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From Nola Cuisine Images – (reedited)

I finally got around to making my Red Beans & Rice with the Pickle Meat I made recently, like I said, nothing flavors Red Beans as well as Pickle Meat. I also served it with Fried Pork Chops as a side, instead of Chaurice Sausage. I made my Chops a little different than the norm by making them Fried Chicken style, there were no complaints at the table.

Monday Red Beans & Rice Recipe with Pickle Meat and Fried Pork Chops

1 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
2 Tbsp Creole Seasoning
1 Cup Onion, chopped
1/2 Cup Bell Pepper, chopped
1/4 Cup Celery, Chopped
1 Cup Andouille Sausage, Cubed
1 Ham Bone
1/2 lb Small Red Beans (soaked overnight or for at least a few hours)
1 Cup Pickle Meat, Cubed
1 Tbsp Fresh Garlic, Minced
3 1/2 Cups Chicken Stock (You could certainly use water)
3 Fresh Bay Leaves
1/2 Cup Tomato Sauce
1 Tbsp Italian Parsley, Finely Chopped
1/4 Cup Green Onions, thinly sliced on the bias
1/2 Recipe Creole Boiled Rice

Mix together the Holy Trinity (Onions, Celery, Bell Pepper). Drain the beans.
Melt the butter over medium heat.
Add 1/2 of the Holy Trinity, 1 Tbsp of the Creole Seasoning, and the Andouille, turn the heat to medium high. Cook this for about 7-10 minutes, stirring occasionally until the vegetables start to get some color.
Add the beans and cook stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes.
Add the Chicken Stock or Water, Pickle Meat, the Ham bone, Garlic, Bay Leaves, the remaining Trinity and Creole Seasoning. Bring this to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Let this simmer for 2- 2 1/2 Hours. The first hour is low maintenance; an occasional stir and making sure the beans are covered with liquid. The second hour, you want to check back a little more often, the beans will really start to absorb some liquid and you don’t want them to stick.
After the beans have cooked for two hours, add the Tomato Sauce, the Parsley and 1/2 of the Green Onions. Make your Rice. Cook the beans for another half hour.
To Serve:
Remove the Bay Leaves. Mound a half cup of Rice each, onto two serving plates, Cover with a generous helping of the Red Beans, Garnish with the remaining Green Onions. Make sure their is a bottle of hot sauce on the table. Perfect compliments to this meal are a simple vinaigrette salad, Good Crusty French Bread, and your favorite Ice Cold Beer.

Serves 2-3

Fried Pork Chops Recipe

Pork Chops
Buttermilk (enough to cover)
1 tsp Black Pepper
Kosher Salt & Black pepper
1 Tbsp Creole Seasoning
1/2 Cup All Purpose Flour
Oil for frying

Cover the chops with the Buttermilk, mix in the 1 tsp Black Pepper. Marinate for 1 hour.
Heat the oil to 350 degrees F. Remove the Chops from the buttermilk and season liberally with salt and pepper. Dredge in the seasoned flour, shake off any excess. Fry until golden brown and just cooked through, serve alongside Red Beans & Rice.

Other Red Beans & Rice posts:

Red Beans & Rice Recipe (made with Andouille Sausage and Tasso)

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The Sazerac, which some say is America’s first cocktail, was invented by Antoine Peychaud, a Creole pharmacist, in the 1830’s. The original contained Brandy (some argue Cognac), Absinthe, and the Apothecary’s secret bitters, which now bear his name. Sazerac lovers all have their own recipe which they think is the best, which is ridiculous, because mine is the best. My buddy Tom also shakes a great Sazerac, he uses Wild Turkey Rye 101. In addition to recipe, an equally ferocious debate, is which bar in New Orleans has the best. I’m sure the locals may know better, but I think a great one is at the Fairmount Hotel’s, Sazerac Bar. The Fairmont Hotel, which was the Roosevelt until 1965, was owned by Seymour Weiss, friend of former Governor and later Senator Huey P. Long, who set up shop in the hotel. Anyway, they make a very good Sazerac, as well as their famous Ramos Gin Fizz, but that’s another post. It is a great little bar to relax and sample some of the fine cocktails of New Orleans. I haven’t yet heard the state of the Fairmont post Katrina.
Great places for a Sazerac on Bourbon are the Desire Oyster Bar (recently re-opened) or Felix’s Restaurant and Oyster Bar, and of course Galatoire’s. Galatoire’s makes a Sazerac, as well as what they call a Galatoire’s Special which they mix the same, but substitute Bourbon for the Rye.
Peychaud’s bitters can be difficult to find in the Detroit area but I managed to locate a few places that carry it. Herbsaint, I’ve only found in New Orleans, not too much different than Pernod, but it’s 90 proof as opposed to Pernod’s 80 proof, plus its cheaper, and from New Orleans (My Herbsaint supply is dangerously low right now.) Here is my recipe, keep in mind, mine is a tad sweeter, and heavier on the Peychaud’s than some. That’s why it is called My Recipe:

My Sazerac Cocktail Recipe

2 oz. Rye Whiskey (I use Jim Beam Rye, or Wild Turkey Rye 101; You could also substitute Bourbon, as Commander’s Palace does!)
8 dashes Peychaud Bitters
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
1 Tablespoon Simple Syrup (equal parts sugar and water/cooked until the sugar disolves)
about 1/4 ounce Herbsaint or Pernod.
1 Lemon Twist

Chill an old fashioned glass. Combine the Rye, bitters and simple syrup in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well. Rub the rim of the glass with the lemon peel, then coat the inside of the glass with the Herbsaint, pour out the excess. Add the mix to the glass, twist the lemon peel and drop it in. Enjoy!

