We smoked a ham on our Big Green Egg to compliment the family's turkey this Thanksgiving which means we have the benefit of the ham bone and leftovers! Typically I like to make a white bean soup but I decided to try something that would be extra pleasing to my hubby and perfect for watching football: Red Beans and Rice.
I used this recipe for Red Beans and Rice on Epicurious for a base. Here are the adjustments I made:
First of all, I used three cans of organic red kidney beans. I did not have to soak any beans over night or risk having tough uncooked beans.
I began with sauteing the vegetables. I substituted red pepper for green (I tend to always swap out red for green peppers in just about any recipe) and I added diced carrots. The mushrooms seemed strange BUT I kept them and I highly recommend you do too–especially if you do porcini. After adding the mushrooms, I add the ham bone (instead of a ham hock) and the andouille sausage (I saw no reason to fry it in butter and add later as the recipe calls for).
In addition to the spices in this recipe, I added 1/2 teaspoon each of allspice, ground cloves and cayanne pepper (you can go lighter on the cayanne, if you wish).
After letting these flavors marry, I then added 6-8 cups of beef broth (I did not add water) and the broth from the porcini mushrooms to cover the bone and all the goodness inside. DO NOT ADD THE BEANS YET. I let this mixture simmer (after coming to a boil) for about an hour before adding the beans.
When I add the beans, I first drained and rinced them and then reserved about half a can which I smushed with a fork before adding to the pot. I let this pot simmer on low for a couple hours.
Serve over steamed white rice topped with fresh sliced green onions (I did not do chives).
DELISH!!
We enjoyed a 2006 Serendipity Zinfindel from Lamborn Family Vineyards. A fruity zin goes pairs nice with the spice and smoked meats in this dish.
I’ve since made this recipe with smoked ham hocks from Metropolitan Market and I’ll saute the andouille before the vegtables – removing the sausage to cook the veggies in all that tasty grease (fat juice?) …it’s too good to waste that flavor.