Spicy Red Beans with Chicken and Andouille Sausage

Name: Spicy Red Beans with Chicken and Andouille Sausage
Total time: 3 h
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: southern
Ingredients: 1 pound red beans, soaked overnight or quick-soaked, then drained and rinsed; 1 tablespoon olive oil; 6 bone-in chicken thighs; 1 pound andouille sausage (or substitute linguiça), sliced ½ inch thick; 1 onion, sliced; 1/2 green bell pepper, seeded and roughly chopped; 2 stalks celery, roughly chopped; 2 tablespoons minced garlic; 2 tablespoons filé powder (optional); 2 to 3 teaspoons red pepper flakes; 2 teaspoons kosher salt; 1 teaspoon black pepper

By John Willoughby

Total Time: 3 hours, plus soaking
Rating: 4(453)
Comments: Read comments

This recipe came to The Times in a 2012 article about cooking in a bean hole, a classic method of outdoor cooking popular in Maine. Here’s how it works: Dig a hole big enough for the pot you’re planning to cook in, then build a fire of hardwood logs in it. Drop a dozen or so rocks into the fire once it’s started. When the wood has burned down to embers, remove the rocks using barbecue gloves, put your pot of presoaked beans into the embers, drop the rocks around and on top of the pot, cover everything with dirt and walk away. Come back in about eight hours, and your beans should be ready. Not in the mood to dig a hole in your backyard? No worries. These spicy New Orleans-style red beans with chicken and andouille sausage can just as easily be made in your oven. The slightly sweet creaminess of the beans and the richness of the chicken temper the sharp heat of the andouille sausage and red pepper flakes. Serve over a pile of snowy white rice alongside an ice-cold beer.

Featured in: Who Needs an Oven? Just Bury Your Beans

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Ingredients

Yield:6 servings

1pound red beans, soaked overnight or quick-soaked, then drained and rinsed
1tablespoon olive oil
6bone-in chicken thighs
1pound andouille sausage (or substitute linguiça), sliced ½ inch thick
1onion, sliced
½green bell pepper, seeded and roughly chopped
2stalks celery, roughly chopped
2tablespoons minced garlic
2tablespoons filé powder (optional)
2 to 3teaspoons red pepper flakes
2teaspoons kosher salt
1teaspoon black pepper

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Drain and rinse the soaked beans and heat the oven to 350.
Step 2
Heat the oil in a 6-quart Dutch oven or other large, heavy pot over medium-high until hot but not smoking. Add the chicken thighs and brown well, 4 to 6 minutes. Remove the thighs, add the sausage to pot and brown well, another 4 to 6 minutes. Remove the sausage. Add the onion, bell pepper and celery and sauté, stirring occasionally, until tender, 5 to 7 minutes.
Step 3
Add the garlic and sauté, stirring frequently, 1 minute. Add back the thighs and sausage along with the beans, filé powder if using, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper and enough water to cover. Stir well and bring the mixture to a simmer.
Step 4
Cover and transfer the pot to the oven and bake until the beans are tender, 2½ to 3 hours, checking every half-hour or so after the first hour and adding water as needed if all the liquid has been absorbed.

Ratings

4 out of 5

453 user ratings

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Comments

AHubby7 years ago

A favorite of ours. Not at all pretty but fabulous and spicy. I wonder though if 350 for 2-1/2 to 3 hours is a mistake? After just 1 1/2 hours the beans are tender and the chicken falls off its bones.

Terry J7 years ago

This was excellent. However, 3 tsp of red pepper makes it very picante. Would cut that in half the next time. Also, the beans cooked up in about 1 1/2 hours.

We had plenty of beans and sauce left afterwards. I pureed them in a blender and thinned with chicken broth, and the result was an excellent red bean soup that we loved.

Kofi7 years ago

Delicious!!! loved it but didn't use much spice and used Canned Beans so my cooking time was just approx 40 mins until the the chicken was cooked.

Andy M cbus1 month ago

Great dish. I reduced the chili pepper flake and replaced with some Aleppo pepper and some charred poblano. The red beans I used were from Rancho gordo. I also added carrots and mushrooms . Highly recommended dish that serves a crowd.

Carol5 months ago

We loved this dish over rice. The Andouille sausage I used was very spicy so I didn't add any red pepper to it. I also added half of a red bell pepper. I used boneless chicken thighs and cut them into chunks before I browned them. It makes a huge pot of beans, rice and meat. If you are using cans of beans, be sure to use at least 4 cans as a pound of dry beans cooks up to about 7 cups of cooked beans.

Jen H.6 months ago

Trying this out tonight with the same ingredients -except, I'm going switch in cannellini beans for the read, and Italian sausage for the andouille, going to omit the file, and add some toasted tomato paste and perhaps a splash of white wine. Muahahaha - thanks so much for the idea! I will return to this one again when I've got some andouille handy though!

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