ALTON BROWN RED BEANS AND RICE RECIPES

Steps:

• Place a 7 quart cast iron Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add oil and heat until shimmering. Add onion, bell pepper and celery. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until onion and celery are soft and translucent, 6-8 minutes. Add garlic, pickled pork, bay leaves, dried thyme, cayenne pepper, hot sauce and beans. Add water. Turn up to high and heat until boiling, stirring occasionally, 6-8 minutes.
• Reduce heat to maintain a strong simmer. Cover tightly and cook 90 minutes, stirring every 30 minutes. Remove the lid and cook, uncovered, 30-40 minutes longer, maintaining a strong simmer. If you want your sauce a bit thicker and more gravy-like, use a potato masher to crush some of the beans. Remove bay leaves.
• Bring 3 cups water to a full rolling boil. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, melt butter over high heat. When foaming subsides and butter begins to brown, add rice and salt. Saute until rice turns opaque and slightly tan. Add boiling water all at once - be very careful! Cover tightly, reduce to simmer and cook 17-20 minutes, until fully cooked. If you prefer your rice dry and fluffy, let stand off heat, uncovered, 5 minutes before serving. Serve beans over rice.

Steps:

• Place the vegetable oil in a 7-quart Dutch oven and set over medium-high heat.
• Add the onion, bell pepper, celery, salt and pepper to the pot.
• Cook, stirring frequently, until the onions and celery are semi-translucent and the bell peppers are tender, 6 to 8 minutes.
• Add the garlic and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
• Add the pickled pork, bay leaves, thyme, hot sauce, cayenne pepper, water and beans to the pot and increase the heat to high.
• Cook, stirring frequently until the mixture comes to a boil, approximately 6 to 8 minutes.
• Decrease the heat to maintain a simmer, cover and cook for 1 1/2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes.
• Uncover, increase the heat slightly to maintain a steady simmer and continue to cook for another 30 to 40 minutes or until the beans are tender and the sauce is thickened to your liking. If you prefer an even creamier texture, mash some of the beans with a potato masher.
• Prepare rice during the last 30 minutes of cooking the beans. Place the water into an electric kettle and bring to a boil. While the water is coming to a boil place the butter into a 3-quart saucepan, set over medium heat.
• Once the butter begins to bubble, add the rice and stir to combine. Add the salt and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Carefully pour the water over the rice and stir to combine.
• Decrease the heat to the lowest setting, cover, and cook for 15 to 20 minutes. Serve the beans over the rice.
• Pickled Pork:.
• Combine all of the ingredients except the ice and the pork in a 2-quart non-reactive saucepan, set over high heat and bring to a boil.
• Reduce the heat and maintain a simmer for 3 minutes.
• Remove from the heat, add the ice and stir.
• Place the pork into a 1-gallon zip top bag and add the cooled pickling liquid.
• Remove as much air as possible; seal the bag and place in the refrigerator for at least 3 days, turning the bag occasionally. Use within 2 weeks or remove from the pork from the brine and freeze.