In honor of Mardi Gras, last night I felt we should have something that was indicative of the Vieux Carré. So I threw together this quick and delicious dish of grilled sausages with dirty rice. It also gave me an excuse to fire up the grill, and enjoy and icy cold Abita.
Dirty Rice & Grilled Sausage
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
1 hr
Total Time
1 hr 15 mins
Dirty rice is a traditional Creole dish made from white rice which gets a "dirty" color from being cooked with small pieces of chicken liver or giblets, green bell pepper, celery, and onion, and spiced with cayenne and black pepper.
Course:
Main Course
Cuisine:
Cajun
Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 4 ounces ground pork
- 1/2 cup chicken livers finely diced (optional)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- 2 celery stalks finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 jalapeño pepper stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 3 cups cooked rice
- 1/2 bunch scallions white and green parts, chopped
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
- 1 lb kielbasa or smoked sausage
Method
-
Heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat.
-
When the oil is hot, add the pork and chicken livers. Cook stirring often, until browned.
-
Add salt, black pepper, and chili powder and stir often, but not constantly: You want the meat to stick to the pan and get crusty.
-
Add 1/4 cup of the chicken broth and cook until it has evaporated, allowing the meat mixture to get browned and crusty and stick to the pan once again.
-
Add the onion, celery, garlic, jalapeño, and oregano and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are nicely browned and crusty and beginning to stick to the pan.
-
Add the rice, the remaining 1 1/4 cups broth, the scallions, and parsley.
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Stir until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is heated through.
-
Heat grill on high, brushing to clean.
-
Reduce heat to medium and grill sausage until some marks are formed.
Cooks Notes
Chicken livers are optional however they really give the dish the deep flavor and color needed.