Redneck Prairie Belt Sausage Rice

Steamy, tasty, Prairie Belt Rice

I love one-pot rice dishes, and this has become one of my favorites.  Yes, yes it's about as "low-brow cracker" as you can get.  I'll talk you through this great dish but first let's talk about sausages.

I love sausages of all types, smoked, breakfast, cured, link, pattiy, deer, and whole hog, just to name a few.  One of the bastard cousins of the sausage/hotdog family is the lowly Vienna  Sausage.  The Vienna sausage is not much different in make-up as the hot dog or frankfurter.  Actually in Europe, according to Wikipedia, the Vienna sausage is the length of a hot dog and a bit thinner.

Here in America my Dad and I used to take them with us when we went fishing or hunting.  They have a long shelf life and are very portable.  Daddy pronounced them "Vye-Eena" sausage, or "Vye-Eenie Weenies", as do alot of people in the South.

My favorite

A friend told me her Mom, or someone in her family, made a rice dish with these type of sausages.  The brand she could not remember, but is had a red, blue, and yellow can with a creepy lookin' kid on the label.  I tracked it down and discovered Prairie Belt Smoked Sausage.  These are the best of these type sausages I have had, and they make an excellent rice dish.  I believe Dollar General store carries them at all locations.  You can also use Armour or Libby's Vienna Sausages in a pinch.

No, be prepares for some possible ridicule if you bring these to a dinner party.  They are, however, a great accomp, accom, accompn... side dish for chili.  So, put your Billy Bob teeth in, don your fake mullet, and get that neck all reddened up and let's make Prairie Belt Rice.

2 5-oz cans of Prairie Belt Smoked Sausages
1 cup rice
2 cups water
1/4 tsp salt, pepper, and Tony Chachere's
1/2 tsp dried parsley (optional)

Empty the cans of sausage into a sauce pan on MED/HI, one that has a lid that you can also transfer to the oven (no plastic handles).  Using a wooden spoon, roughly mash up the sausages into bite-size morsels and pieces.  Give them a good mash, this helps flavor the rice later.

With Mustard on it... Mmmm, Hmmm.

Make sure you dump the gelatinous stock in with the sausages.  Bring this little bit of stock up to temp and pour in the two cups of water.  Add your seasonings and bring to a boil and hold for 5 minutes.  Now stir in the rice and let it cook on high, stirring often to prevent sticking or clumping.  Let the rice go for 5 minutes, then cover with a lid and turn down to MED to MED/LO (about 3 or 4).  Now you'll cook the rice covered for about 10 minutes, stirring about every 5 minutes.

The rice should now have absorbed the stock and water.  Give it one more good stir, put the lid back on, and place in a 300° oven for 15 mins.

Once finished cooking, fluff the rice with a fork and let it steam for about 5 minutes with the lid on.  Serve and enjoy.  For an added touch, try a little yellow mustard on it, Oh Law is that ever good.