Classic Cookery: Spanish Rice

Spanish Rice with Venison

I'm constantly amazed how similar my resident dragon's upbringing was with mine, especially since we grew up 800 miles apart.  I was reminded of the similarities this week as the RD went looking for a recipe for what he called "Spanish Rice."  Having had his mother's Spanish Rice before, I remembered that my mother had also prepared it.  So, off I went in search of mother's recipe.  Three recipe boxes later, I stumbled across it labeled as "Texas Hash."



Here's the original recipe:

Browning venison with onions

Texas Hash

1 pound ground beef
2 onions (chopped fine)
1 bell pepper
1 clove garlic
1 cup catsup
1/2 cup water
1 large can tomatoes
1 T. chili powder
1 cup raw rice


Brown beef, then brown onions, pepper, and garlic.  Mix other ingredients and pour into greased casserole.  Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees.  Serve with salad and garlic bread.

We found the recipe to be a little too catsup-y, so we changed the catsup to tomato sauce.  So, here's our version, made with venison.

Spanish Rice before turning into prepared casserole

Spanish Rice
Carne de venado Arroz Español 

2 pounds ground venison
2 large onions, chopped fine
1 sweet red pepper, chopped fine
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 cup tomato sauce
1 can Rotel
1 large can tomatoes
1 can fire-roasted tomatoes
1 cup water
4 T. chili powder
3 T. paprika
1.5 t. ground cumin
2 cups raw rice

Brown venison, then onions, pepper, and garlic.  Mix other ingredients, add meat mixture, and pour into prepared casserole.  Cover tightly with foil.  Bake 1.25 hour in two 10"x13" baking dishes or until rice is done.  Garnish with a dollop of sour cream.  Serves14-16.  Serve with salad and garlic bread.