One of America's Favorites - Rice and Gravy

Rice and gravy is a staple of Louisiana Creole and Cajun cuisine and is usually a brown gravy based on pan drippings, which are deglazed and simmered with extra seasonings and served over steamed

or boiled rice.


Rice has been a major agricultural export crop in southwest Louisiana since the late 1800s and has

Smothered turkey with rice and gravy

become a staple of local cuisine in dishes such as boudin, gumbo and étouffée. Rice and gravy is traditionally made from cheaper cuts of meat and cooked in a cast iron pot, typically for an extended time period in order to let the tough cuts of meat become tender. Beef, pork, chicken or any other meat can be used in its preparation. Fattier meats such as fatty cuts of beef and pork, chicken, squirrel, rabbit, turkey necks, wild pig, and duck lend Smothered turkey with rice and gravythemselves more easily to the making of the gravy, while other leaner meats such as venison and lean cuts of beef and pork are more difficult. This problem is solved by the addition of sausage such as andouille or cured pork tasso to the dish during the browning or smothering process. Often the meat is cooked with the Cajun Holy trinity, a mirepoix variant of onions, bell peppers, and celery in roughly equal quantities, although other vegetables can also be used. Originally a dish favored by farmers and laborers, it is now often served in local plate lunch houses.


 Raised on Rice and Gravy, a 2009 documentary film by Conni Castille and Allison Bohl, chronicles the prevalence of the dish at local plate lunch houses and its enduring popularity in Acadiana cuisine. Abbeville native Bobby Charles' Rice 'N' Gravy Records is named for the popular dish. Acadian Village in Lafayette is home to the annual "Rice and Gravy Cook-Off" sponsored by the Louisiana Beef Council.