Follow our easy, step-by-step, recipe to learn how to make Southern Red Beans and Rice.
Southern Red Beans and Rice recipe, made with cooked ham and seasoned with a ham bone. You can use a ham hock if you prefer. Just slightly spicy.
We’re cooking up some delicious Red Beans and Rice – Southern style. Smile. What makes it Southern you ask?
I like to think it’s the addition of the ham as opposed to that Andouille Sausage you hear about in most recipes. While I do like the sausage, I wanted to use something I already had on hand, pork meat.
Recently, I purchased a Smoked Pork Shoulder. It was smoked, but not cooked. I decided to throw it in a big pot and boil it and you’ll find the recipe for that here on Taste of Southern.
After the Pork Shoulder was cooked, I had plenty of nicely flavored meat and a bone or two that I wanted to use. Thus, this recipe for Red Beans and Rice.
This wasn’t something Mama ever prepared that I can remember. But, it’s an easy enough meal to prepare and it will feed a crowd if need be. You’ll just need to sort through the dry red beans and soak them overnight so keep that in mind when you get ready to try the recipe.
It took just about two hours for me to cook the beans until they were tender. Yours could take longer or even less time, but you’re going to love the results once you’re finished.
Serve them over some cooked rice and you’ve got a complete meal right there.
If you don’t have a leftover bone, use a ham hock or even some bacon. I like the smokey flavor from both.
So, ready to give our recipe a try? Alright then, let’s head on out to the kitchen, and… Let’s Get Cooking!
Red Beans and Rice – You’ll need these ingredients.
It’s mostly spices. I’m using a leftover ham bone and some of the cooked ham meat for seasoning and to turn this into a meal within itself.
Sort through the dry beans to remove any debris or stones that might have been in the bag. Place the beans in a large bowl and cover them with cold water. Let the beans soak overnight for best results.
Since we’re using several spices, I find it easier to measure them out before I start cooking everything. They all go in at once, so doing a little prep work ahead of time will make it easier.
Dice and chop the celery, onion, and the bell pepper.
This combination of vegetables is often referred to as the “Holy Trinity.”
And, go ahead and cut the meat into bite size pieces. On the left is the leftover bone I’m going to be using to add some additional smoked flavor to the beans. I recently boiled a Smoked Pork Shoulder Picnic, and this is the bone that came from that.
Place a large dutch oven or stock pot on your stove top. Turn the heat on to Medium and when it gets hot, add the bacon grease. You could also use some oil or butter if you don’t have the bacon grease.
Stir often and let the vegetables cook until the onions are fairly translucent and peppers are tender.
Add the chopped garlic. Stir again and let this cook for about two minutes.
Place the beans in a colander to drain off the soak water, then rinse them gently under cold running water. Let drain again.
Add the drained beans to the pot.
Add the can of tomato sauce.
Add enough water to completely cover the beans by about one inch. I used 7 cups of water.
Add all of the spices. That’s the sugar, sage, black pepper, cayenne pepper, oregano, thyme, and the bay leaves. Don’t add the salt yet, we’ll save that for later.
Add the ham bone or your ham hock, whichever you’re using. Then, drop in the cut up ham.
Stir everything together and let the liquid come up to a slight boil. When you start to see it bubbling, COVER the pot and reduce the heat down to Medium-Low.
Simmer the beans for 1 to 2 hours, or until tender. You’ll need to check them about every 30 minutes or so to give them a quick stir and to be sure your liquid is not getting too low. If it does, just add another cup or so of hot water and let it resume cooking.
When the beans start to get tender, taste them to see if you need to add some salt or if you need to adjust any of the other seasonings that you’ve added.
If you prefer a much creamier type of beans, scoop out a cup or two of the beans then mash them up really fine. Add them back to the pot and stir them in.
I’m going to leave these a bit on the juicy side. Tell you why in a moment. Smile.
Prepare your rice according to the package directions. When ready to serve, ladle the hot beans over the cooked rice.
Enjoy!
I knew I’d have plenty of leftovers, so I added the remaining rice into the pot with the juicy beans. That’s why I didn’t want them to be real creamy. Choice is yours.
I packaged up the leftovers into storage containers and put three quarts in my freezer for later. Each container should yield about two meals. Smile.
