Carolina Gold
intro
Buttery, nutty heirloom Carolina Gold rice cooked with smoky bacon, aromatics, and rich chicken stock—an iconic Lowcountry side with light, fluffy, separate grains.
Ingredients
Steps
Rinse and drain rice
Place 200g uncooked Carolina Gold rice in a fine-mesh sieve, rinse under cold running water for 2 minutes until the water runs completely clear with no cloudiness. Drain well, then set the sieve over a bowl to air-dry for 10 minutes to remove excess surface starch, which ensures fluffy, separate cooked grains.
Render smoky bacon
Heat a heavy-bottomed 3-quart Dutch oven over medium heat (350°F/175°C burner setting). Add the chopped 113g thick-cut bacon, cook for 6-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until all fat is rendered and bacon is crisp and deep golden brown. Use a slotted spoon to transfer cooked bacon to a small paper-towel lined plate, leaving all rendered bacon fat in the pot.
Sauté aromatic vegetables
Add 14g unsalted butter to the remaining bacon fat in the Dutch oven, keeping heat at medium. Toss in the diced 100g yellow onion and 50g diced celery, cook for 4 minutes, stirring often, until vegetables are soft and translucent. Add 6g minced garlic, cook for 30 seconds more until fragrant, taking care not to burn the garlic which will turn bitter.
Toast rice for nuttiness
Add the drained, air-dried Carolina Gold rice to the pot with the sautéed aromatics. Stir continuously for 2 minutes over medium heat, until the edges of the rice grains turn slightly translucent and give off a warm, nutty, toasty aroma, coating every grain in fat to prevent sticking.
Simmer rice covered
Pour in 480ml low-sodium chicken stock, add 1 whole dried bay leaf, 3g kosher salt, and 0.5g black pepper, stirring once to combine. Bring the liquid to a rolling boil, then immediately reduce heat to the lowest setting (180°F/82°C burner setting), cover the pot tightly with a lid, and cook undisturbed for 18 minutes—do not lift the lid during this time to keep steam trapped for even cooking.
Rest and fluff rice
After 18 minutes of cooking, turn off the heat, leave the lid on, and let the rice rest for 10 minutes to absorb any remaining surface moisture. Remove the lid, discard the bay leaf, fluff the rice gently with a fork, fold in the reserved crisp bacon and 6g chopped fresh parsley, taste and adjust salt if needed before serving.
Tips
2.Resist the urge to lift the pot lid while the rice simmers: escaping steam drops the pot’s internal temperature, leading to unevenly cooked, mushy or underdone rice.
3.For the most authentic flavor and texture, seek out true heirloom Carolina Gold rice rather than standard long-grain white rice; its distinct nutty, buttery taste cannot be replicated with regular rice varieties.
OMG this was SO good! I made this for our Sunday family dinner to go with my smoked pork chops, and even my super picky 7-year-old asked for seconds. The nutty, buttery flavor of the Carolina Gold rice is such a game changer compared to regular long grain — I’m definitely bringing a big batch to our neighborhood potluck next weekend! It was so easy too, I didn’t have to stress about slaving over the stove for hours, total win.
Perfect easy weeknight staple! I cooked up a double batch on Sunday for my work lunches this week, paired it with grilled chicken and roasted broccoli, and it’s held up perfectly in the fridge all week. I was worried rice pilaf would get mushy when microwaved at the office, but the Carolina Gold stays nice and fluffy even after reheating — zero sad, soggy texture, 10/10. Only tiny tweak: I cut the butter by about a tablespoon to lighten it up a little and it still tasted incredible.
Total newbie cook here — up until last week I’ve only ever made those microwave rice pouches, so I was low-key terrified to mess up a from-scratch pilaf. But this recipe was so easy to follow! No weird fancy ingredients, 40 minutes start to finish, and it came out so good. I accidentally over-salted mine a tiny bit (total user error, not the recipe’s fault) but even then, my roommate thought I picked it up from that fancy Southern fusion spot downtown lmao. Ditching the microwave rice for good now, this is my new go-to side.