Mardi Gras Dirty Rice Beef (Printable View)
A flavorful Cajun rice dish featuring beef sausage, veggies, and Creole spices for a lively meal.
# What You Need:
→ Proteins
01 - 12 oz beef sausage, sliced into 1/2-inch rounds
02 - 8 oz ground beef
→ Vegetables
03 - 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
04 - 1 green bell pepper, diced
05 - 2 celery stalks, diced
06 - 3 garlic cloves, minced
07 - 2 green onions, thinly sliced for garnish
08 - 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped for garnish
→ Grains
09 - 1 1/4 cups long-grain white rice, uncooked
→ Liquids
10 - 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
→ Spices & Seasonings
11 - 1 1/2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
12 - 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
13 - 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
14 - 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
15 - 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
16 - 1 bay leaf
17 - Salt to taste
→ Oils & Other
18 - 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
# How-To Steps:
01 - Heat vegetable oil in a large, heavy-bottomed skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
02 - Add sliced beef sausage and cook 3-4 minutes until browned. Remove with slotted spoon and set aside.
03 - Add ground beef to skillet. Cook, breaking up with spoon, until browned and cooked through. Drain excess fat if needed.
04 - Add diced onion, bell pepper, and celery. Sauté 5-6 minutes until softened.
05 - Stir in garlic and cook 1 minute until fragrant.
06 - Add rice to pan, stirring to coat in oil and vegetables. Toast 2-3 minutes.
07 - Return sausage to pan. Sprinkle in Cajun seasoning, smoked paprika, dried thyme, black pepper, cayenne, and salt. Mix well.
08 - Pour in chicken broth and add bay leaf. Bring to boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 20-22 minutes until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed.
09 - Remove from heat and let stand covered 5 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Fluff rice with fork and garnish with green onions and parsley before serving.
# Expert Advice:
01 -
- One pot transforms simple ingredients into something that tastes like it simmered all day
- The spices hit that perfect balance where everyone reaches for seconds instead of water
02 -
- Lifting the lid during those twenty minutes of simmering ruins the steam that cooks the rice through
- Toasting the rice in the rendered fat is what makes restaurant dirty rice taste completely different from homemade
03 -
- Letting the pot rest off the heat for those five minutes is what produces perfectly separate grains
- Taste a grain of rice before declaring it done, as some brands need a few extra minutes