Red Beans and Rice (and How to Pickle Your Own Pork for It)

Another Sunday dinner. We dug up some old pickled pork in the freezer and it was still good, so we decided to finish it out with some red beans and rice this weekend. Now I understand this could be somewhat controversial as neither of us are Southern although Teikiatsu did spend a good amount of time growing up in Tennessee, so he gets a bit of Southern heritage from there, but red beans and rice aren't it.

This is an Alton Brown recipe originally. You should be able to find it at Food Network which is where I got it, and since he uses pickled pork in it, but you can't find it outside the south in stores, he thoughtfully tells you how to make your own. It's not hard and lasts a long time. So, I'll start with directions on that.

Pickled Pork:

2 c. water
1 c. apple cider vinegar
1/4 c. Kosher salt
6 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
2 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp. yellow mustard seed
2 tbsp. hot sauce (I forget what we used)
1 tbsp. celery seed
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp. whole black peppercorns
8 oz. ice
1 1/2 lbs fresh, boneless pork butt cut into 2" cubes

Combine all ingredients except the ice and the pork in a 2 qt, non-reactive sauce pan, set over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and maintain a simmer for 3 minutes. Remove from heat, add the ice and stir. Place the pork into a 1-gallon zip top bag and add the cooled brine. 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 brine and freeze.

OK. Now that you have your pickled pork ...

Red Beans and Rice:

2 tbsp olive oil
1 md onion, chopped
2 md bell pepper, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
2 tbsp. Kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper
5 cloves garlic, minced
12 oz pickled pork, cut into 1" pieces
3 bay leaves
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp hot sauce
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 qts water
1 lb red kidney beans, rinsed and picked of debris

1. Place the olice oil in a 7-qt Dutch oven set over md-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 9 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

2. Add the pickled pork, bay leaves, thyme, hot sauce, cayenne, water and beans to the pot and increase heat to high. Cook, stirring frequently until the mixture comes to a boil, approximately 6 to 8 minutes.

3. Decrease the heat to maintain a simmer, cover and cook for 1 1/2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes.

4. Uncover, increase heat slightly to maintain a steady simmer and continue to cook for another 30 to 40 minutes until the beans are tender and the sauce is thickened to your liking. If you prefer an even creamier texture, mash some of the red beans.

5. Prepare rice during the last 30 minutes of cooking the beans. (There are directions for making rice, but I assume most of us know how to do that, so I am not going to include it.)

*Today, we're going to add some mushrooms and likely some leftover fresh spinach that is starting to show its age. Everything in this house gets some kind of fungus in it sooner or later, and I hate wasting stuff, so we'll put a bit of the spinach in it to help use it up.

Isaiah 66:17 ESV

“Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go into the gardens, following one in the midst, eating pig's flesh and the abomination and mice, shall come to an end together, declares the Lord."

originally posted by: CharlieSpeirs
Isaiah 66:17 ESV

“Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go into the gardens, following one in the midst, eating pig's flesh and the abomination and mice, shall come to an end together, declares the Lord."

Now I certainly have eaten pig's flesh and I am pretty sure there is a good chance I have gotten the occasional mouse part in a can of tuna or something but what is this 'abomination' you speak of and where can I get some? It sounds sacrilicious.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

I think the abomination is reptile/serpent.

That would be my educated guess in the matter.



I was just ruffling Kets' feathers anyways, to each their own.

originally posted by: CharlieSpeirs
I think the abomination is reptile/serpent.

That would be my educated guess in the matter.

Damn, eaten that too. I was hoping for something a little more 'exotic'.

I was just ruffling Kets' feathers anyways, to each their own.

I figured as much being that you are a known jokester and an an advocate for all things madcap. You Brits.

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus

Damn, eaten that too. I was hoping for something a little more 'exotic'.

Any good?
Always been enticed by alligator and snake.
Never had the chance though.

I figured as much being that you are a known jokester and an an advocate for all things madcap. You Brits.

Yes, although I must admit I'm not very good at it.
Hopefully I still get participation medals though.

originally posted by: CharlieSpeirs
Any good?
Always been enticed by alligator and snake.
Never had the chance though.

I had both. I found the snake to be like sinewy fish and lacking in flavor. The gator was chewy (hardly any fat) and was similar to frog and crab.

