Cajun Red Beans and Sausage (Canning Recipe)
Throw some rice in your rice cooker (or use your favorite stovetop recipe) and heat up a jar of these spicy Cajun red beans with smoky pork and andouille sausage for a hearty, warming dinner in almost no time at all. This pressure-canning meal-in-a-jar recipe is adapted from a tested recipe by Ball. I have changed the seasoning and modified the preparation steps and recipe volume somewhat from the original, while still following safe-canning practices.
Ingredients
- 2 ½ lbs dried red kidney beans
- 2 quarts chicken, turkey, pork, or beef stock (can use water with bouillon)
- 2 smoked ham hocks
- ½ lb thick cut bacon, diced into 1" pieces
- 1 lb andouille sausage, sliced (original recipe calls for 2 lbs of sausage and 2 lbs of beans, but you can use less if you want a less meaty or thriftier version)
- 4 cups onions, diced (about 4 medium onions)
- 7 ea bay leaves (one for each jar) (add to jars before processing)
Dry Seasoning Mix
- 2 tbsp dried thyme
- 1 tbsp Cajun seasoning (Tony C's or homemade mix)
- 1 tbsp Old Bay seasoning substitute 2 tsp celery salt
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp ground coriander
- 1 tbsp paprika or smoked paprika (optional)
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
Instructions
Soak the Dried Beans (REQUIRED):
- You must rinse and rehydrate the dry beans before canning. You can either soak them overnight in the fridge or another cool place in a big pot of cold water (covering them by at least 2-4" to leave room for them to expand), then draining and rinsing, or you can do a quick soak. To quick soak, rinse and place the beans in a large pot (at least 12 quarts) and fill with water to cover by at least 2". Bring to a boil over high heat (cover for faster boil, but watch for boil-overs!). Keep at a low boil for 15 minutes, then turn off heat and let the beans soak for one hour before draining.
- While the beans are quick-soaking (or the next morning, if you're doing the long-soak method), you can cook your ham hocks and prep the other ingredients as follows:
Ham Hocks and Broth:
- Place the ham hocks in a pot and cover them with the chicken (or other meat) broth and the dry seasoning mix.
- Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer over medium low heat until they are fork tender (this will take two to four hours without a pressure cooker). You can also cook them in an Instant Pot or pressure cooker if you have one, for a few minutes at high heat to save time with this step.
- Keep the broth hot. Remove the ham hocks to a plate to cool enough to handle, then separate out the bits of smoked meat and soft skin from the bone and gristle. You can discard the bone and bits of tendon (or add them to your freezer stock collection, if you want to make a smoked stock).
- Dice the meat and skin and reserve to add to your beans.
Cajun Red Beans and Sausage Prep:
- While the ham hocks are cooking, peel and dice your onions, dice the bacon and slice the andouille sausages.
- Heat a large cast-iron or other heavy saute pan over medium-high heat. Cook the diced bacon first, stirring frequently until most of the fat has rendered and the bacon is soft.
- Drain and rinse the beans, and transfer them to a large stockpot. Using a slotted spoon or spatula, transfer the cooked bacon, and the diced ham hock to the pot.
- Add the sliced andouille sausages to the pan with the bacon fat, and continue to stir and flip them until they're lightly browned all over. Remove these from the pan with a slotted spatula or spoon. Add the sausage to the pot with the beans.
- Add the onions to the saute pan with the bacon fat. Stir frequently, scraping the bottom of the pan to deglaze all the fond and flavor from the sausage and bacon. Saute the onions over medium heat until they're a light golden brown.
- If you haven't done so already, drain and rinse the soaked beans and return them to the big pot. Add the cooked bacon, sausage, chopped ham hock bits, and the browned onion & seasonings to the pot, along with about a third to half of the hot stock.
- Reheat the beans and meat mixture, stirring frequently and topping up with additional stock if the pan is dry or in danger or scorching. Keep the pot of seasoned stock at a low simmer.
Pressure-Canning Instructions:
- Wash and preheat your jars, and get your lids and rings ready. Fill your pressure canner with the recommended amount of water (check your canner manual, but at least several inches for this long processing time) and preheat it.
- Using a jar funnel, fill your quart or pint jars no more than 3/4 full with the bean and meat mixture. Don't overfill the jars, as they'll soak up liquid and expand during processing. Overfilling the jars will not give you enough liquid to properly cook the beans or to reach a safe processing temperature in the center of the jars.
- Top the jars up with the remaining hot stock, dividing evenly among the jars and leaving a 1" headspace (after debubbling). If you need additional liquid, you can use boiling water or more stock. It's better to have too much liquid with the proper headspace in the jars than not enough.
- Wipe the jar rims and top with new canning lids (or properly prepared reusable lids). Tighten the rings finger-tight.
- Place the hot jars in the preheated canner and seal the lid. Heat on medium heat. Vent the canner for 10 minutes once it starts steaming, then add the weight and bring the canner up to pressure over medium low heat.
- Process at 10 lbs of pressure (weighted canner) or 11 lbs (dial gauge). Adjust as needed for your altitude over 1000 sf. Process for a full 75 minutes for pints, or 90 minutes for quarts or mixed batches of pints and quarts.
- Turn off the heat after the processing time is up. Let the canner rest undisturbed until the pressure returns to zero- do not remove the weight early to vent the steam faster. As soon as the pressure releases, remove the jars and place them on a towel or cooling rack. Cover with a towel if there are cold drafts.
- Leave undisturbed overnight or for at least 8 hours. Check for seals, remove rings, and wash the jars with soapy water. Label jars and store in a cool, dark place.
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