Down-The-Bayou Dirty Rice for Papa Noel
Most New Orleans families wait all year to sit down to their favorite dishes at Christmastime. And when you do down the bayou, into Papa Noel’s country, you can bet that whatever is served as an entrée will be accompanied by good, old-fashioned Cajun dirty rice. . .cuz it seems to go well with everything. This year, I recommend you serve it up with your Prime Rib.
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil + 2 tsp. butter
¼ lb. chicken gizzards, chopped into small pieces
½ lb. chicken livers, chopped into small pieces
¼ lb. lean ground beef
¼ lb. lean ground pork
1 whole medium onion, finely chopped
2 celery ribs, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1/2 small green bell pepper, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups uncooked, long-grain rice
4 cups chicken stock
½ tsp. fresh-ground black pepper
¼ tsp. ground cayenne pepper
2 tsp. Frank Davis Sprinkling Spice
First, in a 4-quart, heavy aluminum, Dutch oven, heat the vegetable oil-butter mixture until hot. Then drop the gizzards into the pot and cook them for about 5 minutes, turning occasionally to evenly brown them.
Then add the chopped livers to the mixture and sauté them until they “just brown.” Note: Some moisture will probably seep out of the livers as they cook, and they won't brown up as nicely as the gizzards, but that's okay. Then as soon as the livers aren't red or pink anymore, add the beef and the pork and cook them into the mix for about 4 minutes or so.
Now stir the onions into the meats and sauté them, stirring all the while, for another couple minutes until they just start to wilt and clear. Next mix in the celery, the red and green bell peppers, and the garlic and cook everything together for another 3-5 minutes, again stirring, this time continuously.
At this point it’s time to pour the rice into the pot of ingredients and stir the entire mixture well. Once the rice is in, pour in the chicken stock.
Then season the pot with the black pepper, cayenne pepper, and sprinkling spice.
Now bring the stock to a full boil. But immediately cover the Dutch oven tightly and reduce the fire to low, just enough to keep the mixture simmering. It will take about 20 minutes for the rice to fully cook. When it does (and you can test a few grains before you take the pot off the stove), remove your dirty rice from the heat.
All that’s left is to fluff the rice, give it a quick, gentle stir to uniformly combine everything for the last time, and then cover it again for 10 more minutes to give all the flavors time to marry.
Dirty rice is best served steaming hot right from the pot.
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Chef’s Notes:
This procedure for making dirty rice is similar to the procedure for making jambalaya. It produces a full-bodied, rich rice that is hard to quit eating! By the way, it’s probably the perfect accompaniment to your Christmas prime rib roast.
