Ingredients
2 lbs Camilla brand red beans
4 Ham hocks
2 lbs spicy sausage
4 large onions
2 bell peppers
1 bag celery
4 tablesppons seasoning mix.
8 bay leaves
2 clove crushed garlic
Seasoning Mix
The amounts listed here are parts of a whole. Any measurement above a tablespoon will work. So just mix it with these ratios.
2 garlic powder
1 cayenne pepper
2 black pepper
1 white pepper
2 ground thmye
4 paprika
2 salt
How to Cook Em
Soak the beans overnight and they will swell up and take a lot of the water so you want to be sure to have enough water. Some people drain the water off and start fresh when they are done. With beans there is a certain ... ummmm flautulence factor.
First crank up the music and open a bottle of beer or wine and indulge yourself.
Okay so you got the beans in the water having been soaked overnight. I use a 5 quart stock pot for this with a very low flame. In fact I put the stock pot on top of a cast iron pan to keep from burning the beans. Works pretty good.
Add the ham hocks now.
Next comes the trinity - Onions, Bell Peppers and Celery. Chop them up good and stir fry till the onions are "clear". That is the point when they become translucent. Dump them all in the pot.
Slice the sausage. I like to cut about three inch lengths and slice them into two parts. Brown them. Dump them into the pot.
Adding the Seasonning Mix
Now I cook this recipe for about four hours and add three tablespoons of the seasoning immediately. I know what I like. After about the third hour you can adjust the seasoning to taste. It is easier to add and very difficult to undo if you get too much. So I recommend adding it in increments till you get what you want. Taste it every half hour or so and add what you like.
Add whatever garlic you like in about the last half hour.
Serve with fried eggplant, a salad and some wine.
