Red beans update

[jessicaem]

Thanks for the responses. I've kept a close watch on the crock pot.

Comments

[xiitone]

Our friend, Dave Cash, has been doing red beans and rice mondays for a few years-here's his recipe:

* 3 lbs dried, soaked red beans
* a yellow onion, chopped
* a yellow bell pepper, chopped
* several good shakes of chili powder
* a nice bit of cumin
* enough Hungarian paprika to make its people proud
* a wisp and a half of coriander
* small pile of black pepper
* three or ten (or none) heaping tablespoons of chopped garlic
* (possibly) another spoonful of garlic
* a sheet of kombu, for good measure

Throw everything into a 5.5-qt. crockpot (after the beans
have been soaked for at least three hours and the water
changed) and cook on high setting overnight. Feeds about
15 hungry friends.

He does it in the vegan style, but I'm sure you could chunk in some sausage w/out problem..

[jessicaem]

Hey, that sounds awesome, and actually, I'm trying to stay lowfat with my red beans and rice, so vegan works out great. The chopped garlic: does he use the fresh variety or the kind that comes already minced in a jar? And what's kombu?

Failsafe & delicious RB&R

[nomadwoman]

Soak 1 lb of dry kidney beans, preferably Camelia brand, for 6-12 hours in water covering beans by 2-3 inches. Drain beans. Put beans in pot (I'd skip the crock pot, but if you insist on using it, add beans after you have brought them to a boil on stove.), with a large onion, chopped coarsely, several cloves of FRESH garlic, chopped coarsely, 1 or 2 bay leaves, lots of black pepper (preferably fresh ground, but canned will do

Re: Failsafe & delicious RB&R

[jessicaem]

Thanks for this recipe! I'm very excited about these red beans. I don't have to use the crock pot; it was just called for in that last recipe. I'll go stovetop this time. I'll also use brown rice; that's my preference as well. And I've been cooking the viggies first, too, so I'm excited to see how it goes without doing that.

Question: what do you think about using the water you soaked the beans in? Is there valuable flavoring in there, or is it just dirty?

Re: Failsafe & delicious RB&R

[nomadwoman]

Supposedly the soaking water contains the flatulence-causing enzymes, so I get rid of it.

(I can't believe this is what I'm doing in London.)

Re: Failsafe & delicious RB&R

[nomadwoman]

I forgot one key thing, and it's been keeping me awake nights . . . well, not really, but it's important to successful RB&R: salt, to taste, added AFTER beans are soft, when they are done. Unsalted beans are awful tasting, but you mustn't salt up front. Supposedly, the beans will take much longer to cook if they are salted before cooking. (Someone told me this is an old wive's tale, but this is one old wife who swears this has happened in her bean pot.)