Red Beans and Rice Recipes

In short, no.

Red beans are not the same variety as red kidney beans. They are smaller and have a smoother taste and texture than their kidney bean cousins. They are the most popular in the Caribbean region, where south Louisiana got it’s passion for red beans and rice.

This also demonstrates that the differences between Creole and Cajun are no longer widely recognized. Red beans are the beans originally used in the Creole or New Orleans recipes that originated in the Caribbean. Red kidney beans are just another type of dry bean Cajuns ate as a staple food along with rice.

Today, however, red beans and red kidney beans are used interchangeably in recipes for red beans and rice. I use red beans when they’re available. Otherwise I use red kidney beans.

Red Beans            Red Kidney Beans

References:
http://www.beans4health.com/dictionary.html

Louis Armstrong’s Spicy Pepper Cornbread

• 3 cups yellow cornmeal
• 1 cup cream-style corn
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 3 eggs
• 1 3/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup chopped jalapeno peppers

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl and pour in a 9- by 13-inch ungreased pan. Bake in preheated oven at 350 for 30 minutes.

Reference article website: Spice up red beans and rice with fresh additions by Chef Lou Rice

This is Louis Armstrong’s Recipe:

• 1 pound kidney beans (sorted, rinsed and soaked, see below)
• 1/2 pound salt pork (slab bacon may be used if preferred)
• 1 small can of tomato sauce (if desired)
• 6 small ham hocks or one smoked pork butt
• 2 onions, diced
• 1/4 green (bell) pepper
• 5 tiny or 2 medium dried peppers
• 1 clove of garlic, chopped
• salt to taste

Wash beans thoroughly, then soak overnight in cold water. Be sure to cover beans. To cook, pour water off beans, add fresh water to cover. Add salt pork or bacon and let come to a boil over full flame in (5-quart) covered pot [or dutch oven]. Turn flame down to slightly higher than low and let cook 1 1/2 hours. Add diced onions, bell pepper, garlic, dried peppers, and salt.

Cook 3 hours.

Add tomato sauce and cook 11/2 hours more, adding water whenever necessary. Beans and meat should always be just covered with liquid, never dry.

Serve over cooked rice, with a fresh pot of Community Coffee, and Spicy Pepper Cornbread (recipe in next post).

Dutch Ovens:

• Le Creuset 7.25-qt. Round Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven, Chestnut
• Calphalon 6-qt. Everyday Nonstick Dutch Oven

Reference article website: Spice up red beans and rice with fresh additions by Chef Lou Rice

This is a Creole recipe with a Cajun flare. It uses kidney beans instead of red beans, but notice tomato sauce is an ingredient. Tomatoes, tomato paste, and tomato sauce often immediately distinguish a Creole recipe from a Cajun recipe.