Cajun Dirty Rice
A traditional Cajun/Creole dish combining browned meats with traditional Cajun/Creole flavors and cooked white rice. It gets "dirty” from browned meats and some special ingredients!
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Here's What You Need
- 3 tablespoons bacon grease
- 1 pound ground chuck (80/20)
- 1 pound ground pork
- ½ pound Chicken livers
- 1 medium to large Yellow Onion
- 1 medium green bell pepper
- ½ cup Celery
- 2 bunches green onions - in all
- 3-4 cloves garlic
- 4 tablespoons Creole seasoning
- 3 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
- 3 cups beef stock
- 6 cups cooked rice
- 4 tablespoons parsley
- Kosher Salt and Ground Black Pepper - to taste
Here's What You Do
- Place chicken livers in water to simmer until tender, about 20 to 30 minutes. Let them cool then give them a rough chop and set aside; reserve the cooking water.
- In a Dutch oven, melt the bacon grease (or fry bacon) over medium-high heat.
- Maintaining a medium-high heat, brown the beef and pork in the bacon grease; when the redness is gone (about 5 minutes), add the chopped chicken livers and mix well; cook together for another 5 minutes.
- Add the yellow onions, bell peppers and celery to the meats and saute until the onions are starting to brown, about 8 minutes.
- Stir in about half the green onions and the garlic; continue to sauté for a couple of minutes until the garlic is aromatic.
- Add the creole seasoning and mix well, continuing to sauté.
- Increase the heat; add the Worcestershire sauce, the stock, and one cup of the reserved water from boiling the chicken livers; stir together and bring to a high simmer, uncovered, until the liquid is reduced by a little more than half-about, 20 to 30 minutes.
- Mix in the cooked rice and blend well to incorporate all the ingredients. Taste and add kosher salt and ground black pepper to taste. Mix in the parsley and remaining green onions and cook on low for another few minutes uncovered until all the liquid is absorbed.
- Sprinkle some of the reserved green onions on top when served.
Notes
Check out my article Cajun Dirty Rice for more detailed instructions with lots of Tips and FAQs.
For this recipe, I use a combination of ground chuck (80/20) and ground pork. If you prefer to use one or the other, that's fine.
The chicken livers are an essential part of Dirty Rice. Many recipes call for using the gizzards also, so that is certainly an option. Don't go overboard on the livers because they can take over the flavor profile. They should be a subtle background flavor, like all the other ingredients.
Remember that most commercial creole seasonings and commercial stocks have high salt content. Taste as you cook before you add any more salt.
Leftovers can be kept in the refrigerator for 5 to 6 days in an airtight container. They can also be frozen for up to 3 months. For optimal results, allow the leftover Dirty Rice to cool down completely, then store it in a vacuum-sealed bag. Defrost in the fridge. To reheat on the stove top, add a little water and stir over medium heat until heated through; about 10 minutes.
Nutrition
Calories: 374kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 123mg | Sodium: 246mg | Potassium: 510mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 3001IU | Vitamin C: 16mg | Calcium: 42mg | Iron: 4mg
