Wash Day Red Beans
Ingredients
- 1 lb dried red kidney beans (Camellia brand if you can find it) ⓘ
- 8 cups water ⓘ
- 3 celery ribs, chopped ⓘ
- 2 onions, chopped ⓘ
- 3 garlic cloves, minced ⓘ
- 1 bell pepper, chopped (any color) ⓘ
- 8 cups water ⓘ
- 2 tablespoons olive oil ⓘ
- 1 lb hot smoked sausage, sliced ⓘ
- 1 lb ham, cut into bite sized pieces ⓘ
- 12 ounces fire-roasted tomatoes ⓘ
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves (or 3-4 sprigs of fresh) ⓘ
- 2 bay leaves ⓘ
- 10 1/2 ounces beef consomme ⓘ
- 1/4 cup ketchup ⓘ
- 4 tablespoons butter ⓘ
- kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste ⓘ
Instructions
- Wash and sort the beans.
- In a large soup pot cover the beans with water and bring to a rolling boil.
- Turn off the heat and let rest 2-3 hours.
- Drain and rinse the beans.
- Return the beans to the pot and add 8 cups water, add a few pinches of pepper, the thyme, and bay leaves and bring to a slow boil. *Don't add salt at this point, wait until the beans have cooked through or else the beans will stay hard.
- In the meantime, saute the vegetables in the olive oil until soft, about 10-15 minutes.
- Add to the pot and stir.
- After the beans have cooked at least 30 minutes, return saute pan to the heat and saute the meats, adding more olive oil if needed.
- When the sausage and ham bits are cooked and crisping up a bit add that to the bean pot.
- Return the saute pan once again to the heat and add the consomme, stirring and scraping up the flavorful bits.
- Pour all of that into the bean pot and stir.
- Add the whole can of tomatoes and stir.
- Let simmer on low for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally until the beans are just right.
- Season with salt, pepper, & hot sauce to taste.
- I will then mash some of the beans to achieve my desired thickness and then add my secret ingredients: the ketchup and the butter! Shhh.
- Stir, taste and reseason.
- Serve in bowls over steamed white or brown rice.
Nutrition & Diet Analysis (per serving)
924
kcal
46% DV
Protein
Fat
Carbs
* % Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet (FDA 2020).
Nutrition is estimated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient data and may vary with brand, portion and preparation — see our methodology. This information is for general educational purposes only and is not medical or dietary advice (disclaimer).