As a rice lover, I obsess over the different sauteed rice dishes and how they’re related: Risotto, Jambalaya, Paella, Arroz Con Pollo, and now The Ultimate Charleston Red Rice!
Never Have I Ever!
For the past few weeks, I’ve been helping my girlfriend’s family through a difficult challenge. Her father was diagnosed with Lung Cancer and has been on an emotional roller coaster between doctors, midnight hospital visits, and chemotherapy. All of which have taken a toll on the family and, needless to say, on him as well. But he is a strong Southern Gentleman! Raised in South Carolina, he started his own business at 15 and has not stopped since. Becoming one of the most respected Contractors in Miami, FL.
He also loves Charleston Red Rice. A lot!
It was a point of discussion when I first met Alicia’s parents for the first time after they found out I cook. I asked for his favorite dish (currying favor with your girlfriend’s father usually involves food) and his eyes lit up at describing Charleston Red Rice. The sweetness of tomatoes, brown sugar, bacon, and bell peppers. I promised one day to make it.
Last week, his family came over from South Carolina to see him. They asked me to cook a popup for them in the same style I do for our themed events. And Charleston Red Rice was on the menu.
Due to life, and hospital visits, and lots of traveling between Jacksonville and Miami, I never got to eat it. Now, I promised Red Rice to southerners. I’m Cuban, and have never made it.
This got interesting real fast!
What is Red Rice?
Red Rice is a traditional dish from the South, primarily Georgia and South Carolina. Cooked with Tomatoes instead of water to give it sweetness and its characteristic color. Its also know as Savannah Red Rice, Lowcountry Red Rice, Gullah Red Rice, or simply Red Rice with tomato sauce and sausage. It has strong ties to Jambalaya, especially in the addition of sausages, and aromatics like celery, bell peppers, and onions. “Southerners like it sweet” I was told, so brown sugar was also added for a tangy flavor. Once you eat it, the flavor starts at the tip of the tongue, where the sweetest receptors are, then the acidity of the tomatoes kick in and the sides of the tongue ate and carries all the way to the back of the throat, where the aromatics leave a lingering aftertaste that makes you take another bite.
It’s really, oooey gooey, good!
And so we made it!
I treated it as I would a Jambalaya, omitting the spices traditionally found there and replacing them with paprika, brown sugar, white pepper, and thyme. First, render bacon, gets it crispy and all that fat will serve to sautee the onions, bell peppers, and sausages. When I add the rice it gets coated with bacon fat, a little butter helps here too. Toast the rice like you would a risotto, add the crushed tomatoes, and brown sugar. As the water from the tomatoes evaporates, you may need to add some liquid to finish cooking the rice, chicken stock works best here. Fresh parsley (optional) makes a lovely garnish for this dish.
And the best part! The Southerners loved it!! They kept getting extra helpings!!
Paula Deen would be proud!
If you’ve tried this Charleston Red Rice recipe or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how it was in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more delicious food and what I’m getting up to.
Update:
After reading all your awesome comments and catching areas where to improve, we’ve updated the recipe and tweaked it a little bit for ease of use. Thanks for all your comments and let us know how the new (and improved) recipe is working out for you guys!
Happy Sunday!
Maury
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The Ultimate Charleston Red Rice
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 6 1x
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
Charleston Red Rice is the ultimate rice comfort food! Its sweet, has tons of meat! And the aromas from tomatoes and celery can’t be beat! Especially when you add candied bacon!
Ingredients
- 8 oz Bacon chopped
- 2 Onions small diced or shallots (optional)
- 1 cup Celery
- 14.5 oz can of Crushed Tomatoes
- 2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
- Kielbasa cut 1 cm thick
- Fresh Parsley (chopped optional)
- 2 Bell peppers small diced
- 1 tbsp fresh Thyme
- 2 Cup Chicken Stock
- 2 Cups Rice
- 1 Tbsp Paprika (smoked is best)
- 1 Tbsp Butter
Instructions
- In a hot pan, add butter and saute the chopped bacon until the fat is rendered.
