I don’t think I had a motive for making this dirty rice recipe; I was craving a different rice dish. I was making some barbecue pork chops for dinner and wanted something to go with it, and I thought of rice and peas (Spanish style), but we always do that. So I thought, why not some dirty rice.
My kids are always bragging about their grandma’s dirty rice, and it’s good, so I thought, let me research and see how this is made.
Upon my research, I found that all the recipes had chicken livers, which I have no problem with because I love liver! My mom used to make beef liver with gravy, and onions are comfort food for me. However, my kids would be freaked out if they knew the dish had livers. They hate liver. So that had to be omitted for the time being, so I thought, let me put my spin on it.
So all the recipes had the foundation, and then I had to add my tweaks to make them mine. I had never made this before and was a little timid at first, hoping it came out good so they would like it and say, ‘Yes, make that again!’ They did, and here I am sharing my recipe with you.
Hearty Dirty Rice Recipe
Ingredients
1 large yellow onion - chopped small
1 large green pepper (green capsicum) - chopped small
1 medium carrots - shredded
2 stalks celery - chopped small
3 cloves garlic - chopped
1 tablespoon oregano - chopped
1 tablespoon thyme - chopped
¼ cup Cajun spice seasoning (black pepper, white pepper, cayenne pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and paprika)
8 ounces beef stock (beef broth or beef bouillon)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 bunch green onions (scallions or green shallots) - chopped
1 pound ground pork (minced pork)
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cups white rice
Instructions
- Cook your rice and set it aside when done. (The rice needs to be hot to absorb all the flavours.)
- Get all your prep ready. Chop the onion, green pepper, celery, garlic, oregano, and thyme, shred the carrot, and set aside in separate piles.
- Now heat a saute pan or pot on medium heat and add your oil. Then add in your onions and saute for about 2 minutes.
- Add your pepper, celery, bay leaf and garlic and saute for 1 minute. Now add in your pork and smash with a fork or big spoon to make crumbles and cook until meat is done, give or take about 5 to 6 minutes.
- Pour in your beef stock, red pepper flakes, carrots, oregano, thyme, brown sugar and the cajun seasoning and stir, so all are incorporated. Turn the heat up so that the mixture will boil for 2 minutes, then turn down (taste for seasoning and add a little salt and pepper if needed or more cajun seasoning if needed) to low so it can simmer for about 8 minutes.
- After 8 minutes, fluff your rice with a fork, add to a big bowl, pour over the mixture and 1 handful of scallions (leave some for garnish), and stir until all incorporated. Taste, and you can add a little salt and pepper, stir and taste if not enough for you.
- Remove the bay leaf, garnish with scallions. Serve and enjoy.
