Dirty Rice with Ground Turkey and Chicken Liver
This hearty dirty rice recipe is a flavorful one-pot dish made with ground turkey, sausauge, chicken livers, and Cajun seasoning. It's the perfect nutrient-dense comfort food!
Servings 8 servings
Equipment
- deep stainless steel frying pan
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter or tallow
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1 pound ground sausage
- 1 cup chicken livers, minced approximately ½ pound
- 1 green pepper, diced
- 2 celery rib, diced
- 2 cups long-grain white rice rinsed
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 3 ½ cups chicken broth
- 2 bay leaves
- green onions for garnish
Instructions
- Saute: In a large pan over medium-high heat, melt the butter or tallow. Add onions and cook onions until translucent and slightly browned.
- Brown: Push the onions to the edges of the pan to make room in the center and increase the heat to high. Add the ground turkey and sausage and cook until browned, breaking it up with a flat spatula.
- Dice: While the meats are browning, finely mince the chicken livers.
- Cook: Push the onions and meat mixture to the outer edges of the pan to make room in the center. Add the minced chicken liver and cook for about a minute (it cooks fast!). Combine with the rest of the meats.
- Add: Reduce heat to medium again. To the meat mixture, add celery and green bell pepper and stir to combine.
- Cook: Add rice, Cajun seasoning, minced garlic, salt and black pepper, and broth. Stir to combine. Tuck in bay leaves. Bring to a boil on high heat then reduce heat and simmer covered for 20 minutes or until the rice is cooked. Serve warm with fresh green onions.
Notes
Storage: Store leftover dirty rice in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. These glass snap containers are perfect for leftovers.
To freeze: Keep it in an airtight container or a silicone zip-top bag, removing as much air as possible to avoid freezer burn. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat.
To reheat: To reheat, add a splash of broth to restore moisture and reheat over medium heat in a covered medium saucepan.
Helpful Tips:
- Brown the meats on high heat - Don't rush the browning process and don't overstir it as it cooks. The caramelization adds richness to the dish and you want the ground meat to have brown crusty spots.
- Rinse rice well - Be sure to Prince your rice thoroughly to remove excess starch. This helps the rice cook up fluffy and prevents it from becoming sticky.
- Add ingredients in stages - Saute the onions first, then add the meats, then add the veggies, and other rest of the ingredients. Doing it in stages like this helps to build flavor.
- Mind the heat - Get comfortable with the burner dial because you'll be adjusting it often in this dish to really bring out the flavor. Brown on high but simmer on low.
Nutrition
Calories: 458kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 176mg | Sodium: 1087mg | Potassium: 513mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 3643IU | Vitamin C: 19mg | Calcium: 35mg | Iron: 4mg