fully loaded red beans & rice

How To Make fully loaded red beans & rice

• 1

  Get a large pot. Pour entire box of chicken broth in. Set on stove on medium low.
• 2

  Place beans in bowl of water and set aside.
• 3

  Wash and dice or chop all vegetables. Add garlic, celery, onion, bell pepper to pot.
• 4

  Sift through beans. Pull out the bad looking ones. Watch out for small debris. Add cleaned beans to pot. Discard bean water.
• 5

  Cut salt pork into cubes. Use as much or as little as you want. I usually get 1 to 2 pounds of it. Add to pot.
• 6

  Add ham to pot. I get the fully cooked version.
• 7

  Add spices to pot. Add bay leaves. Stir.
• 8

  Keep heat at medium until gently boiling. You will need to stir the pot several times.
• 9

  VERY IMPORTANT: Add water as needed and you will need to add it off and on. I add somewhere between 6 and 7 cups as I cook it.
• 10

  After a few hours of gently boiling, check beans for plumping. If they look plump, reduce heat and cover for 2 hours.
• 11

  Beans will be fully cooked when they can be mashed and are no longer hard. Broth will be thickened.
• 12

  For rice: I like to add mine in the pot at the end to suck up all the broth. I throw in a bag and let it cook for however long the package says. Five minute rice is quick and easy. If you wish to have rice as a side and not in the beans, make as directed in another pot or bowl.
• 13

  Serve when done!
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