Crawfish and Sausage Dirty Rice

Dirty rice is one of those classic Cajun dishes without a true recipe. A blend of leftover rice, meat, the trinity of peppers, onion and celery, and plenty of Cajun spice make up the backbone. That’s where the similarities between recipes often end. Some folks make it with ground venison. Ground pork or beef is also used. Classic dirty rice has liver, pork or chicken to add richness, but you can leave it out and it’s still good. My favorite recipe is a blend of medium breakfast sausage, crawfish tails and chicken livers.

Crawfish tails make the perfect addition to dirty rice. Images by author.

When it comes to crawfish tails, the leftovers from your latest boil are the best option. Next is already-peeled tails. Always make sure you use American-raised or wild-caught crawfish. Often, overseas companies, most with much more lax environmental and food safety rules, masquerade themselves as Louisiana companies by adopting a Cajun-sounding name. Always read the fine print. Farmed or wild caught in the United States. If it says imported, leave them on the shelf and keep looking. If you are in the South this time of year, you can often find peeled tails fresh. In the rest of the country and the rest of the year, look in the freezer section. Check local butcher shops. Those in big box stores are often imported.

Look for wild-caught or American-farmed crawfish, and avoid imported tails if you can.

The liver is a hot topic in dirty rice these days. In the classic version, the liver is what makes it dirty. In this recipe, you don’t taste the small amount of chicken liver used, but the finely chopped meat adds a definite richness that is missing without it.

Start by browning the breakfast sausage.

Brown 1 pound of your favorite breakfast sausage.

Add the onion, peppers and celery. Cook until the sausage is done and the vegetables are cooked through.

Add the peppers, onions and celery.

Most of the liquid from the vegetables should be evaporated by this point. Add the minced garlic and cook for another 30 to 60 seconds. Add the cooked crawfish tails and stir to blend.

Stir in the cooked white rice, and pour on the beef or seafood stock. Add the Worcestershire and hot sauce. Sprinkle on the Cajun seasoning to taste. Start with about a tablespoon, and then add more if needed.

Add Cajun seasoning to taste.

Simmer until the stock has mostly cooked out. Serve with additional hot sauce at the table in case anyone wants it.

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