Red beans and rice is a definitive dish from New Orleans, and is traditionally eaten in the Big Easy on Mondays. The legend goes that Mondays were usually reserved as a laundry day in New Orleans, and in the era before washing machines, this was a labor-intensive process. Laundry took a tremendous amount of time to complete, but doing laundry didn’t mean you could neglect dinner. Frugal, time-prudent cooks would take the hambone from their Sunday dinners and put it to simmer in a pot of water with red beans, peppers, onions, celery, and some spices. This dish could cook all day with little tending and result in a relatively hassle-free, hearty dinner. And thus, the tradition was born.
Rinse and sort beans to make sure they are free of field debris.
Turn on the Sauté function on your Instant Pot, and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to pot. Add diced sausage, and sauté for about 5 minutes or until browned. Remove sausage to a plate lined with a towel to absorb some of the grease.
Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to Instant Pot, along with the chopped onions, and cook until the onions turn soft and clear.
Add the cooked sausage back to pot, along with the beans, water, and Red Beans and Rice Seasoning and stir to mix in the seasoning.
Turn off the Sauté mode. Put the lid on, twist to lock it, and turn the valve to sealing. Press the Manual button and set to 40 minutes at high pressure.
When the timer runs out and beeps, allow the pressure to release naturally for 20 minutes. Then, turn the valve to venting to release what ever pressure is left.
OPTIONAL: Use a spoon or potato masher to mash beans to your desired consistency.