Makes 1 Cocktail.

Here is where you can get Peychaud’s by mail order:

Sazerac Company – Peychaud Bitters

If you have a high-end liquor store in your area, they will probably carry them. Although you can substitute Pernod for the Herbsaint, Peychaud’s are a must.

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This is a simple side dish popular in Nola Cuisine. It’s very quick and easy to make, and it will accompany just about any entree. You could also bake the potatoes as an alternative to frying them. I would toss them in Olive Oil, Season liberally with salt and black pepper and bake on a sheet pan at 425 degrees F until golden and crispy. I cut these into different sizes for different purposes, these I made a little larger to be a side dish. Recipe:

Brabant Potatoes Recipe

2 1/2 Cups Vegetable Oil
2 Large Idaho Potatoes
1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Cloves Garlic, Finely Minced
1/2 Stick Unsalted Butter, cut in pieces
Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper to taste
2 Tbsp Italian Parsley, Finely Chopped

Peel the Potatoes and cut into 1/2″-3/4″ dice. Soak these in cold water for about 15-20 minutes. Drain the potatoes and wash under cold water, the object is to remove some of the starch. Drain and pat dry with paper towels, you want them very dry before they go into the oil.
Heat the Oil to 360-375 degrees in a 2 qt saucepan. Deep fry the potatoes until golden brown, in batches, you don’t want to overcrowd the pan (see note). Drain on dry paper towels. Season with salt & black pepper. Place the drained potatoes on a warm serving plate(s).
In a saute pan heat the Olive Oil over medium low heat and saute the garlic until fragrant, add the parsley and the butter, incorporating it in by constantly shaking the pan back and forth. Season the sauce with salt and pepper and pour over the potatoes, or toss them in it. Serve immediately.

Serves 2-3

**Note**
Overcrowding the pan when deep-frying does two things:
1. Keeps the oil from surrounding the potatoes
2. Lowers the temperature of the oil too quickly, which will result in soggy and greasy food, as opposed to crisp. When your temperature is too low, the food absorbs the oil in like a sponge.

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I know this photo looks a bit like a science experiment, or as my Dad said in his best Marty Feldman voice, Abby Normal’s Brain. All joking aside, this science experiment will give your Red Beans & Rice impeccable, authentic flavor that will be hard to match.
Before the days of refrigeration and commercial curing plants, Pickle Meat or Pickled Pork was a staple in the Creole Kitchen. Some Creole cooks still will not make Red Beans and Rice without it, and I have to say, the best pot of Red Beans that I’ve made, was made with Pickle Meat (I can’t wait to make them this Monday with this new batch of Pickle Meat.) The meat is so tender from the brine, that it just breaks down in the pot, leaving behind all of that wonderful flavor. It’s a cinch to make, now that we don’t have to prepare 25 pound batches. Long ago the pork from a very recently butchered hog would be cured in large batches, and kept in barrels. Here is what The Picayune’s Creole Cookbook of 1901 had to say on the subject, along with the process:

Pork should be pickled about twenty hours after killing. It is pickled always in sufficient quantity to last for some time, for if proper care is taken, it will keep one year after pickling; but it may also be pickled in small quantities of three or four pounds at a time, reducing other ingredients in the recipe according to quantity of pork used. To twenty-five pounds of Pork allow one ounce of saltpetre. Pulverize thoroughly and mix with a sufficient quantity of salt to thoroughly salt the pork. Cut the Pork into pieces of about two pounds, and slash each piece through the skin, and then rub thoroughly with the salt and saltpetre mixture till the meat is thoroughly penetrated through and through. Mash the cloves very fine and grind the allspice; chop the onions. Take a small barrel and place at the bottom a layer of salt, then a layer of coarsely chopped onions, and sprinkle over this a layer of the spices and minced bay leaves. Place on this a layer of Pork; pack tightly; then place above this a layer of salt and seasonings, and continue with alternate layers of Pork and seasonings until the Pork is used up. Conclude with a layer of the minced herbs and spices and have a layer of salt on top. Cover the preparation with a board on which a heavy weight must be placed to press down the meat. It will be ready for use in ten or twelve days.

Here is a more modern version, which is more of a brine than the version in the old text. I love the slight acidic flavor that it lends to a pot of Red Beans. Spare rib tips are a common cut used to make Pickle Meat.

Pickled Pork or Pickle Meat Recipe

2 lbs. Very Fresh Pork (I used Spare rib tips, boned and cut into strips 3″ long by 1″ thick)
1 Qt. White Vinegar
1/2 Cup Mustard Seed
6 Each Whole Cloves
6 Each Whole Allspice
1/2 tsp Crushed Red Pepper
3 Fresh Bay Leaves
6 Whole Garlic Cloves
1/2 of a Medium Onion, Coarsely Chopped
1 Tbsp Kosher Salt
1 Tbsp Black Peppercorns
1 pinch Pink Meat Cure

Add all the ingredients except the Pork to a 2 qt Saucepan. Bring to a boil. Boil for 4 minutes, then place it into a container to cool in the refrigerator. When the mixture is completely cold, add the pork.

Very important: Make sure the pork is completely covered with the brine; gently stir to remove any air bubbles.

Cover and place in the refrigerator for 4 days before using.

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