Canning Cajun Red Beans & Sausage

5 from 1 vote

Canning Cajun Red Beans & Sausage

Cajun red beans (or Louisiana Red Beans) are a flavorful dish with classic creole flavors. Canning the beans means you can have a quick weeknight meal, just add cooked rice!

Prep Time15

Cook Time30

Canning Time1 30

Total Time2 15

Author: Ashley Adamant

Ingredients

2 lbs dried red beans pre-soaked
6 cups 1.4 L water
6 cups 1.4 L chicken broth
4 cups 650 g onions, finely chopped
2 cups 225 g bell peppers, chopped
2 tbsp 35 g canning salt
3 tbsp 36 g Cajun seasoning (see notes)
2 tbsp 15 g garlic powder
7 bay leaves one per quart jar
2 lbs cased sausage smoked or cooked, sliced, such as Andouille sausage (optional)
1 lb bacon thick cut (optional)

Instructions

Prepare the pressure canner according to the manufacturers instructions. Also prepare jars, lids and rings.
Drain the water from your soaked beans, then place them in a stockpot with 6 cups water and 6 cups chicken broth. Bring to a steady boil over high heat, then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. (Start another kettle of water simmering right before you begin ladling everything into jars, as sometimes you need more boiling water to top off the jars.)
While the beans are cooking, chop the onions and peppers. Add all the chopped vegetables to the pot, along with the seasonings (all but the bay leaves).
Slice the sausage, and chop the bacon into small pieces. Brown both on the stove over medium heat, and then add them to the cooking bean pot.
After 30 minutes total cook time, remove the beans from the heat and ladle into hot jars. (The beans and veggies should cook for a minimum of 5 minutes.) Be sure to divide all the solids evenly between the jars. They'll only be about 3/4 full.
Add 1 bay leaf to each quart jar, and 1/2 leaf to each pint.
Top off each jar with the liquid you used to boil the beans, adding more boiling water if necessary. Leave 1" of headspace.
De-bubble jars and re-adjust headspace if necessary.
Wipe the rims of the jars with a damp cloth to clean. Put the lids and rings on the jar, tightening them until they are fingertip-tight.
Load the jars into the pressure canner and process at 10 lbs pressure for 75 minutes for pints, 90 minutes for quarts.
After the time has elapsed, allow the canner to depressurize naturally. Remove the jars and allow them to cool for 12 hours. Store in a cool, dark place for up to one year.

Notes

This is a pressure canning recipe and it cannot be done in a water bath canner. If you're not familiar with pressure canning, please read my beginner's guide to pressure canning before you start.

Ingredients Notes

Generally, canning recipes should be followed exactly to ensure safe processing. However, there are some small changes you can make to a recipe that still follow the guidelines from the National Center for Food Preservation.

Broth/Water

You can use all broth or all water in this recipe, or a combination of the two. A simple chicken broth works well, but a ham hock broth or pork broth works even better.

Vegetable stock will help make this a vegetarian recipe, provided you omit the added meats as well.

Beans

The beans need to soak overnight in plenty of water before you begin cooking this recipe. If you forget to soak the beans, you can use the quick soak method.

To do that, place the beans in plenty of water and bring them to a boil in a pot on the stove. Boil 1 minute, then turn off the heat and leave them standing in the hot water for an hour.
Drain, and proceed with the recipe using the drained "quick soaked" beans in place of overnight beans.

Vegetables

The veggies in this recipe are onions and peppers. Both are optional, and you don't have to add them. You will need a bit more liquid to fully fill the jars, but just add boiling water.

If you do choose to add them, don't use more than the recipe specifies.
For onions, the recipe calls for 4 cups chopped, which is about 1 1/2 pounds onions as purchased.

For peppers, you may use any type of pepper, hot or sweet. You can also substitute canned peppers in place of fresh. If using bell peppers, you'll need about 2 to 3 medium bell peppers to make 2 cups chopped.

Spices

You're allowed to change the amount, type and quantites of dry spices in canning recipes without affecting canning safety. Use whatever spices you choose, provided they're dry spices.

This recipe calls for "Cajun Seasoning" or "Creole Seasoning" which may be hard to find.

To make 3 Tablespoons of Cajun Seasoning, use the following:

2 tsp Oregano, dried
2 tsp Thyme, dried
2 tsp White Pepper, ground
1 tsp Black Pepper
1 tsp Garlic powder
1 to 3 tsp Cayenne (optional, adjust to you heat level)

Andouille Sausage

Generally, you're not allowed to use cured meats (ham, bacon, etc) in canning recipes, except where they'd been specifically tested. The cured andouille sausage and cured bacon in this recipe were tested by ball canning. They're optional, and you can make this as a vegetarian canning recipe.

If you do choose to use the meats, do not increase the quantities, and be sure to slice them as directed (rather than putting in large chunks).

Altitude Adjustments

Canning time remains the same regardless of altitude, however, the processing pressure increases as altitude increase.

Use the following table to determine the correct processing pressure if you’re above 1,000 feet in elevation.

For dial gauge pressure canners:

0 to 2,000 feet in elevation – 11 lbs pressure
2,001 to 4,000 feet in elevation – 12 lbs pressure
4,001 to 6,000 feet in elevation – 13 lbs pressure
6,001 to 8,000 feet in elevation – 14 lbs pressure

For weighted gauge pressure canners:

0 to 1,000 feet in elevation – 10 lbs pressure
Above 1,000 feet – 15 lbs pressure