Not for the faint of palate my latest video recipe, Dirty Rice uses pungent chicken liver. You can call this recipe The Dirtiest Rice.
For a local taste of Dirty Rice I get mine from Popeye's Fried Chicken, or when I'm in Gonzales, Louisiana visiting my Mom, they sell a tasty one at Lamondola's Supermarket. But it is a traditionally mild version, made with ground meat and a hint of chicken liver (if any liver is used at all.)
You gotta have the guts to handle pungent liver. Some think it disgusting, I think it's sexy, almost naughty in texture and taste.
I always saute and chomp the liver that comes in a giblets package stuffed in the cavity of a whole chicken or turkey. Add a chicken liver next time you steam a cup of rice to see if you like a mild version of Dirty Rice.
Sauting onion, bell pepper, and celery help sweeten Dirty Rice. This contrasts nicely with pungent chicken liver.
Liver is not for everyone, just try getting your kid to eat it. Just the intense funky smell alone can turn some diners off.
Most Cajun Dirty Rice recipes call for ground pork to temper or neutralize the intense liver flavor - I go the opposite direction and leave out ground meat. Of course, it's okay to add half liver and half ground meat for this recipe.
If you can't stand liver, then make a mild Dirty Rice with half a pound of sauteed ground meat. And you can use beef, pork, or poultry.
Recipes also direct you to add cooked rice to sauteed liver and veggies. For this version, I steam rice with sauteed veggies and liver.
The look of Dirty Rice comes from cooked chicken liver. You see specks of "dirt" which are chicken liver pieces. When sauteed correctly, chicken liver is very tender and so soft that it can break down like soft bread crumbs. The overcooked liver is dry and powdery. Steaming liver with rice keeps the liver moist.
Onion, celery, and bell pepper are cheap anywhere. Even chicken liver showed up once in the bargain bin of my neighborhood chain grocery store, Ralph's.
You can make a traditional Dirty Rice with half chicken liver and ground meat, or go ahead and get down and dirty with my version of the Dirtiest Rice.
Dirty Rice - VideoPlay it here, video runs 4 minutes, 30 seconds.
My YouTube video link for viewing or embedding, just click here.
Ingredients (about 4-6 servings)
- 1 pound Chicken Livers - okay to use half a pound of liver and ground meat, like pork, beef, or chicken. For a mellow Dirty Rice use 2 or 3 chicken livers, only.
- Rice - 2 cups. Brown and/or white rice. I cook the rice with sauteed liver and veggies.
- Water - 4 cups for cooking rice.
- Celery - 1 rib of celery chopped
- Bell Pepper - 1 bell pepper chopped.
- Onion - 1 whole onion chopped.
- Garlic - 1 tablespoon chopped.
- Vegetable Oil - 1 tablespoon.
- Cajun Seasoning - 1 teaspoon.
- Black Pepper - 1 teaspoon.
Directions
Add oil to a medium heated pan or pot with a cover.
Add the Cajun Trinity of veggies, that is, chopped onion, bell pepper, and celery.
Saute and stir veggies for about 5 minutes until soft.
Add a tablespoon of garlic and saute for a minute.
Sprinkle with a teaspoon of Cajun Seasonings and black pepper. Okay to use regular salt.
Make a clear area in cooked veggies and add chicken livers. Cook chicken livers until done, about 3 to 5 minutes on each side. Okay to remove veggies when sauting livers.
When chicken livers are firm, you can break them apart. The cooked texture is crumbly so livers will separate easily using the edge of a large spoon, knife, or fork.
When chicken livers are done and crumbled, add rice with 4 cups of water. Stir to mix veggies and livers with rice and water.
I was stationed down in new orleans, and the best dirty rice was made only with chicken livers. I appreciated those who made it like that. It's one of the best way to eat chicken liver, in my opinion!
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