Red Beans and Rice With a Secret

The master culinary secrets are so jealously guarded. Even the copycats don't quite measure up. The thrill of the theft went pretty flat after stealing this recipe. It is plastered in every port courtesy of food 52. It is widely believed to be the worst kept secret in culinary history. We can do a victory lap because it appears to be one of the very best recipes out there.

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Ingredients:

Red beans:

1 pound red kidney beans

1 large onion chopped

1/2 bell pepper

2 tablespoons minced garlic, more to taste

3 stalks celery, chopped

1 cup pickle juice (dill or sweet)

5 to 8 whole bay leaves

1 pound smoked sausage, sliced in 1/2 in sections

1 smoked ham bone with meat (many stores will sell ham bones with some meat on them; ham bone will greatly improve the taste of red beans)

1 pound smoked ham cut in cubes (Look for this in meat section, sometimes called "pickled pork" but it won't have a bone with it)

1 tablespoon Cavender's Greek Seasoning

Rice:

1 cup long grain brown rice

2 cups water

1 pinch sea salt

1 splash olive oil Directions For Red beans:

In a large heavy pot, empty bag of red kidney beans; remove any dirt if there.Wash beans by rinsing in water and discard water. Add fresh tap water to cleaned beans so that water covers them by 2 inches.Put lid on and bring to a boil, then lower temperature to simmer for 1 hour and then turn off. Beans should be softened.Add all above remaining ingredients and add enough water to cover all ingredients by an inch.Bring back to a boil then immediately to a low simmer. It may take 3-4 hours on simmer for the beans to be ready to eat. The longer you keep them on a low simmer, the creamier they will get. You must stir the beans regularly so they don't burn.

For the rice:

Prepare 1 cup of long grain brown rice. (2 cups water to each 1 cup rice plus good shake of sea salt and 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil), bring to boil then put on simmer for 15 mins or until done.

Slow-cooker variation:

If you boil the beans first, you could then put them in a Crock-Pot with all of the other ingredients and cook on low for 8 hours, stirring every so often so it doesn't burn. Freeze any leftovers and they are good for at least 4 months in the freezer.

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