Thursday, July 25, 2013

Louisiana Red Beans



Todays project is Louisiana Red Beans. When I first moved to Missouri one of the first things I missed about Louisiana was red beans. A traditional dish that I had grown up on served with spicy sausage and eaten over rice. The local grocery stores had pinto beans but not these beans. The difference is the thick gravy that these cooked down into. So in desperation  I knew I had two choices. I could pay to ship them in or try to grow my own. After trying many different seeds and coming up short I had a brainstorm and had a family member bring me some on a visit and then planted them. Eureka! I had Louisiana Red Beans! Straight off the grocery store shelf!!! Then I just saved the seeds. As you can see in the picture above they are a bush bean and you know they  are ready when the pods turn yellow and the beans inside are a red color.


As you can see they look very similar in appearance to the pinto bean but the difference is the taste and consistency.

  

You can put red beans in jars and can them but my favorite way to preserve them is to simply blanch them
then put them in bags and freeze them.


 Once blanched they are allowed to cool and drain well then put on large trays and  frozen.


 Then vacuum sealed and put in the freezer.


 When prepared I simply add chopped onions, garlic and usually homemade sausage or tasso which is a smoked seasoning meat and simmer slowly on the back of the stove in my cast iron pot until the beans are soft and there is a thick gravy.The trick is low and slow on the cooking.

Served hot over rice with a side of crunchy corn bread hot out of the skillet, some sliced tomatoes, fresh cucumbers and smothered squash  may just be a meal fit for a king. A southern one anyway: )

Well I am off to shell red beans.


Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

4 comments:

  1. I have to buy them dried but I love red beans!

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  2. Those look really good.
    I just found that all Azuki beans aren't created equal, the last batch I bought came out tasting like pintos somehow.
    I will look forward to having some LA red beans...I know a fast food chair used to serve red beans and rice, and it was delicious. I'm sure yours is better!

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  3. I live in Georgia and bought a labeled bag of dry "Red Beans" and vaccuum sealed them several months ago. I have not tried cooking any of them. They are about the size of a pinto bean. They're definitely not kidney beans. They are a deep dark red color with a white eye. Are they possibly Louisiana Red Beans? I have never ate any Red Beans other than Kidney Beans.

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  4. Yum.. your bean pot looks yummy.. they look like they cook down very similar to pintos..
    Do they have that sort of metallic taste to them that kidney beans have? I've always steered away from buying them because I was afraid they might.
    I've often planted grocery store seed.. and not just beans.. I often plant spices that way.. coriander for cilantro, dill seed for dill, celery seed for celery, poppy seed for poppies, chamomile tea for chamomile.. Most herbs & spices are raw and havent been modified so you can grow them. It works for me! :)

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