This traditional New Orleans dish is a Crescent City favorite. Historically this was the dish prepared for dinner throughout New Orleans every Monday (which was the city-wide laundry day for many decades). This recipe comes courtesy of Dave Cash.
First, soak beans for at least three hours. Next, drain the soaking water off and put fresh water on. This step is very important.
When you put fresh water in, pour it in so it is about 1.5 cm above the top of the beans. Chop up onion and add it to the mix. Chop up green pepper and add it to the mix. Toss in a bunch of chopped garlic. Chop up celery and add to the mix.
Now you're ready to start cooking. Put the pot on a burner set to low and let the beans start to simmer. Leave the beans simmering for an hour or so. Check back now and then and make sure to stir the beans so they don't burn.
After the beans have started to get mushy, add about two tablespoons of chili powder, two tablespoons of paprika and (if you have it) one tablespoon of Liquid Smoke. Then turn the heat up to medium and stand over the pot to give the beans a good bit of attention. For the next 10-20 minutes, stir the beans almost continuously. This is a very important step. This will give the beans their creamy consistency and will really start to marry the flavors. After the beans get pretty creamy, turn the burner back down to low and let them simmer a while longer, stirring occasionally.
About 15-30 minutes before you are ready to serve them, salt the beans to taste (or add Tony Chachere's). It is very important to wait until the end to add salt because if any salt is added early in the process it will make the beans hard.
If you use a crock pot, just stick the soaked beans with fresh water (along with the veggies, the chili powder and the paprika) in and let them go for 8 to 10 hours. At least an hour before you intend to serve them, spend a good ten minutes stirring them and then add the salt. Let them cook another hour or more, and they're done!
Serves 8-12.
Preparation time: 12 hours.