Treebeards Red Beans Recipes

Steps:

• Place the beans in a large bowl or pot and cover with water by 2 inches. Let soak for 8 hours or overnight. Drain and set aside.
• In a large pot, heat the bacon grease over medium-high heat. Add the tasso and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the onions, celery and bell peppers to the grease in the pot. Season with the salt, pepper, and cayenne, and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are soft, about 4 minutes. Add the bay leaves, parsley, thyme, sausage, and ham hocks, and cook, stirring, to brown the sausage and ham hocks, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the beans and stock or water, stir well, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the beans are tender and starting to thicken, about 2 hours. (Should the beans become too thick and dry, add more water, about 1/4 cup at a time.)
• Remove from the heat and with the back of a heavy spoon, mash about 1/4 of the beans against the side of the pot. Continue to cook until the beans are tender and creamy, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and remove the bay leaves.
• Serve over rice and garnish with green onions.

Steps:

• Sort and wash red beans. In a large soup pot, add 2 qrts cold water and red beans. Let soak overnight. (To speed up the process, you can bring them to a boil, simmer 2 minutes, remove from heat and let stand 1 hour before the next step.) DO NOT DRAIN WATER!
• Add onions, celery, and bell pepper to beans and bring to a boil. Cover, and reduce heat to simmer about 1 1/2 hours, or until beans are soft. DO NOT STIR MORE THAN NECESSARY.
• Stir in seasonings and sausage. Simmer 30 minutes more.
• Meanwhile cook a pot of rice, and serve the beans over the hot cooked rice, garnished with shredded cheddar cheese and chopped green onion.
• Note: Don't stir more than necessary - you don't want mushy beans. If you want thicker beans, remove the lid during the last 30 minutes of cooking time, or remove 1/2 cups of the beans and mash them before returning to the pot.