Cheesy Rice Grits With Bacon and Chiles

Name: Cheesy Rice Grits With Bacon and Chiles
Yield: Serves 6 to 8
Ingredients: 2 cups long-grain white rice; 2 cups heavy cream; 2 cups low-sodium chicken stock; 2 cups water; 1 bay leaf; ½ tsp. kosher salt (preferably Diamond Crystal), or more to taste; ½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper, or more to taste; 1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese (about 3 ounces; see Note); 1 bunch chives, finely sliced, for garnish; 8 to 10 bacon slices, cooked until crisp and crumbled, for garnish; 1 jalapeño, halved, seeded, and thinly sliced, for garnish

By JJ Johnson

September 11, 2023

Cheesy rice grits on a plate with sliced chiles.

Photo by Beatriz Da Costa

In many parts of Africa and Asia, fragments of uncooked rice are called broken rice, and these were traditionally considered the rejects of the milling process and sold cheaply to the poor. Now broken rice is an ingredient in many popular dishes like cơm tấm, a street food in Vietnam, and thieboudienne in Senegal. In the American South, broken rice is often known as middlins, or rice grits. You can make your own broken rice in a blender or food processor, as directed below; just be sure not to overgrind the grains.

This recipe was excerpted from 'The Simple Art of Rice' by JJ Johnson with Danica Novgorodoff. Buy the full book on Amazon.