- Add sausage, onions, bell peppers, and celery and saute until the onions are translucent.
- Add rice and coat with the bacon oil and butter. Toasting the rice until a nutty aroma is released.
- Add the thyme, Paprika, and the crushed tomatoes.
- Add chicken stock to cover the rice. Bring to a boil, and then simmer on low until liquid is almost gone. Keep adding chicken stock as needed.
- Top with parsley
Notes
It’s also common for people to use ketchup or tomato sauce and sugar in this recipe, for my taste it’s too tangy with the ketchup and it feels somewhat processed (artificial). This version feels more connected to the roots of where Red Rice came from and Low Country Cuisine. For best results, use a can of crushed tomatoes.
- Category: Main
- Method: Rice
- Cuisine: Southern Cuisine
Keywords: Red Rice, Gullah, Charleston Red Rice, Rice Recipes, Rice Ideas,
A little about me
I’m a chef and a former psychologist. I spent years studying how we experience food to make the best eating experiences possible- and I show you how to eat well on this site. I host secret popups in Miami, FL teaching people how to approach good food that’s never been done before.
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You mention butter in instructions but it is not in list of ingredients?
Hey Roy, great catch! Yes you can use a little bit of butter or regular oil in this recipe, for this step they are interchangeable and the final product tastes the same. Happy cooking!
I’ve tried a lot of red rice recipes online, but this one is the best!!! I did use tomato sauce and dried thyme, but it tastes like someone from Charleston made it & it doesn’t come out mushy (mines usually does)
★★★★★
HI Arey, that’s awesome!! Tomato sauce works too, combined with the brown sugar that you add makes the sweet/ tangy flavors that Red Rice is known for. If you know of any other Southern Dishes I should try, send them my way!
Recipe is great, but the wording on it is not great. In the instructions it says fry all of those ingredients, but when I read what you wrote you are saying fry the bacon first and then do everything else. Glad I know how to cook, but could mess someone else up…well if they know what they are doing than they can fix it.
★★★★
Hi John, I love this kind of feedback! Thanks for reaching out. I’ll use your comments to make the recipe better worded, which is so important especially for cooks that aren’t as familiar with techniques and handling ingredients. With your help we’ll make the recipe better. Have a great day and keep cooking!
I’m a little confused, .you started you can you tomato sauce & brown sugar or ketchup by you done list tomato sauce in ingredients, only crushed tomatoes which is a very different thing.
Hi Marjorie! What I mentioned is that on my research of Red Rice, some people used Tomato Sauce, or ketchup, or some other tomato product to make it red. When I developed this recipe, I found that canned crushed tomatoes worked the best. And we used brown sugar for the sweetness. Hope this clears up any confusion!
I definitely use a small amount of brown sugar but, a few dashes of Worcester sauce as well.
I’ve never used Worcester sauce, what flavor does it add?
We are all one people on this continent. Awesome interpretation of my Gullah heritage.
I’m not from the South, but this dish was incredibly comforting & tasty. Loved it!
★★★★★
Thank you so much! I’m so happy you like it!
I tried it. Excellent result!!
★★★★★
As a lifelong Charlestonian, my family always indicated that Charleston red rice was bacon-based – as this one – and Savannah red rice used sausage broth. Your recipe is very good!
★★★★★
Thank you Sallie!
You didn’t say when to add the brown sugar so I just added it while it was all boiling 🤷♂️.
That’s exactly when you’re supposed to add it! Good deal!
I live in charleston, and yes this is how its made, but i prefer it sans the sugar! But hey i drink unsweet tea as well!
Hi Jeffrey! Yeah, removing the sugar highlights other elements. I’ve heard of some relatives in South Carolina using Ketchup instead of Tomato Sauce for the color and flavor but that seemed too processed for my taste. You can definitely omit the brown sugar if desired, you’ll end up with a more savory product all around. Send me some more South Carolina Recipes if you have them! I’d love to experiment with them.