Chef Remy
Alligator Sauce Piquante
Chunks of tender gator swimming in a brick-red tomato sauce with enough heat to make you reach for your sweet tea, spooned over rice the way the old Cajun trappers ate it after a long day on the bayou.
Culinary Explorer
A cooking platform built around craft, culture, and the stories behind what we eat.
Butter Bean Stew with Tasso
Created by Chef Remy
Humble butter beans transformed by smoky tasso ham, the holy trinity, and patient simmering into a velvety stew that warms you from the inside out, the kind of bowl that makes you want seconds before you've finished firsts.
Soups & Stews
Cajun
Comfort Food
Make Ahead
Budget Friendly
20 min
Active Time
2 hr 30 min cook•2 hr 50 min total
Yield8 servings
Butter beans taught me patience. You can't rush them. They need time to turn from hard little pebbles into something creamy and luxurious, absorbing all the smoky goodness from the tasso along the way. That's the bayou way.
My grandmother Evangeline made this stew every winter when the cold wind came off the water. She'd start it in the morning and let it bubble away while she went about her day. By supper, those beans had become something magical: tender enough to melt on your tongue but still holding their shape, swimming in a broth that tasted like someone had been cooking all week instead of all day.
The secret is the tasso. If you've never had it, tasso is pork shoulder that's been rubbed with spices, smoked until it's almost jerky-like, and packed with more flavor than any ham has a right to possess. A little goes a long way. The fat renders into the stew, the meat falls apart, and suddenly your humble beans taste like something you'd pay good money for at a restaurant. At Lagniappe, we serve this stew with crusty French bread for sopping up every last drop. Nobody leaves a clean bowl behind.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
dried butter beans (large lima beans)
Quantity
1 pound
tasso ham
Quantity
8 ounces
diced into 1/2-inch cubes
vegetable oil or bacon fat
Quantity
2 tablespoons
yellow onion
Quantity
1 large
diced
celery stalks
Quantity
2
diced
green bell pepper
Quantity
1
diced
garlic
Quantity
4 cloves
minced
chicken stock
Quantity
8 cups
bay leaves
Quantity
2
fresh thyme
Quantity
4 sprigs
Cajun seasoning
Quantity
1 teaspoon, plus more to taste
smoked paprika
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
cayenne pepper
Quantity
1/4 teaspoon, or to taste
kosher salt
Quantity
to taste
black pepper
Quantity
to taste
freshly cracked
green onions
Quantity
4
sliced thin, whites and greens separated
fresh parsley
Quantity
2 tablespoons
chopped
hot sauce (optional)
Quantity
for serving
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| dried butter beans (large lima beans) | 1 pound |
| tasso hamdiced into 1/2-inch cubes | 8 ounces |
| vegetable oil or bacon fat | 2 tablespoons |
| yellow oniondiced | 1 large |
| celery stalksdiced | 2 |
| green bell pepperdiced | 1 |
| garlicminced | 4 cloves |
| chicken stock | 8 cups |
| bay leaves | 2 |
| fresh thyme | 4 sprigs |
| Cajun seasoning | 1 teaspoon, plus more to taste |
| smoked paprika | 1/2 teaspoon |
| cayenne pepper | 1/4 teaspoon, or to taste |
| kosher salt | to taste |
| black pepperfreshly cracked | to taste |
| green onionssliced thin, whites and greens separated | 4 |
| fresh parsleychopped | 2 tablespoons |
| hot sauce (optional) | for serving |
Equipment Needed
- •Large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot (6-quart minimum)
- •Wooden spoon
- •Slotted spoon
Instructions
- 1
Soak the beans
Sort through your butter beans, picking out any stones or shriveled beans. Rinse them well and place in a large bowl. Cover with cold water by at least three inches and let them soak overnight, or for at least eight hours. The beans will double in size, so use more water than you think you need. Drain and rinse before cooking.
