If you’ve got pepper vinegar on hand—that’s vinegar with spicy peppers in it, not hot sauce—that’s a great condiment for Chef Jean-Paul’s White Beans and Rice. From its Northern bean foundation to a meaty mélange of pickled pork, smoked tasso, ham hock, and andouille, that vinegar will brighten every hearty bite.
White Beans and Rice
Author: Jean-Paul Bourgeois
Makes about 10 servings
Ingredients
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 2 smoked ham hocks
- 1½ pounds smoked andouille sausage, sliced
- ½ pound pickled pork, diced large
- ½ pound smoked tasso, diced
- 2 cups chopped onion
- ½ cup chopped green onion
- ½ cup chopped bell pepper
- ½ cup chopped celery
- ⅓ cup chopped garlic
- 4 to 5 dried bay leaves
- 2 pounds dried great Northern beans*, soaked in water for 12 hours (soaking liquid reserved)*
- 8 cups chicken stock
- 5 sprigs fresh thyme, tied with butcher’s twine
- Kosher salt, ground black pepper, ground white pepper, and hot sauce, to taste
- Hot cooked long-grain white rice
- Garnish: chopped parsley, sliced green onion
Instructions
- In a 12-quart cast aluminum or cast-iron pot, heat oil over high heat. Add ham hocks, and cook, turning occasionally, until browned. Set aside on a plate. Repeat process with andouille, pickled pork, and tasso, in batches if necessary. Return andouille, pickled pork, and tasso to pot, and add onions, bell pepper, celery, garlic, and bay leaves; cook, stirring occasionally, scraping bottom of pan with a flat-edged wooden spoon, until vegetables are softened.
- Add reserved ham hocks, beans and reserved soaking liquid, stock, and thyme to meat mixture, leaving enough room for the beans to cook in the pot. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until beans are tender and creamy when pinched, 2 to 3 hours.
- Remove ham hocks, and let cool enough to handle; shred meat, and discard bones. Season bean mixture to taste with salt, black pepper, and a few splashes of hot sauce. Using the back of a spoon, crush some of the beans against side of pot. Return ham hock meat to beans mixture. Discard thyme bundle and bay leaves. Turn off heat. Serve with white rice. Garnish with parsley and green onion, if desired.
Notes
*We used Camellia Brand Great Northern Beans. Navy beans can be substituted.
Watch this dish come together on our YouTube channel where a new episode of “Louisiana Cookin’ with Chef Jean-Paul Bourgeois” is uploaded every Thursday!
Delicious recipes. Thank you for sharing them. I Love Louisiana Cuisine.