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 whenMarcusChristina-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 hedescribes Tasso as a seasoning meat. He says it’s best used in Louisiana’ssignature red beans and rice, gumbo, crawfish pasta and vegetables. However, he says, “Iwould 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 whiterice)
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.- personalchoice)
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.