Dirty Rice
Dirty Rice
Dirty rice is a classic New Orleans gutbuster, a big pot of rice combined with a rich and hearty beef gravy. This recipe comes from Isaac Toups, the chef and owner of Toups Meatery and Toups South in New Orleans.
Prep Time
20
minutes
Cook Time
2
hours
Servings
6
Total time: 2 hours, 20 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground sirloin, lean
- 2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon toasted ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/3 cup amber beer
- 1/4 cup grapeseed oil
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup white onion, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup green bell pepper, finely chopped
- 1/3 cup celery, finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1/3 cup amber beer
- 1 cup chicken stock, plus more as needed
- 2 cup jasmine rice or any medium-grain white rice, cooked
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1/2 bunch green onions (green tops only), chopped
Directions
- Season the block of sirloin — no fancy shaping needed, just use it how it comes out of the tray from the grocery store — with 1 teaspoon of salt on each side.
- In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat until it starts to smoke.
- Place the sirloin block in the skillet in one piece and let it sear until it really browns and caramelizes, 3 to 5 minutes.
- Then flip it and repeat, 3 to 5 minutes longer.
- Let it do its thing.
- Once the block of sirloin is well seared, chop it up in the pan with a metal spatula to sear the inside bits.
- Add the black pepper, cumin, and cayenne and stir well.
- Cook for a minute.
- Add the beer to deglaze the pan, and cook 1 minute longer, scraping up any browned bits.
- Remove from the heat and set aside.
- At this point, you could freeze the meat.
- In a heavy Dutch oven over medium heat, make a dark roux using the oil and flour, about 45 minutes.
- Once it’s the color of milk chocolate, add the onion, bell pepper, and celery and stir together.
- Cook for a minute.
- Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute longer.
- Add the beer and mix well.
- In 1/3-cup increments, add the stock, stirring well between each addition.
- Stir frequently, but not continuously, until you have a well-emulsified gravy, thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- Once the gravy is done, add the cooked beef.
- Add a splash of stock to the meat pan to deglaze to get the remaining “junk” out — the delicious extra bits that stick to the pan — and add to the gravy and meat.
- Bring the meat and gravy mixture back to a bare simmer.
- Cover and cook for 1½ hours, or until the raw flour has all cooked out and the sauce has no chalky or floury flavor.
- To serve, add the cooked rice, butter, and green onions to the meat gravy in the pot.
- Stir it all together over low heat, just to warm it all through.
- Add salt to taste and serve.