If you're short on time, cover the beans with water, bring to a boil for two minutes, then remove from heat and let sit covered for one hour. It's not quite as good as overnight, but it works. - 2
Render the tasso
Heat a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add the oil and let it shimmer. Toss in the tasso cubes and cook, stirring occasionally, until the edges get golden and the fat starts to render out, about five to seven minutes. The kitchen will smell incredible. That's the tasso doing its job. Remove the tasso with a slotted spoon and set it aside, but leave every drop of that rendered fat in the pot.
- 3
Build the trinity foundation
Add the onion, celery, and bell pepper to the pot. This is your holy trinity, the foundation of nearly every Cajun dish worth eating. Season with a pinch of salt to help draw out moisture. Cook, stirring often, until the vegetables soften and the onions turn translucent, about eight to ten minutes. The edges should just start to turn golden. Add the white parts of the green onions and the garlic. Stir constantly for sixty seconds until fragrant. Don't let the garlic brown or it turns bitter.
The trinity should be roughly equal parts. Cut everything to about the same size so it cooks evenly. - 4
Season and add liquids
Sprinkle the Cajun seasoning, smoked paprika, and cayenne over the vegetables. Stir to coat and let the spices bloom in the fat for about thirty seconds. You'll smell them wake up. Add the drained butter beans, chicken stock, bay leaves, and thyme sprigs. Stir everything together, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Those bits are pure flavor.
- 5
Simmer low and slow
Bring the pot to a boil, then reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer. You want lazy bubbles rising to the surface, not a rolling boil. Cover the pot with the lid slightly ajar to let steam escape. Simmer for one and a half to two hours, stirring occasionally, until the beans are completely tender and some have started to break down and thicken the broth. Add the rendered tasso back to the pot during the last thirty minutes of cooking.
If the stew gets too thick before the beans are tender, add more stock a half cup at a time. If it's too thin when the beans are done, remove the lid and simmer until it reaches your desired consistency. - 6
Adjust and finish
Remove the bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Taste the stew. This is the most important step. The tasso brings salt and spice, so you may need less than you think, or you may need more. Adjust with salt, pepper, and additional Cajun seasoning until the flavors sing. The broth should be creamy from the broken-down beans, rich from the tasso fat, and have a gentle heat that builds as you eat.
If you want a thicker, creamier stew, mash about a cup of beans against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon and stir them back in. - 7
Serve with garnishes
Ladle generous portions into deep bowls. Scatter the green onion tops and fresh parsley over each serving. Set the hot sauce on the table for those who want more heat. Serve with crusty French bread or over steaming white rice. When the last bite is as good as the first, you've done it right.
Chef Tips
- •Tasso can be hard to find outside Louisiana. Look for it at specialty grocery stores, Cajun markets, or online. If you absolutely can't find it, substitute with a mix of smoked ham hocks and andouille sausage, but know that it won't be quite the same. Tasso is special.
- •Don't skip the soaking step. Unsoaked beans take forever to cook and never get as creamy. I've seen cooks try to rush this and end up with beans that are still chalky in the middle after three hours of simmering.
- •This stew is even better the next day after the flavors have had time to marry. Make a big batch on Sunday and eat well all week. At Lagniappe, we always say the third day is the best day for bean stew.
- •Freeze portions in quart containers for up to three months. When that cold weather hits and you don't feel like cooking, you'll thank yourself.
Advance Preparation
- •Beans can be soaked up to 24 hours in advance and stored, drained, in the refrigerator.
- •The complete stew keeps refrigerated for up to five days and freezes beautifully for three months.
- •Reheat gently over medium-low heat, adding a splash of stock if the stew has thickened too much overnight.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 370g)
Calories
335 calories
Total Fat
7 g
Saturated Fat
2 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
5 g
Cholesterol
15 mg
Sodium
1300 mg
Total Carbohydrates
39 g
Dietary Fiber
12 g
Sugars
3 g
Protein
20 g
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