A Pot of Red Beans, Smoked Ham Hocks, and Rice From the Singer’s Own Recipe Page
Red beans and rice is a dish built on patience. A pound of dried beans, three or four smoked ham hocks, and a low flame do almost all of the work. This version ran on a vintage celebrity recipe page under the name of Nat King Cole, printed beside a portrait of the singer.
It is a plain, confident recipe. No spice blend, no shortcuts. Onion, garlic, two red pepper pods, and smoked pork carry the whole pot. And it ends the way a lot of heritage recipes end, by telling you what belongs beside it: rice, and cornbread.
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried red beans
- 1 small onion, chopped or sliced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 dried red pepper pods, cut up
- Water, to cover
- 3 to 4 smoked ham hocks
- Cooked rice, for serving
Makes: 6 to 8 servings
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Soak the beans overnight in water to cover.
- In the morning, cook the beans in their soaking water, adding more water if needed to keep them covered. Add the chopped onion, minced garlic, and the cut-up pepper pods.
- Set the pot over low heat and cook until the beans are barely soft.
- Add the smoked ham hocks and continue cooking until the meat pulls easily off the bones. Total cooking time runs about 3 to 4 hours.
- Pull the hocks, shred the meat off the bone, and stir it back into the pot.
- Serve over cooked rice, with cornbread on the side.
Pro Tips & Suggestions
- Do not pour off the soaking water. The original recipe cooks the beans in it, and it carries starch that thickens the pot as it goes.
- Salt at the end. The hocks bring their own, and salting early can keep the beans from softening.
- Two pepper pods is real heat. Fish them out once the pot tastes right to you.
- For a creamier pot, mash a cup of the cooked beans against the side of the pan and stir them back in.
- Make it the day before. Red beans are better on day two, which is the whole argument for cooking the full pound.
About the Creator
Nat King Cole was born Nathaniel Adams Coles in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1919 and raised in Chicago, where his father preached and his mother played the church organ. He built the King Cole Trio into one of the most successful acts of the 1940s, then crossed over as a singer with “Nature Boy,” “Mona Lisa,” and “Unforgettable.”
In 1956 he became the first Black American to host a variety show on a national network. The Nat King Cole Show ran on NBC for more than a year without ever landing a national sponsor. He died in 1965 at 45.
Red beans and rice carries its own history alongside his. In New Orleans it was the Monday dish, built on the ham bone left from Sunday dinner and left to simmer while the wash got done. Louis Armstrong loved it enough to sign his letters “Red beans and ricely yours.”
Where to Find This Recipe
This recipe was retyped from a vintage celebrity recipe page that prints it beside a portrait of Nat King Cole. The original publication has not yet been confirmed, and Black Foodie Finder is still tracing it through the Ebony and Jet archives.
The clipping surfaced through the vintage recipe archive kept by @therealblackhistorian.