Zatarains red beans and rice slow cooker

This slow cooker version of New Orleans-style red beans requires about 20 minutes to toss together in the morning and can be ready to eat when you walk in the door after work. Creamy and comforting, it is traditionally flavored with a leftover pork bone, so if you happen to have one, feel free to throw that in instead of a ham hock. And if you have a favorite Cajun or Creole spice mixture on hand, use 1 heaping tablespoon of it in place of the sage, cayenne, garlic, onion and paprika powders, and taste before adding any salt, as seasoning blends contain a varying amount of sodium. Adding hot sauce at the end is key: The best kind to use is a vinegary, cayenne-based, Louisiana-style sauce, like Crystal, Louisiana brand or Tabasco. (Here is a vegan version of this recipe.)

Yield: 6 servings

• 2tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1large yellow onion, finely chopped
• Kosher salt and black pepper
• 3celery stalks, finely chopped
• 1green bell pepper, finely chopped
• 10garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1teaspoon garlic powder
• 1teaspoon onion powder
• 1teaspoon sweet paprika
• ½ to 1teaspoon ground cayenne, plus more to taste
• ½teaspoon ground sage (optional)
• 1pound dried red kidney beans, soaked overnight
• 3dried bay leaves
• 3sprigs fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 12ounces smoked pork sausage, preferably Andouille, sliced into 1-inch-thick coins
• 1smoked ham hock (about 10 ounces)
• Cooked rice, for serving
• Sliced scallions, for serving
• Louisiana-style hot sauce, for serving

1. Step 1

   Heat the oil in a large (12-inch) skillet over medium. Add the onion, season with salt, and cook, stirring, until the onion is limp and translucent, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the celery and bell pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5 to 8 minutes. Add the chopped garlic, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, cayenne and sage (if using); grind in a generous amount of black pepper and add ¾ teaspoon salt. Stir well to combine all the ingredients, then remove from the heat and scrape the mixture into a 6- to 8-quart slow cooker.

2. Step 2

   Add the beans, bay leaves, thyme, sausage, ham hock and 6 cups water. Cook on high until the beans are very tender and creamy, about 7 hours.

3. Step 3

   Before serving, add salt or cayenne to taste. Using a fork or the back of a spoon, mash some of the beans against the side of the slow cooker to make the mixture slightly creamy. (It will continue to thicken as it sits.) Discard the bay leaves and thyme sprigs; you can pick the meat off the ham hock if you like. Top the beans with hot cooked rice and scallions; serve with hot sauce.

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AtlBrett

Posted by AtlBrett

Any try to cook red beans and rice in a crock pot? Anyone have any recipes or suggestions?

LSUZombie

quote:
Any try to cook red beans and rice in a crock pot? Anyone have any recipes or suggestions

thats the only way i cook my beans. add 1 lb of beans, half a container of chop seasoning, salt, pepper, bay leaf, and a big pinch of cayenne. cover with chicken stock and water. add sausage. cook on low for about 8-10 hours. always come out great!

LSUmomma

quote:
thats the only way i cook my beans. add 1 lb of beans

Do you pre-soak the beans the night before?

And you cook this with the link sausage in it, and no other meat/hock or anything?

Just wondering, 'cause it sounds like a good plan...

Dorothy

quote:
Do you pre-soak the beans the night before?

And if you don't, do you need to add extra water?

I remember cooking them in the crock pot once and came home a few hours after I started them and there was no water left, as the beans had sucked it all up. I freaked out because I was worried it might have caused a fire. (I probably didn't soak them first though.)

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Crescent Connection

2 lbs. (some people use 1 lb., just depends on preference) of Camellia Red Kidney Beans. Rinse beans, strain, and place in crockpot. Get one box of Zatarain's Red Bean Seasoning Mix and add 1 cup of water. Mix the seasoning for about a minute and pour in crockpot. Add another 9-10 cups of water and 4-6 bay leaves in crockpot and set on high for 8 hours. Cook 3 links of Bryan Smokey Hollow sausage and cut in 1/4'' increments. Transfer beans to large pot and add sausage. Cook on medium-medium high until mixture slightly thickens. Season with Tony Cachere's to taste. Cook Zatarain's Enriched Long Grain Parboiled Rice while thickening the red beans. Usually serves 5-6. Enjoy.

DaBeerz

quote:
2 lbs. (some people use 1 lb., just depends on preference) of Camellia Red Kidney Beans. Rinse beans, strain, and place in crockpot. Get one box of Zatarain's Red Bean Seasoning Mix and add 1 cup of water. Mix the seasoning for about a minute and pour in crockpot. Add another 9-10 cups of water and 4-6 bay leaves in crockpot and set on high for 8 hours. Cook 3 links of Bryan Smokey Hollow sausage and cut in 1/4'' increments. Transfer beans to large pot and add sausage. Cook on medium-medium high until mixture slightly thickens. Season with Tony Cachere's to taste. Cook Zatarain's Enriched Long Grain Parboiled Rice while thickening the red beans. Usually serves 5-6. Enjoy.

cliff notes: follow the zatarin's box, right?

And enjoy hypertension with all the prepackaged salt added.

Crescent Connection

quote:
cliff notes: follow the zatarin's box, right?

The directions on the Zatarain's box might be similar...the aforementioned recipe is just what my Mom gave me years ago. I just mentioned Zatarain's Rice b/c there is a slight difference b/w that and Mahatma rice.

This post was edited on 3/16 at 2:20 pm

Martini

quote:
Do you pre-soak the beans the night before?

I do if I remember but if I don't it doesn't change the taste. And I don't care if you soak the things for a week they still give gas.

quote:
And if you don't, do you need to add extra water?

Pretty much so but you can soak them for an hour or so and they will absorb water and plump up.

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Can you put Zatarain's in a rice cooker?

What kind of rice is in Zatarain's red beans and rice?

Why do people eat red beans and rice on Mondays?

Are Zatarain's beans precooked?