Low Country Red Rice

This is a popular dish in the SC low country. This is my version which does not require the use of a special rice steamer, which is hard to find outside of the Charleston, SC area. Be sure to use rice which cooks in 20 minutes and not regular rice.

• Ready In: 45 mins
• Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 6  slices bacon, cut up into 1 inch pieces
• 1  small onion, chopped
• 1  teaspoon black pepper
• 1 1⁄2 cups tomato juice or 1 1⁄2 cups  v 8  vegetable juice, if you wish
• 1  teaspoon salt
• 1  cup long grain rice, preferably Uncle Ben's
• 1⁄2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce

Directions

1. Fry the bacon pieces until they are crisp, then remove the cooked bacon from the frying pan and reserve. In the bacon drippings fry the onion until limp. Add the tomato juice or V8, salt, pepper, and Tabasco sauce and bring up to a boil. Put in the rice and stir until it comes up to a boil again. Cover the pan and turn the heat down to very low. Cook the dish for 20 minutes without disturbing. At the end of this time remove the cover and stir up the contents of the pan. Cover again, remove from heat, and let stand 15 minutes. Add the reserved bacon and serve.