Name: Chef John's Red Beans and Rice
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 3 h 15 min
Total time: 3 h 45 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: Southern
Ingredients: 1 pound dry red kidney beans; 1 tablespoon vegetable oil; 12 ounces andouille sausage, diced; 1 cup finely diced onion; 0.75 cup chopped celery; 0.75 cup poblano peppers; 4 cloves garlic, minced; 2 quarts chicken broth, or more as needed; 1 smoked ham hock; 2 bay leaves; 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; 1 teaspoon dried thyme; 0.5 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste; hot sauce to taste; 4 cups cooked white rice; 2 tablespoons chopped green onion, or to taste

Chef John's Red Beans and Rice

Chef John's recipe for red beans, Andouille sausage, smoked ham hock, and rice is the textbook definition of soul food: a comforting, hearty bowl of goodness.

3 hr 45 min total 30 min prep 3 hr 15 min cook 8 542 cal

Instructions

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1 Place beans in a large container and cover with several inches of cool water; let stand 8 hours to overnight. Drain and rinse.
2 Heat vegetable oil in a large pot over medium heat. Cook and stir sausage in hot oil until oils slightly release from sausage and edges brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir onion, celery, and poblano pepper into sausage; cook and stir until vegetables soften and start to turn translucent, 5 to 10 minutes. Stir garlic into sausage mixture; cook and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute.
3 Stir red beans, chicken broth, ham hock, bay leaves, black pepper, thyme, cayenne pepper, and hot sauce into the sausage mixture; bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, for 1 1/2 hours. Add salt and continue simmering until beans are soft, meat is tender, and desired consistency is reached, 1 1/2 to 2 hours more. Season with salt.
4 Spoon rice into bowls, ladle red beans mixture over rice, and top with green onion.