Fully cooked smoked sausage is the starting point here, which makes this a two-and-a-half-hour recipe rather than a five-hour one. The only thing that really needs cooking is the rice.
A 14.5-ounce can of diced tomatoes goes in with its juices, and that is where the tomato tint comes from. It is a tint rather than a sauce — the rice should read as tomato-coloured, not as a tomato rice.
Why This Recipe Works
- Browning the sausage first gives the coins their colour and renders a little fat into the pot.
- Converted rice holds its grain structure over two and a half hours on High where ordinary long-grain would not.
- Two and a half cups of broth plus the tomato juices is the total liquid the rice is measured against.
- Smoked paprika reinforces the sausage rather than competing with it.
Ingredient Notes
- Smoked sausage
- Fourteen ounces, fully cooked, sliced into coins. Fully cooked is specified — this is not a raw sausage recipe.
- Converted long-grain white rice
- A cup and a half, rinsed. Converted specifically, for slow-cooker stability.
- Diced tomatoes
- One 14.5-ounce can with its juices. The juices count toward the liquid the rice cooks in.
How to Make It
Brown the coins
Brown the sausage coins in the oil and transfer them to the slow cooker.
Add the rice and liquid
Stir in the rice, diced tomatoes, broth, smoked paprika, garlic powder and salt.
Cook on High
Cover and cook on High for about 2 to 2 1/2 hours, until the rice is tender.
Cheddar in two parts
Stir in 1 cup cheddar and scatter the remaining 1/2 cup over the top. Cover 10 minutes until melted, then finish with parsley.
Where This One Can Go Wrong
There are only four steps, and three of them have a point where the finished dish is decided.
In the skillet
The coins have browned edges before they leave the pan
The sausage is already fully cooked, so this step exists only for colour - and the cooker will not add any.
Before the lid goes on
The rice is converted long-grain and rinsed, and the tomato juices went in with the tomatoes
Those juices are part of the 2 1/2 cups of liquid the rice is measured against. Draining the can leaves the rice short.
At 2 to 2 1/2 hours on HIGH
The rice is tender and the liquid absorbed
This is the end of the cook. Past it the grains soften and the tomato tint turns to mush.
The last 10 minutes
1 cup of cheddar stirred through, 1/2 cup scattered on top, lid on and left alone
Stirring the top half in as well would leave no visible melted cheese layer.
Success Tips
- Slice the coins evenly so they brown at the same rate.
- Rinse the rice before it goes in, or the finished dish will be sticky rather than tender.
- Let the top layer of cheddar melt under the lid for the full ten minutes rather than stirring it through.
Serving Ideas
Six servings with the browned sausage coins visible through the tomato-tinted rice, finished with parsley.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use raw sausage?
The recipe calls for fully cooked smoked sausage, which is why the cook is only two to two and a half hours.
Does it have to be converted rice?
Yes. Ordinary long-grain breaks down over a High slow-cooker cook.
Should it be a tomato sauce?
No. The rice is tomato-tinted rather than sauced, and the sausage coins stay visible.
