Red Beans And Rice, I Dare You

Total Time: 4 hrs 15 mins Preparation Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 4 hrs

Ingredients

• 3 (15 1/2 ounce) cans pinto beans (drained)
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1 lb smoked summer sausage, skin removed (preferrebly a butcher shop smoked summer sausage)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons onion powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 cup long grained rice (makes 3-1/2 cups prepared)

Recipe

• 1 cut summer sausage into 2" inch cubes, combine sausage, 2 cans pinto beans, beef broth, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper and cayenne in a 2 qrt. sauce pan. bring to boil.
• 2 cover and continue boiling on meduim heat stirring occasionally until beans become soft, about 45 minutes to an hour.
• 3 remove from heat. remove sausage chunks -- all the flavor will be boiled out of the sausage, so i use them for another recipe to fallow later.
• 4 return pan to stove, add third can of pinto beans, cover and let simmer on low for about 3 hours.
• 5 after 1-1/2 hrs, using a good masher, mash beans to a desired consistency, but don't mash all of them. once you've reached a preferred consistency and juices are absorbed, just stir occasionally for the next 1-1/2 hours. to keep from scorching.
• 6 taste your creation, if you should feel there isn't enough smoke flavor you can always add a few drops of liquid smoke but not too much, i've always found liquid smoke tastes fake and can be overwhelming.
• 7 the trick to good red beans and rice is to allow a long slow simmering, that's why the three hours, i've actually let is simmer for as much as 5 hours. you can expirement with it as you go. add to prepared rice and enjoy.