wild rice cooking

[Mike89]

ok cooks, who has a good recipe for wild rice dressing?  I got some good hand picked and want to do it right like my late wife did.

[reinhard1]

It's a long one so just look at my page www.sausageheavenoutdoors.com  in the Recipe page.  I've been making it for years and it's always asked for.   This is something I made myself over years of adding this and that ect.  good luck.

[pikestabber]

You likely know this, but maybe for others who want to cook better wild rice, it's best to rinse thoroughly and then soak your rice for a 1/2 hour or more before cooking. It will begin to swell and it will reduce boil time and make for a fluffier grain.

That said, I've always picked my own rice and had it processed slowly over a wood fire. Propane parched rice cannot compare to the slow curing of wood-fired rice. I also prefer a highly polished rice grain. To me, good wild rice is light tan, never black. Also, when you pick your own rice you can make sure that all of the straw, leaves, etc., that often get mixed into the commercial batches (and as a result...flare up/burn) are removed which makes for a mellower flavor with no bitter/acrid taste that sometimes accompanies mass processed grains.

Sorry, getting off my soap box now, but once you've had truly good wild rice you can never eat the bad stuff again!

[Mike89]

both of you guys are right on and I thanks you.  pikestabber how long do I boil it is big question. I don't want mush, only the good taste.  reinhard1 I will check your page.

 

thank you!  I will will learn!

[reinhard1]

You bring the rice up to a boil and then bring it down to a simmer until tender.  I usually keep it covered. I simmer my wild rice in beef broth [instead of water] with some garlic for extra flavor.  good luck.

[Mike89]

thanks reinhard1

[smurfy]

we bake wild rice. wash it. 1 1/2  cups rice.soak it in 1 can beef consume soup and 1 cup water. bake at 350 for 1 hour. add more water if neccesarry to keep moist. you can also add mushrooms onions etc if you'd like!

[smurfy]

the one thing I learned from wild rice cooking is get the brown rice, NOT THAT dark rice. think that's a patty rice. the ligher color rice gets more tender and in my baised opinion is or has more flavor. you may pay more for it but worth it.

 

we even use the grade A rice to make soup. some places do sell the broken rice as a soup grade rice a lot cheaper.

[pikestabber]

 pikestabber how long do I boil it is big question...

That's a bit tricky to answer directly as a low boil and a high boil are still "boiling" but the difference will change the time needed, and it will vary based on size of grain, too. Even after years of cooking rice I still taste test throughout until I get the texture I want, then it's into a colander and doused with cold water until it cools (like pasta, rice will continue to cook even after it's drained if you don't cool it down rapidly first). I'd start taste-testing after 20 minutes and check regularly until you get the texture you want. I agree, mushy rice is a big no-no.

As for the color of rice, you can have hand-picked rice that's black as night and patty rice that's light tan or any combination...they are all the same plant even though grain size varies from water body to water body (technically they are not a true rice grain but an aquatic grain). The lighter color is from the grain being polished as an optional final step of finishing. The reason patty rice is often black is because it's mass-harvested (air boats), mass-parched (big propane drum cookers), and is processed without being thoroughly cleaned (stems and leaves are not completely removed); but more to the point, it's not light colored because it's not polished. I've worked in a big processing plant and the reason they can't give it that much attention is the massive volumes they have to push through in a short season. You literally have big trucks full of rice coming through all the time. It's just not practical. I have found that if you find a do-it-yourself parcher with a wood fired drum you will get the best results. Polishing reduces cook time and removes a bitter tasting layer, in my opinion. Others may disagree, but this is what I've found to be true for my palate.

 

Edited November 2, 2015 by pikestabber

[smurfy]

thanks pikestabber......I done learned something about the rice color!!!!!!!  you didn't happen to work at that wild rice place in deer river that's closed down now, did ya??? my brother stopped there. they sell some pretty good rice at the spring lake store!

[Mike89]

thanks pikestabber......I done learned something about the rice color!!!!!!!  you didn't happen to work at that wild rice place in deer river that's closed down now, did ya??? my brother stopped there. they sell some pretty good rice at the spring lake store!

I'll 2nd the thanks I too have been to Deer River and always enjoyed the rice from there, but did know it was closed.  thanks for the help too on the cooking, I hope to make this weekend after I get stuff from the store.

[pikestabber]

Yeah, that was the one! It was many years ago now, but it was interesting to see how the commercial processing was done. And I agree they did nice work there, all things considered.

Good luck on the cooking. It seems like once you get a process down you'll have consistent results every time.

Edited November 3, 2015 by pikestabber

[RebelSS]

Lotsa great info...thanks, pikestabber!