Old Southern Rice Dressing Recipe is my new favorite side dish to serve with a large turkey. A delicious side dish which feeds a crowd and everyone will love on your Fall table. Often times, my favorite recipes come to me wrapped in love from friends or family. It is important to learn how to cook a recipe that deserves being passed down from one family member to another.
My friend Sunshine and I made a date for her to serve as guest chef. Since we both hail from Louisiana, we love cooking and entertaining. Sunshine is a great cook and I love cooking with her. Our cooking sessions include stories and laughter. In our conversations about family memories and meals, Sunshine mentioned one of her Grandmother’s favorites, Cabbage Dressing.
Is it stuffing or dressing?
Dressing as in cornbread or stuffing not salad dressing, clearly dressing is a very southern term. Have you heard of cabbage dressing? In my review of food, I located a million cabbage dressings for coleslaw. After my research, I was ready for Sunshine to introduce me to her Grandmother’s cabbage dressing.
Sunshine’s Grandmother Iris B. Lemoine served Cabbage Dressing on her large southern antique table. You could always count on Iris’s table to include delicious food including calas. The Lemoine family home started in Cottonport Louisiana on the bayou. A southern home filled with love, antiques and a porch to host story-telling.
Iris’s family were German and migrated from Nova Scotia and settled in Louisiana. Iris married a Frenchmen, Theofield Lemoine and raised the family in Cottonport. Sunshine speaks lovingly of Iris and Theofield captured in memories which center around an idyllic childhood. Memories which include listening to grandparents speak in French so little ears would be protected.
Life in a small town
In Cottonport, life centered around the Catholic Church, small town events and life of the bayou. Iris shared her love and happiness with all that came into contact with her. Passing lessons of love on to her family including manners and etiquette.
During December, Lemoine’s would host a Christmas on the Bayou. An Open House for friends, family and neighbors. Of course, tables of food, huge pot of gumbo and treats to tempt the palate. Surely, if I close my eyes, I can see the huge mimosa trees covered in moss bordering the bayou, shading the Open House.
Lush green grass filled with chairs and blankets for guests to relax and share a meal. In the background, nature, laughter and Christmas music infiltrating the southern day on the bayou. Uniquely, if only I had a ‘back in time” button, I would press it to meet Iris B Lemoine and her Frenchmen Theofield. For certain, I would love our time together.
Family and friends called Iris “The Pink Lady”. Sunshine describes her Grandmother as a Grand Lady. Iris loved entertaining, cooking, her family and everything pink.” Clearly Iris could share secrets of being a great host and Southern belle. I am dying to know how she introduced boots to her classmates at LSU .
After all, Iris B Lemoine’s Cabbage Dressing is an old southern rice dressing recipe. Certainly, not a recipe that I have been familiar with but I love it. Sunshine and I spent an afternoon in the kitchen cooking during which I learned how to make Cabbage Dressing. Sunshine shared memories with me while we cooked cabbage dressing and reminisced about families.
In conclusion, whether you call it Iris’s cabbage dressing, cabbage stuffing or old southern rice dressing this recipe will yield rave reviews from your guests. Serve as a new side dish on your holiday table and start your own tradition with family.
Alexa Shout out to Billie Holiday’s “I’ll be Seeing You”.
| Servings | Prep Time |
| 20 People | 60 Minutes |
| Cook Time |
| 2 Hours |
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A flavorful dressing or stuffing that is filled with sausage, seasonings and a full cabbage that almost disappears in the pot. Great dish to feed a crowd and stands up to any protein on your menu.
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- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 3 Pound Ground Pork
- 2 Large Onions Chopped
- 1 Large Green Bell Pepper Chopped
- 5 Stalks Celery Chopped
- 2 Tablespoon garlic Minced
- 1 Head Cabbage Washed & cored
- 6 Cups Chicken Stock
- 3 Teaspoons Black Pepper Freshly ground
- 3 Teaspoons Kosher Salt
- 1 Small Can Deviled Ham
- 1 5 oz Pimentos drained
- 1/4 Teaspoon Caynenne
- 4 Cups Cold Water
- 2 Cups Rice Rinsed & drained
- 1 Teaspoon Butter
- In large stock pot heat pot for one minute and add olive oil. Heat oil and add in ground pork. Stir as needed until meat is browned well. Do not drain.
- Combine the pork with onions, bell pepper and celery. Stir as needed and cook until tender. Add in garlic and cook for 3 minutes.
- While the garlic is cooking, cut the cabbage in half. Then with a large sharp knife slice each half into half again. With knife cut cabbage into smaller bite size pieces. Add cabbage into the pot once reduced to bite size pieces and continue cutting cabbage until complete. Mix cabbage in well with pork mixture. Add in salt and pepper at this point. Stir well.
- Add in chicken broth to stockpot and combine well with cabbage and pork. Heat to boiling and then reduce heat to medium low. Continue cooking for about two hours. Stirring occasionally. The goal is for the cabbage to totally reduce down almost to the point of no visual cabbage.
- Additional water may be added to the stock pot if cabbage has not reduced down. This dish should be very wet and moist as it is reducing.
- While the cabbage is reducing, prepare the rice. In a small pot on high heat add water, butter and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add rice and reduce heat to low. Cover with lid and cook for 15 minutes. Set time and do not lift lid. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Add pimentos, cayenne and deviled ham to cabbage mixture and stir in well.
- Add in a large spoon of cooked rice to cabbage mixture and stir in well. Continue adding a spoon of rice one at at time to the cabbage pork mixture. Taste to adjust seasonings as needed for palate. Cover with lid and cook for 15 minutes. Stir as needed. Serve immediately.
- Lagniappe: When reheating, place in baking pan, layer sliced bacon on top and bake for 30 minutes.
