Redneck Fried Rice!

  

   

Fried rice is definitely not a southern dish, but it almost should be or in this case could be.  I mean it's rice, it involves butter and oil and frying and it has eggs.  Doesn't that almost seem southern?   

This version even goes a step further and includes not only pork but bacon grease...lol, which is why it got it's name.    When I first made the rice, I sent some to my son and a friend of his.  When I asked what they thought of it, they said they liked it. 

 My son, who has taste buds that Gordon Ramsey would be amazed by, asked if the ham in it was country ham.  I told him it was just baked ham diced up small.  He said there was another meat flavor in there, other than ham.  

Then it dawned on me that I had sauteed the ham in bacon drippings.  He picked that right out and said that was the flavor that really made it good.  Of course, bacon grease makes anything better...lol.  I said, 'it's sort of the redneck's fried rice' and it just stuck.  

This recipe is very versatile, you can add a few peas, small diced carrots or chopped mushrooms if you like.  If you don't have bacon drippings on hand (obviously I always do...lol) you can fry 4-5 pieces of bacon until crisp and use the drippings to saute your ham.  Sprinkle the crumbled bacon over the rice before serving.  

 Here is what you will need for the basic recipe:

2 cups rice (cook it according to package directions and for best results chill it before frying)

1 cup ham diced small

1/2 cup sliced green onion, including some of the green blades

1 Tbs. minced garlic

1 Tbs. bacon drippings

2 Tbs. butter

1 Tbs. Canola or vegetable oil

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. ginger

1 Tbs. sesame seeds

dash of black pepper

dash of seasoned salt

2 Tbs. soy sauce

2 Tbs. Teriyaki sauce

2 eggs

Using a wok or deep frying pan, saute the ham in the bacon drippings.  Make sure your ham is diced small so that it cooks up with the rice and blends well.  

Add 1 Tbs. oil and 1 Tbs. butter to the pan. Add the rice, the green onions and minced garlic. Sprinkle all of the seasonings, sesame seeds and the soy and teriyaki sauce over all.  Continue to turn and fry in the pan.

Make a well in the center of the rice and add the other tablespoon of butter to it.  Crack the eggs in the center and scramble.  When the eggs start to set, begin to mix them in with the rice. This should be cooked on fairly high heat without scorching it.  If you need more oil add a little more canola or vegetable oil.  

  

Take your spatula and sort of press down on the rice and let it get a little crispy on one side, then flip it and do it the same on the other side.  I have spent a lot of time in Japanese hibachi places studying this technique..lol.  That's it!  You now have 'Redneck Fried Rice'!