Louisiana Style Dirty Rice

Dirty rice is a classic Cajun dish from Louisiana that is typically made with chicken livers and/or gizzards and ground meat. The meats and spices give the rice its signature “dirty” look, hence the name. It’s a full of flavour and can easily stand alone or work as a perfect side to another dish.  And while you may have seen this particular kind of meal in a box from a food truck or mall cafeteria, there’s nothing like making dirty rice from scratch.

This dirty rice recipe is made with ground beef, but feel free to substitute ground chicken, turkey, or ground pork. Long-grain white rice is traditional and is used in this version here, but if you prefer to use another rice like wild or brown, keep in mind that the cooking time will increase greatly.

Serve dirty rice (sometimes simply called Cajun rice) with extra hot sauce for spice lovers, and perhaps a fresh green salad, collard greens, or a cool coleslaw on the side.

Louisiana Style Dirty Rice

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• Author: The Kilted Chef
• Total Time: 45 minutes
• Yield: Serves 4

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Ingredients

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• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 lb medium ground beef
• 1 cup long grain rice
• 2 1/2 cups beef broth
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 sprig fresh thyme
• 2 tsp Cajun Seasoning
• 1/2 lb streaky bacon diced
• 1/2 green pepper diced
• 1/2 red pepper diced
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 jalapeno seeds removed diced
• 1/2 cup cranberries
• 1/2 cup pecan pieces
• 4 green onions chopped

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Instructions

1. Heat the oil in a medium sized pot. Sauté the onion until soft, add the ground beef and cook until browned.
2. Add the rice,  broth, bay leaves, thyme and Cajun seasoning. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 25 minutes or until liquid is evaporated and the rice is soft.
3. While the rice mixture is cooking heat another sauté pan over medium-high heat, sauté the bacon until crumbly. Use a slotted spoon to remove the bacon and set aside.
4. In the bacon fat sauté green pepper, red pepper, garlic, and  jalapeno until soft.
5. When the rice mixture has cooked stir in the pepper mixture, along with the bacon, the cranberries and the pecans, mix well and top with the green onion.

• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 25 minutes
• Category: Entrees, Beef, Recipes

Do you have a favourite dish from somewhere you’ve visited?  Let us know in the comments and we’ll see if we can recreate it for you!