South Louisiana Rice Dressing (Dirty Rice)

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

The real-deal Cajun side: ground pork and finely minced chicken livers browned deep and dark, folded into long-grain rice with the holy trinity, plenty of stock and a shower of green onion. The livers are what make it 'dirty' — they melt into the pork and give the rice its mahogany color and savory backbone. Not a liver fan? Swap in extra pork sausage and you still get a rich, deeply seasoned rice worthy of a white-tablecloth dining room.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups long-grain white rice
• 2 1/4 cups water
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter

• 8 oz chicken livers, trimmed of connective tissue
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 lb ground pork
• 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1 medium green bell pepper, finely chopped
• 2 stalks celery, finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 3/4 cups chicken stock, preferably low-sodium
• 2 tsp sweet paprika
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp white pepper
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp hot sauce, such as Crystal or Tabasco

• 5 green onions, thinly sliced (white and green parts kept separate)
• 1/3 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter

Instructions

1. Cook the rice first so it has time to cool and dry slightly. Rinse the rice in a fine strainer under cold water until the water runs mostly clear, about 30 seconds. Combine with the 2 1/4 cups water, 1/2 tsp salt and 1 tbsp butter in a saucepan, bring to a boil, cover, reduce to the lowest heat and cook 15 minutes. Off heat, let stand covered 10 minutes, then fluff with a fork and spread on a sheet pan to cool.
2. Prep the livers: pat them dry and cut away any green spots or tough white connective tissue. Chop them very finely by hand until they resemble a coarse paste, or pulse 6 to 8 times in a food processor. Do not purée — you want texture. Refrigerate until needed.
3. Heat the vegetable oil in a large heavy skillet or Dutch oven (12-inch, cast iron is ideal) over medium-high until it shimmers. Add the ground pork and press it into a flat layer. Let it sit undisturbed 4 to 5 minutes to build a deep brown crust, then break it up and continue cooking 5 more minutes until well browned and the fat has rendered. Do not drain the fat — that is flavor.
4. Add the chopped livers and cook, stirring and scraping constantly, for 4 to 5 minutes. They will release liquid, then dry out and darken. Keep scraping up the browned bits from the bottom; this is where the color comes from. Cook until the mixture is a uniform dark brown, almost black in spots.
5. Stir in the onion, bell pepper and celery along with 1 1/2 tsp salt. Cook 8 to 10 minutes over medium heat, stirring often, until the vegetables are soft and the moisture they release has deglazed the pan. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more until fragrant.
6. Add the 2 tbsp butter, paprika, thyme, cayenne, black pepper, white pepper and bay leaves. Stir constantly for 60 to 90 seconds to bloom the spices in the fat — they should smell toasty, not scorched.
7. Pour in the chicken stock, Worcestershire and hot sauce, scraping the bottom of the pan clean. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered 12 to 15 minutes, until the mixture is thick and stew-like with just a little loose liquid pooling at the edges. Fish out the bay leaves.
8. Add the white parts of the green onions and stir in the cooled rice, a third at a time, folding gently with a spatula so the grains stay separate and take on color evenly. The rice should look uniformly brown, glossy and moist — if it seems dry, splash in stock 2 tbsp at a time.
9. Cover and let the pan sit over the lowest heat for 5 minutes so the rice absorbs the last of the liquid. Taste aggressively and correct with salt, black pepper and hot sauce — dirty rice should be assertively seasoned.
10. Off heat, fold in the remaining 1 tbsp butter, the green onion tops and the parsley. Serve hot, straight from the pan or mounded in a warm serving dish.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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