A beloved Louisiana institution, every family has their own special way of making red beans and rice. Not traditionally as spicy as other Creole cuisine, it’s still easy to adjust the heat of this dish by switching out the sausage, adding more Creole seasoning to the slow cooker or simply offering hot sauce at the table so that individual portions can be tweaked. It is important to boil red kidney beans for ten minutes before adding them to the slow cooker for food safety reasons, but smashing some of the cooked beans before serving is optional.
YIELD: 6 SERVINGS
1 lb (455 g) dried red kidney beans, picked over, rinsed and drained
6 cups (1.4 L) low-sodium chicken broth
8 oz (225 g) smoked sausage (for mild) or andouille sausage (for spicy), cut into ¼-inch (6-mm) thick slices
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
½ medium green bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
2 medium stalks celery, finely chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
3 dried bay leaves
1 tbsp (2 g) dried parsley
1 tsp (4 g) Creole seasoning (such as Tony Chachere’s brand), plus more to taste
½ tsp dried thyme
½ tsp dried basil
½ tsp smoked paprika
½ tsp salt, plus more to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Cayenne pepper, to taste
Hot sauce (such as Tabasco, Louisiana or Crystal brands), to taste
Warm cooked rice, for serving
Place the kidney beans in a medium saucepan and cover them with 2 inches (5 cm) of water. Bring the beans to a boil over high heat and boil for 10 minutes. Drain the water and transfer the kidney beans to a large slow cooker. Add the chicken broth, smoked or andouille sausage, onion, bell pepper, celery, garlic, bay leaves, parsley, Creole seasoning, thyme, basil and smoked paprika. Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours, or on high for 4 to 5 hours, until the beans are tender.
Using a slotted spoon, scoop out 2 cups (354 g) of the cooked beans (avoiding the sausage). Smash the beans with a fork until they are smooth and stir them back into the slow cooker. Alternatively, use a blender or small food processor to purée the beans. Stir in the salt and a few grinds of pepper, then taste and add more salt and pepper, if desired. If extra heat is preferred, stir in additional Creole seasoning (just remember that there’s salt in there, too), cayenne pepper or hot sauce, to taste. Cover the slow cooker and cook for 10 minutes, until the beans are heated through. Discard the bay leaves and serve the beans over the rice with hot sauce, if desired.
Samantha’s Tip
An important fact about cooking dried kidney beans in the slow cooker is that raw or undercooked kidney beans, especially red kidney beans, contain a high level of a naturally occurring toxin called phytohaemagglutinin that can cause severe intestinal distress (a.k.a. food poisoning). Therefore, it is always critical to bring dried kidney beans to a rolling boil for 10 minutes in order to remove this toxin and make them safe to eat. Since some slow cookers run cooler than others, the only way to guarantee safe kidney beans is to boil them on the stove before draining and transferring the beans to the slow cooker.