Carolyn Talbot’s Easter buffet is a full-tilt production — baked country ham, fried chicken, yeast rolls, and every side dish imaginable. This red rice holds its own right in the middle of all of it. The grains drink up a deep, smoky-sweet tomato stock built on bacon and shrimp shells, then turn out plump and tender with sausage and sweet shrimp folded through. Mamma would tell you it’s nothing fancy. Mamma is not to be believed.
Serves 8 as a side, or 6 as a main • Makes about 10 cups • About 1 hour 20 minutes
Ingredients for the shrimp stock:
- 2½ c. chicken stock or broth
- 1 lb. large shrimp (21/25 count), in the shell
- 1 tsp. olive oil
Ingredients for the rice:
- 6 strips natural, uncured bacon, cut crosswise into ½-inch pieces
- 8 oz. andouille or other spicy smoked sausage, cut into ½-inch rounds
- 2 tbsp. salted butter
- 1½ c. yellow onion, finely chopped (about 1 large)
- 1 c. celery, finely chopped (about 2 ribs)
- 1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 (14.5 oz.) can crushed tomatoes, or 1¼ c. tomato passata
- 3 tbsp. tomato paste
- 1 tsp. sugar
- 2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp. fresh thyme leaves (or 1 tsp. dried)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1½ tsp. fine sea salt, plus more to taste
- ¾ tsp. freshly cracked black pepper
- Large pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 c. long-grain white rice (Carolina Gold, if you can find it)
Ingredients to finish:
- 1 tbsp. butter, if needed, for the shrimp
- 3 green onions, thinly sliced, for garnish
- 2 tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish
Directions:
- Peel the shrimp and set the shells aside; if there are heads, keep those too — they’re where the flavor lives. Devein the shrimp, cover, and refrigerate until needed. Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, add the shells, and stir until they turn bright pink and smell wonderful, about 1 minute. Pour in the chicken stock and simmer gently until it reduces to about 2 cups, around 30 minutes. Strain, discard the shells, and keep the stock warm. This is the difference between good red rice and the kind people ask you to make every year.
- In a large, heavy Dutch oven over medium heat, cook the bacon until crisp, stirring now and then. Lift it out with a slotted spoon onto a paper-towel-lined plate. Add the sausage rounds to the bacon fat and brown them on both sides, then transfer to the plate with the bacon. Pour off all but about 2 tablespoons of the fat — that rendered fat is your flavor base, so don’t wash it away.
- Add the butter to the pot. When it foams, stir in the onion, celery, and bell pepper. Cook until soft and sweet, about 8 minutes, then add the garlic and cook one minute more, just until fragrant. Stir in the tomato paste and let it cook for a minute to take off the raw edge — it’ll deepen the color and the flavor.
- Add the rice and stir slowly and continuously for about 2 minutes, until every grain is glossy and coated. Don’t rush this step. The coating of fat is what keeps the rice from going mushy and helps it cook up in separate, tender grains.
- Pour in the warm shrimp stock and the crushed tomatoes, then stir in the vinegar, sugar, thyme, bay leaves, salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes. Bring it up to a gentle simmer, stirring to loosen any browned bits stuck to the bottom — that’s pure flavor. Taste the liquid now: it should taste a touch bold and slightly over-salted, because the rice is about to drink all of it in.
- Cover the pot, drop the heat to very low, and let it cook undisturbed for 25 minutes. Resist the urge to peek — lifting the lid lets out the steam the rice needs. Pull the pot off the heat and let it rest, still covered, for 10 minutes while you cook the shrimp.
- Heat the reserved sausage skillet over medium heat. If there’s still fat in the pan, use it; if not, add the tablespoon of butter. When it’s hot, add the shrimp and cook just until they turn opaque and curl, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Don’t overdo them — rubbery shrimp are a sin against the Lowcountry. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
- Uncover the rice and fluff it gently with a fork. The grains should be plump and tender, the liquid mostly absorbed but not bone-dry. Discard the bay leaves. Fold in the browned sausage, half the bacon, and most of the shrimp. Taste and adjust the salt one last time. Pile it into a big platter, scatter the rest of the shrimp and bacon over the top, and shower it with green onions and parsley. Serve it hot, and make sure everybody goes back for seconds.
Mamma’s Notes:
On the rice: Long-grain only — it’s what gives you separate, fluffy grains instead of a sticky clump. Carolina Gold, the heirloom rice that built the Lowcountry, is worth seeking out if you want to do this dish the way it was first done; a good long-grain white rice will treat you right too.
On the bell pepper: Green bell pepper is the traditional choice, and there’s nothing wrong with it. Mamma reaches for red — it’s a little sweeter and a lot prettier on a holiday table, which she’ll tell you matters. Use whichever you like best, or a mix of both for the best of both worlds.
Why the shrimp stock: Steeping the shells in chicken broth takes ten minutes of attention and pays you back a hundredfold. It’s where red rice gets its quiet depth — the kind of flavor folks can’t quite name but always notice.
Taste as you go. The cooking liquid should taste slightly over-seasoned before you cover the pot, because the rice soaks up the salt as it cooks. A little sugar and a splash of vinegar aren’t about making it sweet or sour — they balance the tomatoes and make everything taste more like itself.
Don’t lift the lid. Once the rice goes under cover, leave it be — through both the cooking and the resting. The trapped steam is doing the work. Peeking lets it escape and leaves you with unevenly cooked grains.
Make-ahead: The base through the seasonings (Steps 1 through 5) holds beautifully a day ahead — stop before adding the rice, refrigerate, and pick up where you left off the next day. The finished rice also reheats gently with a splash of stock to loosen it; stir the shrimp in only at the end so they stay tender.
Make it a meal: As written, with the shrimp and sausage, this is hearty enough to be Sunday supper all on its own. For a holiday buffet — the way it shows up on the Talbot Easter table — it stretches to feed a crowd as a side, shoulder to shoulder with the ham and the fried chicken.
Pairs with: Anything off a Lowcountry table — baked country ham, fried chicken, deviled eggs, a basket of biscuits, and a tomato pie. Or a cold glass of sweet tea and a porch, which Carolyn would tell you is its own kind of side dish.
Enjoy!