Dirty rice is a traditional Southern Louisiana Creole or Cajun dish. It’s made with white rice that turns brown “dirty” in color because it’s cooked with browned meat. It’s always prepared with spices and the Holy trinity ingredients.
What Type of Meat to Use
Most traditional dirty rice is made using chicken livers or giblets. Feel free to use them if you wish! My family loves to use ground beef and andouille sausage. You can use whatever you wish including ground pork, ground chicken, or ground turkey.
Smoked andouille sausage has so much flavor and is used throughout a lot of Cajun and Louisiana-based cuisine.
INGREDIENTS
You will need the following for the recipe
- Paprika (I prefer Smoked Paprika for smoky flavor)
- Cayenne pepper
- Black pepper
- White pepper
- Oregano
- Onion powder
- Garlic powder
- Salt
If you’re someone who cooks a lot you likely have all of the spices you will need in your pantry, but maybe not white pepper. White pepper is commonly used in French and Cajun cuisine and actually comes from the same plant as black pepper, but the difference between them comes down to how they’re picked and processed.
What Type of Rice to Use
I recommend long-grain rice (jasmine or basmati) because long-grain is produces firm grains that stay fluffy after it’s cooked. The rice is slim and long and nearly four to five times longer than it is wide. You can read more about long grain rice here.
Long-grain rice is much different than something like Minute Rice which is already cooked and processed.
Holy Trinity Ingredients
The Holy Trinity vegetables include onions, bell peppers, and celery. You will always find this combination of vegetables in dishes like gumbo, Shrimp Étouffée, dirty rice, and jambalaya.
How to Make Cajun Dirty Rice
Detailed measurements and full instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Add ground beef to a skillet or pot on medium-high heat.
- Break down the beef and add in the sausage pieces and season the meat with the Cajun spices and tarragon.
- Cook the meat for 4-5 minutes or until the meat has browned.
- Add in garlic, green peppers, onions and celery. Stir and cook until the onions and garlic are fragrant.
- Sprinkle in the flour and stir until the meat is fully coated with flour.
- Pour in broth.
- Reduce the heat to medium and add the bay leaf. Simmer.
- Fold in the cooked rice.
