deal Cajun cooks? Sorry, but also, not sorry, because this is some really good, wholesome, hearty hygge for a dreary winter day.

Since COVID, people have been hoarding good culinary beans, which is sad if they are just being stashed in somebody’s bunker – the ten pound bags of pintos at Walmart do a pretty decent job of resting on a shelf.  The Rancho Gordo heirloom beans offer a range of flavor and texture that those ten-year-old warehoused beans just can’t bring. And, if you are planning a garden, those Rancho Gordos are good for planting too, so save some of your favorites and give them a go for some fresh shelling beans.

But hoarders can’t kill my bean joy. If you can’t have the bean you love, which for Red Beans and Rice would have been Domingo Rojas, then love the bean you have, which happens to be Ayocote Negro. Selecting beans by texture not color is key here. The Ayocote Negros are a gorgeous, substantial, shiny, black bean, and were perfect, if not red.

This should take ten minutes of prep and a half hour to forty minutes simmering, and serves four to six. Printable recipe here. 

Ingredients:

  • 1# smoked Andouille, sliced into 1/2” disks
  • 2 pint containers of pre-cooked cooked beans in broth* (or 2 cans of kidney beans, drained)
  • 1 TBS good cooking fat, I use lard or bacon fat*
  • 1 onion chopped
  • 1 green pepper seeded and chopped
  • 4 ribs celery, chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1/2-tsp to 1 TBS cayenne pepper dependent upon how hot you like yours. I omit entirely as I cook for people who don’t tolerate spices.
  • 1-28 ounce can whole tomatoes in juice
  • 1/2 tsp ground sage or poultry seasoning
  • Smoked ham hock (optional)
  • splash cider vinegar
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
  • Mild hot sauce like Frank’s or Crystal for serving
  • Cooked white rice for serving

Method:

  1. In a Dutch oven, melt your cooking fat over medium heat, add onion, green pepper, and celery. Sautee until softened, do not brown.
  2. Add garlic and andouille disks and sautee to release fragrance.
  3. Add the tomatoes, ham hock if using, cayenne and sage.  Allow to gently simmer, allowing the flavors to develop.
  4. Add the beans, if you are using canned beans, strain the liquid before adding. continue to simmer to allow the beans to absorb the flavors. You don’t want to cook dry though, you are going for the texture of a thick soup. If your pot starts getting too dry, add some water (best boiled first – I use my teakettle).
  5. Taste and add salt, pepper, and cider vinegar to taste.
  6. Serve your beans with rice – this is important. It is honestly not difficult to make a perfectly cooked pot of rice. That detail makes a huge difference.

If you really want to eat like a farmer, try topping a bowl with a poached egg for breakfast 😃. It’s even better next day.

*Some astericks here, because I am a pantry cook, and have stored in my freezer and pantry items you may not. That’s okay though, it’s not a big deal this recipe is pretty flexible.

Get these ingredients from us*:
Classic very mild smoked Andouille from our pastured pork, smoked ham hocks, Ayocote Negro beans

*Inventory subject to change without notice

 

Oinkers: pork burgers with pineapple salsa

Oinkers: pork burgers with pineapple salsa

Tomorrow is Father’s Day, have you got a plan? Steak, steak, steak, kind of expected. But these unique burgers are something everyone will like, are less expensive, still fun and special, and pretty foolproof.  Oinkers are made from unseasoned ground pork mixed with ground smoked & cured ham –  a spin off that classic rural family favorite; ham loaf.

Traditional ham loaf is a little sweet for me, but I knew there was something modern and extraordinary there. So, by eliminating a lot of the sugar, substituting saltines for the traditional graham cracker binder, adding the smoky flavor only a charcoal grill can create, and topped with a spicy pineapple salsa, I am pretty pleased with this incarnation.

A brioche, or other soft white, bun is great, white American cheese is perfect, and basting the burgers with Stubbs Original BBQ sauce added a nice, tangy, peppery flavor, though I loved the plain, unabated burgers just as much.

I actually don’t eat my burgers on a bun –  I prefer a bed of chopped salad or slaw with the salsa and rice. All straight from the fridge is a nice cold lunch for a sweltering day. See? No rules. Just like the best kind of summer day.

Ingredients: 

  • 1 slice bone-in cured ham, 1.5#
  • 1 pound unseasoned ground pork
  • 1/3 cup crushed saltines
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 TBS spicy brown mustard
  • BBQ sauce – optional
  • White American cheese slices – optional
  • Buns and your favorite burger fixings – shredded lettuce, tomato, etc.  I used shredded lettuce, scallion greens, and pineapple salsa.

Directions:

Cut the ham into chunks, removing the bone, and pulse in a food processor until finely ground. Mix with the ground pork, cracker crumbs, eggs and mustard in a large bowl until well combined – but don’t overword the meat. – and refrigerate at least an hour, or overnight.

Form the meat into six to eight patties. On a greased grill* rack at medium high direct heat, grill the burgers for 5-6 minutes, flip, and gril another 2-4 minutes. Baste with your favorite BBQ sauce if you wish to add another layer of flavor, I liked the peppery flavory of Stubbs Original, but the plain oinker was pretty great.

Add cheese and melt, remove  burgers from the grill when the internal temp is 160° F.

Assemble and serve.