Recipe: Spicy Red Beans (crockpot) and Rum Baked Beans (vegetarian)

Spicy Red Beans (crockpot) and Rum Baked Beans (vegetarian)
rec.food.veg/Loyd Blakenship (1992)

This is a vegetarian version of the Rum Baked Beans on p. 178 of Justin Wilson's Homegrown Louisiana Cooking. They are, without doubt, the best beans I've ever tasted.

You need to start by cooking 1 lb red or white beans. My recipe for this follows:

Spicy Red Beans

1 lb. red, white and black beans (if you don't have all three, any combo, or no combo at all, works)
1 onion, chopped
2 bay leafs
2 whole jalapeno peppers
2 whole banana peppers
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons parsley
1 tablespoon basil
3 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1 tablespoon gumbo file
1 can beer (dark, preferably)
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco

Dump everything except the onion into a crock pot or large pot, and let sit for 6-24 hours. Add the chopped onion. In a crock pot, set on high and go away. Check every hour and add extra beer, water, vegetable stock, or just about any other liquid (cheap red wine is good) *OTHER* than vinegar to make sure the beans stay covered. Cook until tender (anywhere from 4-8 hours, depending on your crock pot and the phase of the moon). If you're going to be out of the house, put the crock pot on low, and make sure you've got an extra 2-inch of liquid in it (cook 8-10 hours, bringing it to high whenever you get back to the house).

If you're cooking on the stovetop, bring everything to a rapid boil and boil for 20 minutes, covered, adding liquid as necessary (it might not be).

Reduce to simmer, keep covered, and cook 2-5 hours, until tender, making sure that you have adequate liquid.

If you don't like things *spicy*, either don't add the jalapeno and banana peppers, or remove them after an hour or two. If you like 'em hot, chop the peppers up about an hour before serving and continue to cook.

These are great as-is; serve with cornbread and enjoy! I always make 2 lbs, and use half for baked beans (remember baked beans? We're getting to it.).

Rum Baked Beans

1 pound cooked beans (several-day old leftover beans work great!)
6 strips tofu bacon (you can substitute a teaspoon of liquid smoke)
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup catsup
1 tablespoon wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon crushed dried mint
1/2 cup prepared mustard (French's, for instance)
1 tablespoon mustard seed
1/2 cup dark rum
Cayenne & Tabasco to taste (at least 1 tablespoon, IMNSHO)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a large, ovenproof skillet or pot (with lid), fry bacon over medium heat until crispy. Remove the bacon and add the sugar, catsup, vinegar, mint, mustard, mustard seed and rum to the bacon drippings (you don't get a lot of drippings with tofu bacon, I usually throw some liquid smoke and olive oil in instead). Crumble two of the bacon strips into the pan. Drain off excess liquid from the beans, add to the pan with the hot sauce. Strip the remainder of the bacon on top of the beans, cover, and bake for at least 3 hours. At the end of 3 hours, if it is too soupy, uncover and continue cooking until nice and thick.

These are wonderful.