Despite its meagre origins, dirty rice is considered a staple dish in the American South as an example of “authentic” Louisiana, Creole, and Cajun cooking. And while we don’t travel much; we taste the world as much as we can by trying foods from other places and cultures as often as possible. We love making this dish as authentic as possible, while staying true to our dietary needs. While chicken livers & giblets may sound unappetizing, but they really are not a pronounced flavor at all, and serve to deepen the taste to a rich, and comforting dish. If it really bothers you, OR you can’t find them in your local store; ground chicken makes a good substitute.
The meat should be cooked down first, then chopped into fine pieces while the rice cooked. Then, the rice would be mixed in with this meat mixture, and the broth-type “gravy” formed by the meat would give the rice its “dirty” appearance. The “dirtiness” mentioned in the meal’s name is likely also due to the choice of meat traditionally included in the dish.
A cousin to Jambalaya, this dish was created to be a cheap and filling meal by the poor White and the Acadian “Cajun” immigrants. As these groups became more prosperous, ingredients changed. As a result, the recipe for dirty rice is one that adapts to the means of the cook, and the available ingredients on hand. While ground meat and rice are the two most consistent ingredients, organ mean has largely been substituted for prime cuts of ground beef, chicken and pork, and a blend of vegetables such as peppers and onions are often included. The way the dish is seasoned can also vary from simple salt and black pepper, to a more elaborate blend herbs, spices, hot sauces, and aromatics.
Feel free to serve this with your favorite (safe) hot sauce, fried okra, skillet faux-cornbread, coleslaw, creamed spinach, collard greens, turnip greens, or a cooling melo-mato cucumber salad!
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