Dirty Chicken Rice

Carlyn’s Dirty Chicken and Rice

I am trying to recreate a dish my Aunt Loyce Foshee made for Uncle Kenneth and their kids when I was growing up in the 1960’s. My mother never made it and I always looked forward to eating it when she brought it to family picnics or dinners. When I got around to asking for her recipe years later, she no longer remembered cooking this dish!.

  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 3 quarts water
  • 1 pound chicken thighs and/or legs
  • 3/4- 1 pound lean ground beef
  • 1 to 4 teaspoons Tony Chachere’s More Spice Creole Seasoning (1 teaspoon=mild, 4 teaspoons = mouth-on-fire)
  • 1/2 cup butter or oil
  • 2 cups raw rice
  • 1 cup celery, cut in 1-inch chunks
  • 2 cups onions, cut in 1-inch chunks
  • 1 cup bell pepper, cut in 1-inch chunks
  • 2 tablespoons garlic chunks (cut each clove into 2-3 pieces)
  • 1 can chicken broth (maybe)
  • 4 tablespoons fresh parsley, cilantro, or green onions (green parts only), chopped

Wash chicken pieces and place in large soup pot with 2 teaspoons salt and 3 quarts of water. Bring to a boil on high heat, then reduce to low heat and simmer for about 30 minutes.

Remove from heat and allow the contents to cool to room temperature. Skim congealed fat from surface of water, if you prefer a lean dish. Remove the meat from the bones and shred meat. Discard bones.

In a large, heavy skillet with a tight fitting lid, melt the butter then add rice and fry until brown. Remove skillet from heat and add the fried rice over the shredded chicken. Spray skillet with Pam and return to high heat. Add onions, garlic, celery, bell pepper and parsley, and fry 5-7 minutes. Add lean ground beef. Fry the mixture until brown. Remove from heat and drain off grease. (If you purchased lean beef that is 7% or lower in fat content, you won’t have to drain off the grease.) Run the beef mixture through a food processor just enough to dice the beef and vegetables. Return beef and vegetables to the skillet and turn the heat up to high.

Add browned rice and shredded chicken and stir into beef and vegetables. Pour in 4 cups of the chicken broth from the first pot. If you don’t have enough chicken broth, used canned broth to make 4 cups of liquid. If you don’t have the canned broth, you can add water to make 4 cups as a last resort.

Add spices and bring contents of skillet to a soft boil with bubbles appearing in 4-5 areas of the surface, then cover with a tight fitting lid and reduce heat to low (2 or 3 on a scale of 1-10). Cook for 20 minutes on low, tightly covered. Remove from heat and keep covered for another set for another 10 minutes. Remove lid, stir well, scatter parsley, cilantro, or green onions over surface and serve.  Can also be made ahead, except for scattering the herbs, and refrigerated or frozen in a casserole covered with foil.  Before serving, bring to room temperature, then cook with foil covering in place for 20 minutes at 350 degrees F.  Remove cover, bake an addition 10 minutes, then remove from oven, scatter the herbs across the top and serve.

Enjoy!

Carlyn Foshee Chatfield