“Burnt” Basque Cheesecake - Yes, On Purpose

Believe it or not, the first place I ever had dirty rice was Popeye’s fried chicken. They were out of the red beans and rice. I’ve never been a huge fan of liver, especially in my younger days, but I figured, what the heck, let’s give this stuff a try. Much to my surprise I really enjoyed it, and I’ve been a fan ever since.

In fact, not only did I come to love dirty rice, but I started to crave it with even more “dirt,” by which I mean more liver, pork, and aromatic vegetables; and so that’s how this redundantly named dish came to be. Beyond using more of everything, except rice, I also changed the traditional method, which calls for the rice to be cooked first, and then “soiled.” Here, we’re adding all the “filth” at the beginning, and cooking it into the rice.

This method did produce a more flavorful product, but also a slightly stickier one. When you cook rice in a thick sludge like this, verses just water or broth, it will always come out a bit starchier, which may bother certain dirty rice aficionados, but I like this texture even better. So to recap, this is dirtier, stickier, and tastier, which is why I really do hope you give it a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 6 portions:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

6 ounces pork shoulder, diced or roughly chopped

1 yellow onion, diced

1/2 cup diced celery

1/2 cup diced green peppers, or jalapeno
6 ounces cubed spicy smoked pork sausage, like andouille

1 tablespoon paprika

2 teaspoons cumin

2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (or some fresh)

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

8 ounces finely minced raw chicken livers

2 cups long grain rice

2 teaspoons kosher salt, or to taste

4 cups broth

1/4 cup sliced green onions

1/4 chopped Italian parsley

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