How to Make Cajun Dirty Rice
Learn how to make cajun dirty rice for dinner tonight using this easy recipe. It is quick, simple, and most importantly, delicious!
Cajun dirty rice might be one of my favorite rice dishes. In fact, I don’t think there is a single quintessential Louisiana dish I don’t love. But dirty rice has a special place in my heart.
The first time I ever had it, surprisingly enough, was Popeyes. Since then I have had this rice dish more times than I can count in various forms. Some plain, some stuffed with all sorts of tasty meats. All good.
This recipe is a very good basic dirty rice to be used as a side dish. If you were so inclined, adding chicken or shrimp, or even pork to this dish would make a delicious main dish.
But this recipe just focuses on the basics of making delicious dirty rice using the tried and true mix of vegetables and spices with ground pork and chicken liver. Yes, I know that chicken giblets – chicken gizzards, hearts, etc are more authentic, but the livers with the pork do the job just fine. You will love it!
The Ingredients
- Ground pork (1/2 lb)
- Chicken livers (4 oz)
- Long grain white rice
- Chicken broth (chicken stock works too)
- Medium yellow onion (finely chopped)
- Celery (finely chopped)
- Green bell pepper (finely chopped)
- Garlic
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- Cayenne pepper
- Dried thyme
- Bay leaf
- Vegetable oil or olive oil or bacon grease
- Scallions (for garnish)
Let’s Make Some Cajun Dirty Rice
As is typical with many cajun dishes, the prep is where the bulk of the work comes in. But once you have all your ingredients prepped, the dish itself comes together pretty quick, around 30 minutes or so.
Finely dice the onion, celery, and green pepper and set aside. Rinse the chicken livers and dice them fine, removing any membranes. Set the livers aside.
Heat the oil in a dutch oven or large skillet over medium heat. When the oil has sufficiently heated add the pork. Cook, breaking up the pork into small bits until browned.
When the pork is cooked, add the celery, onion, and green bell pepper (the holy trinity) to the pan. Cook until the vegetables are softened, about 10 minutes. You also want to stir the vegetables every now and again during the cooking process.
Add the chicken livers, kosher salt, black pepper, garlic, thyme, and cayenne pepper to the pan and continue to cook for about 5 minutes, until the livers are browned.
Transfer the meat mixture to a strainer set over a bowl and allow it to drain. Cover with aluminum foil to retain some heat while the rice is being prepared.
Increase the heat to medium-high heat to high heat and add the chicken broth, rice, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil and scrape the pan of any browned bits on the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.
Once it reaches a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and cover. Cook until the rice is tender, about 17 minutes.
Once the rice is done, remove from the heat and remove the bay leaves. Fluff up the rice with a fork then add the meat mixture and combine well.
Garnish with some chopped green onions and serve immediately with your favorite dish from the Big Easy.
For an easy dinner, you can prepare this with some Conecuh sausage which is a great pairing. I have fried up some brats to along with this dish more than once. The flavor is rock solid.
For those who really want to kick it up, you could add some extra cayenne pepper or even a couple of teaspoons of cajun seasoning during the cook. You could substitute the ground pork for ground beef or pork sausage as well.
Feel free to play with this. It’s a great starting place for any dirty rice recipe.
More Cajun/Creole Recipes
- Cajun Jambalaya Recipe
- Creole Cornbread Recipe
- Shrimp and Sausage Gumbo
- Slow Cooker Red Beans and Rice
- Cajun Smoked Wings That Will Blow You Away
- One Pan Chicken and Dirty Rice
Cajun Dirty Rice Recipe
Cajun Dirty Rice Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 oz Ground pork
- 4 oz Chicken livers rinsed, cleaned, and diced fine
- 1 1/2 cup Long grain white rice
- 2 1/4 cup Chicken broth
- 1 Yellow onion medium, diced fine
- 1 stalk Celery diced fine
- 1 Green bell pepper seeded, diced fine
- 3 Garlic cloves minced
- 1 tsp Kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp Black pepper
- 1/4 tsp Cayenne pepper
- 1/4 tsp Dried thyme
- 2 Bay leaf
- 1 tbsp Vegetable oil Olive oil or bacon grease is just as good
- 2 Scallions (green onions) Chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- Finely dice the onion, celery, and green pepper and set aside.
- Rinse the chicken livers and dice them fine, removing any membranes. Set aside.
- Heat the oil in a dutch oven or large skillet over medium heat.
- When the oil has sufficiently heated add the pork. Cook until browned, breaking up the pork into small bits, until browned.
- Add the celery, onion, and green bell pepper to the pan. Cook until the vegetables are softened, about 10 minutes. Stir the vegetables occasionally.
- Add the chicken livers, kosher salt, black pepper, garlic, thyme, and cayenne pepper to the pan and continue to cook for about 5 minutes, until the livers are browned.
- Transfer the meat mixture to a strainer set over a bowl and allow it to drain. Cover with aluminum foil to retain some heat while the rice is being prepared.
- Increase the heat to medium-high to high heat and add the chicken broth, rice, and bay leaves.
- Bring to a boil and scrape the pan of any browned bits on the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.
- Once it reaches a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and cover. Cook until the rice is tender, about 17 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and remove the bay leaves. Fluff up the rice with a fork then add the meat mixture and combine well.
- Garnish with some chopped green onions and serve immediately.