Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons bacon drippings
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 1 cup diced celery (inner leaves included)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons (plus one teaspoon) kosher salt, or more to taste
- 2 cups canned organic whole plum tomatoes (with their juice), chopped
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons vinegar or cider vinegar (if you use cider vinegar, add a pinch of red pepper flakes)
- 1 ¼ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
- ¾ teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 dried chiles d'arbol, chopped, or pinch of red pepper flakes
- 2 cups raw Carolina Gold long-grain rice
- ½ pound andouille or chorizo sausage, grilled and sliced
- 1 pound shrimp, ½-inch thick, preferably fresh, peeled, deveined, and cut into bite-sized pieces
Directions
- Heat 2 tablespoons each of the bacon drippings and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat until foamy. Add the onion, celery, garlic, and 1 tablespoon of the salt and cook, stirring, until the onion and garlic are tender. Add the tomatoes, stock, vinegar, another tablespoon of the salt, 1 teaspoon of the pepper, the thyme, bay leaves, and chiles and simmer for 15-20 minutes, tasting for seasoning.
- Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons bacon drippings and 2 tablespoons of the butter together in a large cast iron skillet over medium heat until foamy. Add the rice and cook, stirring frequently, until it is opaque, 5-6 minutes. This step is very important to the final flavor of the dish, so don’t stint on the time but also don’t let the rice burn.
- Add 4 cups of the tomato mixture to the rice, stir to combine, and cover. Set a timer and cook the rice for 25 minutes over very low heat. DO NOT LIFT THE LID. After 25 minutes, turn off the heat and let the rice sit for 5 more minutes. AGAIN, DO NOT LIFT THE LID. In the meantime, add the sausage to the remaining tomato mixture in the saucepan, cover, and keep warm over very low heat.
- While the rice is sitting, melt the remaining 1 tablespoon butter in a medium sauté pan over medium-high heat until foamy. Add the shrimp and cook, stirring, until just cooked through; add the remaining 1 teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Add the shrimp to the sausage and tomato mixture and stir to combine.
- Pour the shrimp and sausage mixture over the rice. Gently fluff the rice (you don’t want to break the grains) to combine. Serve immediately.