Chef John's Red Beans and Rice

Chef John's recipe for red beans, Andouille sausage, smoked ham hock, and rice is the textbook definition of soul food: a comforting, hearty bowl of goodness.

• Preparation Time: 30 mins
• Cooking Time: 3 hr 15 mins
• Total Time: 3 hr 45 mins
• Calories: 542 Calories

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 4 cups cooked white rice
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 cup finely diced onion
• hot sauce to taste
• 1 smoked ham hock
• 1 pound dry red kidney beans
• 12 ounces andouille sausage, diced
• 2 quarts chicken broth, or more as needed
• 2 tablespoons chopped green onion, or to taste
• 0.75 cup chopped celery
• 0.5 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
• 0.75 cup poblano peppers

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Place beans in a large container and cover with several inches of cool water; let stand 8 hours to overnight. Drain and rinse.

Step 2

Heat vegetable oil in a large pot over medium heat. Cook and stir sausage in hot oil until oils slightly release from sausage and edges brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir onion, celery, and poblano pepper into sausage; cook and stir until vegetables soften and start to turn translucent, 5 to 10 minutes. Stir garlic into sausage mixture; cook and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Step 3

Stir red beans, chicken broth, ham hock, bay leaves, black pepper, thyme, cayenne pepper, and hot sauce into the sausage mixture; bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, for 1 1/2 hours. Add salt and continue simmering until beans are soft, meat is tender, and desired consistency is reached, 1 1/2 to 2 hours more. Season with salt.

Step 4

Spoon rice into bowls, ladle red beans mixture over rice, and top with green onion.