Yes, although I must admit I'm not very good at it.
Hopefully I still get participation medals though.

I get you.

a reply to: ketsuko

Red beans and rice is not a "southern" dish. It is Cajun. And under NO circumstances should it be made with pickled pork.

PS: Unless that's the way you like it. That is one great thing about cooking.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

if the gator was chewy then it was overcooked, it's hard to not overcook it like squid, absolutely love it. I prepare snake the same way I do eel.

I'm liking the pickled pork recipe Ketsuko, have you ever done it without cubing?

originally posted by: Daavin
if the gator was chewy then it was overcooked, it's hard to not overcook it like squid, absolutely love it. I prepare snake the same way I do eel.

So I was told. I had it at a road side stand in Florida but I would contemplate trying it again at a better restaurant.

a reply to: KEACHI

That's why I said controversial. There are a ton of variations on the recipe. Some people use pickled pork, others use Andouille, other use still other things in theirs.



As I was not born and raised Cajun, I took the recipe that sounded good from someone whose recipes I have learned to trust.

I read an article on the subject of red beans and rice that claims Cajons are generally born with a version of the recipe automatically inborn. I am sure you can forgive me for being naturally hampered in this aspect of my life.

originally posted by: Daavin
a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

if the gator was chewy then it was overcooked, it's hard to not overcook it like squid, absolutely love it. I prepare snake the same way I do eel.

I'm liking the pickled pork recipe Ketsuko, have you ever done it without cubing?

Nope, but then it makes enough that unless you are making a ton of red beans and rice, you'll have some left for a while.

If other methods of prepping the pork work better, then by all means, let me know and we'll try it.

As to gator, I haven't had it often enough to get a good handle on how it should be prepped, but I remember enough about the general texture of the flesh to see how it would get tough if overcooked. I had that sort of general consistency about it.

a reply to: ketsuko

Most red beans and rice recipes would call for smoked pork, and maybe some smoked sausage; but honestly...who's to tell you what to put in your own recipe!

Sounds like a nice twist.

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus

originally posted by: CharlieSpeirs
Isaiah 66:17 ESV

“Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go into the gardens, following one in the midst, eating pig's flesh and the abomination and mice, shall come to an end together, declares the Lord."

Now I certainly have eaten pig's flesh and I am pretty sure there is a good chance I have gotten the occasional mouse part in a can of tuna or something but what is this 'abomination' you speak of and where can I get some? It sounds sacrilicious.

I think you mean sacridelicious!

I totally misread your sacrilicious as the actual word sacrilegious. Damn you being more clever than me!

a reply to: CharlieSpeirs

Yes, well, Cajun and Soul food are foods that took what was available to the people in question and made them work. The Cajun people were not in the main wealthy, so they ate what they had. Pig is/was cheap.

Perhaps you will starve for a point of faith, but not everyone in the world sees it the same. We are talking about a folk and cuisine that also eats opossum, raccoon, gator, snapping turtle and other such critters and eats all parts of the critter they can and learned how to make them tasty.

The Arabs and other desert cultures did the same. How else do you explain Khlea, for example? Foods like this are peppered all over the world, born of necessity.

What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.

Matthew 15:11

Jesus said that, and who am I to argue with him?

Pickled pork!? Even if I could get past that abomination - it's SUNDAY. Ya'll know you only eat red beans and rice on Monday. What is this world coming to!?

ETA: mushrooms and spinach!? WTF!?

a reply to: kosmicjack

Eh, mushrooms go in everything in this house sooner or later. We love them, so we try them in most things at least once.

Again, given anyone's lack of Cajun heritage ... it had to happen. As for the spinach, I could live without it being in there, too, but it was that or throw it out. Generally opposed to wasting it, and Teikiatsu has learned his lesson after adding so much to the chili that the last batch wound up looking like baby poop. It didn't taste bad, but it looked a bit wrong.

No, those things are not traditional, but we needed to use them up, so in they went!

Oh, to address the Cajun v. Southern point from earlier. For some reason, I was drawing a blank on Cajun when I wrote the OP. All I could come up with was Creole, and I know it wasn't Creole. So, I opted for southern. I knew that wasn't precise, but was using it as a sort of catch-all. Cajun is a southern cuisine in the sense it comes from the deep south in Louisiana and similar parts.