Kenji's take on Red Beans and Rice

[grantgallagher]

RonB 100% soaking in salted water overnight now

[LA Pork Butt]

jfmorris I grew up with red beans and rice just about every Monday, and while we never used bacon, which would be great, or used sausage red beans and rice would probably be my last meal. I think the salt port, which my mother called picked meat, was my favorite of the two.

[jfmorris]

I second that. I used a pound of "bacon ends" from Porter Road in a pot of beans last weekend, and the family couldn't get enough of them. My daughter came back the next night wondering if we still had leftover beans, haha.

[fzxdoc]

This is a really good RB&R Instant Pot recipe, for those who are interested.

https://www.paintthekitchenred.com/a...eans-and-rice/

Also, grantgallagher , Cook's Illustrated tested the "no salt in beans until they're cooked" theory and basically debunked it. I can't find that test article, but did find one that Kenji did:

https://www.seriouseats.com/salt-bea...er-good-or-bad

FWIW, here are a couple of CI articles that address the salting method:

https://www.cooksillustrated.com/how...soak-for-beans
https://www.cooksillustrated.com/how...h_experience_2


Here's a Serious Eats author's (Daniel Gritzer) takeaway in this article:

Here's the take-away: Skip the soak on thin-skinned beans like black-eyed peas, black beans, and lentils. For other beans, it's best to soak unless you know for sure that you're dealing with high quality, freshly dried beans, in which case you can skip it.

I still follow Rancho Gordo advice and don't add salt until the end of the bean cook because their beans are so fresh. Don't mess with the RG experts, IMO.

Kathryn

[Willy]

For those of you who'd like to try adding pickled pork to your red beans and rice, the Frug has a recipe for pickled pork in his "The Frugal Gourment Cooks American". It's basically cubed pork butt refrigerated for a few days in a boiled (then cooled) brine of straight vinegar (several cups) heavily seasoned with pickling spices, especially mustard seed. DO boil the brine outdoors; don't ask me how I know this.

I haven't made this, or RB&R, in quite a while, but it is GOOD and I think I need to make some RB&R with pickled pork a la the Frug soon.

[LA Pork Butt]

Camellia Brand red beans are the creamiest IMO. I think salt pork or a ham bone are great alternatives to sausage.

[JeffJ]

This is how I make them: Dark roux. Combination of shrimp and chicken stock. Andouille sausage. Holy trinity plus garlic. Bay leaf. Salt, black pepper and a dash of cayenne. A few dashes of homemade hot sauce. I like to throw in a smoked ham hock and discard after the cook (scraping out the little bit of usable meat in the process). When I cook brown rice I like to add things to add flavor to the rice itself - salt and pepper being obvious additions to the water it cooks in. I really like to spoon in some of that 'Better than Bouillion' chicken broth paste. That really flavors the rice and makes the dish richer. I do use canned kidney beans though. It's been WAY too long since I've made red beans and rice. I'm going to have to remedy this travesty.

[Andrrr]

FireMan I immediately thought of how many brats I cook over the course of a year and how I’d even begin replacing all those cooks. Hopeless I tell ya. Brat season is upon us

[RonB]

@grangallagher - please let us know which is better - if there is a difference...

[FireMan]

Yeah, can you say pass the brats! 🕶

[grantgallagher]

His article makes sense to me. Ive always found my rancho gordo cooks to be much longer than expected so im going to try it this way next time. Im a big kenji fan

[RonB]

All I can say is that Kenji backs up what he sez with scientific data....

[grantgallagher]

That is a really interesting article. Unless im crazy it goes contrary to the advice of rancho gordo in that you shouldnt add salt until the end of the cook because it will make the beans tougher. Now im fully intrigued.

[Andrrr]

My sincere sympathies to you on account of your wife not eating any kind of sausage. That caveat would be a hard one to accommodate around here.

[RonB]

De nada!