Written by: Roscoe |  Print this post and share it with your buddies!

Ingredients:

1 bag small red beans (16 oz.)
1 red onion – chopped
1 red pepper – chopped
3-5 cloves garlic – chopped

Beer or broth or beer and broth (enough to cover your beans)

olive oil, Worcestershire, Cholula

1 ham hock
1 link kielbasa (or your favorite sausage, or use a mixture of sausages)

Salt and pepper; smoked paprika, ancho, bacon salt, other favorite spices

chili vinegar or red wine vinegar

Rice – whatever kind you like; Roscoe recommends long grain brown

The Perfect Protein

Beans and Rice has been a staple in so-called poor countries for centuries, but to us at Club Roscoe, the definition of poor comes out to be: Cookin’ With Roscoe. Give us poor any time, if it means you’re eating something this good. At least it is when we cook it.

A Favorite In New Orleans

The city that brought us Gumbo and Jambalaya, practically food groups of their own, keeps Red Beans and Rice alive and well in the culinary hierarchy of this country, poor or not. And that’s as it should be, because it’s always been one of Roscoe’s favorites.

How You Make It Good

Beer. Plain and simple: cook your beans in beer (at least half beer, half stock). And Worcestershire and Cholula. A simple recipe for a simple food. But boy, is it good.

Here’s What You Do:

Saute’ onions garlic and pepper in olive oil, Worcestershire and Cholula, season with salt and pepper.

Add kielbasa (sliced or diced), add ham hock, saute’ a while, til everything melds, add beans and season with bacon salt, paprika and ancho.

Cover and bring to a boil, stir, then reduce to medium, til beans are tender (around an hour), stirring frequently. When beans start to soften, take the cover off, let the liquid reduce. Pull out the ham hock, pull off the meat (into small chunks), then return it to the pot. Add the vinegar (a couple splashes), stir and taste. It’s done when you like it.

Rice

Follow directions on bag or box, but if you use water (not recommended), at least add a bouillon cube or two, and some Worcestershire and Cholula. (2 cups rice should do it for this recipe).

Mix It All together

Serve as a main dish with tortillas or crusty bread, or as a side with whatever you’re having. Red beans and rice goes with almost anything.

Important Note: If You’re Lazy or Too Busy

Beans and Rice can be made with canned beans, no stigma attached. Roscoe has done this many times when his security detail has chosen the wrong route and gotten stuck in traffic, leaving him in a rush to get to the Test Kitchen. In fact, using canned beans (red or black) cuts the cooking time way down, leaving more time for cocktails.

Life’s Good, When You’re Cookin’ With Roscoe

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-Roscoe