On medium-high heat and in a large pot, add butter, sausage and bay leaves and cook until meat is brown. Add seasoning, garlic and chopped vegetables and cook, scraping the pot bottom well until vegetables are almost tender. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. When it starts to boil, add rice and stir it well, turn the heat to low, cover with a lid and cook for 11 to 12 minutes to absorb the liquid. Remove from heat and let rest for about 10 more minutes before serving.
The rice should just start to be turning soft when you remove it from the heat, so be careful as different brands of rice cook faster or slower then others. The rice will become softer when it sits for the additional 10 minutes. Sometimes you just have to play with it to get it right.
Note:
If you are going to serve a filet of fish over this rice, such as Blacken Red Fish or Grouper, I always add corn and sweet peas to it. To do this, stir the following into the pot about 8 minutes into cooking the rice.
3/4 cup corn (fresh or thawed from a frozen bag)
3\4 cup sweet peas (fresh or thawed from a frozen bag)
This recipe is what we have used for years as either a side dish or part of the main entry and was used in the winning of two World Championships. |