The history goes that on Monday, you'd throw the bone leftover from your Sunday ham into a pot with some beans, let it simmer all day while you did the wash, and then have red beans and rice for dinner.
I can see that logic. I did mine in the slow cooker, and even though I did this as a "side" for crawfish enchiladas... I think we enjoyed the beans & rice more than the enchiladas.
One of the things that irked me, big time, when I found out I was allergic to wheat was that in all my usual rice mix things, there was wheat. Really?? REALLY??? You have to go and ruin something I can have like rice by adding wheat to it??
I knew I wanted to make crawfish enchiladas tonight, and I do love some red beans and rice as a side for that. Time to buck it up and make it for myself.
And holy crap, was it easy.
This was my recipe... which I pretty much followed. I did throw in both a ham hock and some smoked ham necks. I used Polish sausage (that I wouldn't eat as part of a cabbage & sausage meal, but it was tasty in this).
The beans....
And, yes, this is one recipe where a ham hock is important. Ham hocks... if you actually see them at your grocery store you might look at them and think they are odd (I know I did as a kid... until my family started cooking cajun food). If you don't see them at your grocery store and you want to make this recipe.... seriously.... find them somewhere. They are cheap, and they are good. I know at the place I seem to buy most of my meat and produce, the butchers are all Mexican. But they do a damned fine ham hock (and the smoked necks were pretty good too, must remember those). They were like $1.29 per pound. And worth every penny in the final dish.
Ham hocks and smoked pork necks, having done their duty for the beans.
Thank you, ham products. Thank you.
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