Dried Beans Two Ways

Raise your hand if you bought some dried beans a month ago in the mad rush to stock your pantry when all of this quarantine stuff started.  So how many of you have actually cooked those beans?
 
I bought dried beans, but I often have dried beans in my pantry, and cook with them fairly often, especially in the colder months.  My go-to are red beans, I will use them in traditional New Orleans-Style Red Beans and Rice, and black-eyed peas, which I use to make Hoppin’ Johns.
 
I think the thing about dried beans that make them seem scary is the whole soaking process.   Honestly, especially for quarantine cooking, the soaking isn’t a big deal.  For my New Orleans-Style Red Beans, I didn’t soak the beans at all.  I just knew that by not soaking them, they would cook longer, read about 4 hours.  For the Hoppin’ Johns, I did a quick soak, which means I washed and picked my beans, covered them with water, brought them to a boil for 3 minutes, and then turned them off and covered them, letting them soak for 1 hour.  That soak, reduced by overall cooking time to about 2 hours.
 
New Orleans-Style Red Beans and Rice
SERVES: 4-6
 
12 ounces Andouille or smoked sausage, sliced ¼” thick⠀
1 medium yellow onion, chopped ⠀
1 medium bell pepper, chopped⠀
2 stalks celery, chopped⠀
8 ounces dried red beans, rinsed and picked over for any broken beans or debris⠀
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3 cups water, plus more as needed ⠀
1 teaspoon dried basil⠀
1 teaspoon dried thyme⠀
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika⠀
1 bay leaf⠀
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2 teaspoons kosher salt (I added to taste)⠀

DIRECTIONS⠀
In a large Dutch oven with a lid, add sliced sausage. Cook for 4-5 minutes, until slightly browned and fat has started to render. Add onion, bell pepper, and celery. Cook 5-7 minutes, until onions become translucent. ⠀
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At this point add your rinsed and cleaned beans, along with 3 cups of water, basil, thyme, paprika, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then turn down to low and cover. You need the liquid to stay at a gentle simmer for the beans to soften. Stir occasionally. ⠀
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After 3 hours, check the beans and taste for salt, adding 1 teaspoon at a time.  If the beans look dry, add another cup or so of water.  Continue cooking until the beans are very soft, and starting to break up, another 1 to 1 1/2 hours.⠀
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Serve over steamed white rice or pilaf with your favorite hot sauce. ⠀
 
Hoppin’ Johns
SERVES: 6
 
1 ham bone* or 1 pound country-style sausage 
8 ounces dried black-eyed peas
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
3 cloves garlic, whole
1 – 10 oz can Rotel
4 cups chicken broth
2 bay leaves
½ teaspoon dried thyme
Salt and Pepper to taste
 
DIRECTIONS
Pre-Soak Beans:  Either cover with warm water and soak for 6 hours or overnight in the refrigerator, or do a quick soak.  For the quick soak, cover beans with water and bring to a boil.  Boil beans for 3 minutes, then turn off heat and cover and allow to soak for 1 hour.  Drain and rinse before adding to recipe.
 
To prepare Hoppin’ Johns
 
If using sausage, begin by browning sausage in a large Dutch oven, breaking up any large clumps of meat.  Once cooked through, remove sausage from the pan with a slotted spoon.  Add onions, celery, and carrots to the pan, and sauté until onions are translucent, 5-7 minutes.  If using a ham bone, add 2 tbsps. of olive oil to the Dutch oven and sauté vegetables in that as opposed to rendered sausage fat.  Add ham bone to the pan when adding beans.
 
To the vegetables, return the sausage to the pan, and add the beans, rotel, chicken broth, bay leaves and thyme.  Bring to a simmer, then cover.  Cook over medium low heat, stirring occasionally for about 2 hours, until beans are tender.   At this point, check beans for seasoning and add salt and pepper accordingly.  If using a ham bone, use a spoon to pull off any ham still remaining on the bone.  I did not have to add any additional salt to my recipe with the ham since the ham is pretty salt, and the broth had salt as well.  I like my beans a little thicker, so at this point, I undercover and bring the heat up to medium high and boil off some of the remaining liquid. 
 
Enjoy over steamed rice.  I like to top with some diced fresh tomatoes, scallions, and of course hot sauce!