Recipe: Little Jewel of New Orleans’ Red Beans and Rice

Red Beans and Rice at Little Jewel of New Orleans in Chinatown.

The other LA of the United States is Louisiana, a state known for its food traditions and a French influence. Finding Creole dishes in Los Angeles has been a task until a few months ago when Marcus Christina-Beniger opened his market and deli, Little Jewel of New Orleans, in Chinatown.

The restaurant’s smoker housed ducks for years when it operated as a Chinese restaurant. Today Marcus is smoking Tasso ham, andouille and boudin. This week on Good Food he describes Tasso as a seasoning meat. He says it’s best used in Louisiana’s signature red beans and rice, gumbo, crawfish pasta and vegetables. However, he says, “I would be hard pressed to find things not to cook it with.”

Below is his recipe for Red Beans and Rice. He reminds us that this is a 3 day process, so if you want to eat it on Monday, you have to start on Saturday.

Little Jewel of New Orleans’ Red Beans and Rice

Serves 6-8

1 lb. Camellia Brand Red Beans (no substitutions)

1-2 cups Mahatma long grain white rice (or any other comparable long grain white rice)

2 lbs. Holy Trinity (1 onion chopped, 2 tbsp. celery chopped, 2 tbsp. bell pepper

chopped)

2 tbsp. Granulated Garlic

1 tbsp. Black Pepper

1 tbsp. Granulated Onion

1 tbsp. Brown Sugar (optional)

1 lb. seasoning meats (Tasso, Ham Ends, Ham Bone, Pickle Pork, etc.- personal choice)

½ lb. sliced (on bias) Pecan or Hickory Wood Smoked Andouille Sausage

10-12 cups chicken or vegetable stock

1 toe of chopped fresh garlic

1-2 cups Mahatma Louisiana Long Grain Rice

½ cup chopped green onions

½ cup rough chopped parsley

For cooking- Bottle of Tabasco Original/Tabasco Garlic/Louisiana Gold Tabasco Pepper Hot Sauce

For service- Crystal or Cajun Chef Brand Hot Sauce

*Please note, this is a 3 day process (so if you want it for Monday, you start on

Saturday)

Morning of Day 1

In a bowl, soak 1 lb Camellia red beans in vegetable or chicken stock (water is not

recommended, as it adds nothing to the flavor and does not soften the beans quite

as well as stock- stock need not be made, and can be purchased at a market). The

stock should generally cover the beans in their entirety and above, about 1 inch.

Refrigerate.

Morning of Day 2

Add some vegetable oil to a large sauté pan and let pan get hot. Then add the Holy

Trinity (onions first) until all vegetables start to become clear/less opaque and give

off a pleasant aroma. Then the chopped meats (Tasso, ham ends, ham bone, pickled

meat, etc.) along with a chopped toe of garlic are added and browned in the well-

sauteed trinity mix until they are also quite browned.

Take the beans out of the bowl (they will have expanded nicely, busting their skins

by now) and add them to a large stock pot, filling it several inches above the top of

the beans with vegetable or chicken stock.

Set the pot on the stove and turn on until pot reaches a slight boil. Then, reduce heat

to a heavy simmer. Stirring vigorously, add a quarter cup of liquid smoke, quarter

cup Worcestershire sauce, a pinch of brown sugar (optional), 2 tbsp. of granulated

garlic, 1 tbsp. of granulated onion, 1 tbsp. black pepper, and 2 bay leaves. Very

importantly, do not add salt until the very end, when ready to serve (as the meats

have salts in them and will be releasing them in increasing amount throughout the

cooking process). Let simmer for 2.5-3 hours (3.5-4 for “New Orleans Cream Style”-

in this style, beans break down pretty completely and lose definition of shape and

are considered, generally, to be more desirable). Remove from heat and let cool

down in stock pot to room temperature, then refrigerate (note- technically speaking,

you could eat the beans right now, if you wanted to. But in our opinion, refrigerating

them and reheating them the next day acts as a sort of cold marinade and improves

the dish- as it would any casserole, soup, or stew- exponentially).

Morning of Day 3

Remove stock pot from refrigerator and gently reheat on stove, stirring in a half cup

of vegetable stock to loosen up coagulated cold bean mixture. When beans hit boil,

reduce to a heavy simmer, (stirring frequently as to not let the beans at the bottom

of the pot burn, ruining the entire pot) taste, and adjust salt/seasoning salt/Tabasco

pepper levels to personal taste.

In a small sauté pan, add a little vegetable oil on medium heat and add sliced

Andouille and brown both sides. Note, this Andouille should not be cooked in the

red bean mixture, as is so often done when Tasso, fatbacks, or pickle pork are not

available. Following that regrettable practice reduces your Andouille to a shriveled,

flavorless, rubbery, and inferior product. It is not advisable. Sauteeing the Andouille

keeps it crisp, flavorful, and delicious. The sausages should be placed upon the

surface of the individual plate of red beans where they can be easily “forked” and

eaten.

*We feel that Louisiana long grain rice is best cooked using the following method:

Boil water in a small stock pot, add rice, bring it back to a boil, let boil for 3 minutes,

cover stock pot, then turn off the heat. Do not stir or remove cover! Rice will be done

in 15 minutes (please time!). The cover is then removed and rice should be removed

from the stock pot using a wooden spoon, circling inward around the edges. Rice is

best laid out on a casserole or sheet pan, in order to allow air to hit it and for it to

firm up.

Scoop beans into a bowl or plate so that the bowl or plate is covered. The rice should

be centered atop the beans (perhaps utilizing a small cup to mold it into a circular

shape in the middle of the dish). Garnish rice with chopped green onions and rough

cut parsley, if so desired. Now is the time to add your choice of hot sauce. Bon apetit!

*Optional additions:

A dab of French’s yellow mustard often makes the beans “pop”, and many people

enjoy this addition directly to the red beans on the plate. Creole mustard is also an

option. Generally speaking, Tabasco, Tabasco Garlic Hot Sauce, or Louisiana Gold (or

any hot sauce with a high pepper purity ratio) is good to use while cooking, while a

more vinegar tempered hot sauce, such as Crystal or Cajun Chef, is preferable on the

plate while eating.