Blackened Chicken Breast with Dirty Rice

The Story

Dirty rice gets its color and name from the chicken livers and ground pork cooked through the rice as it steams. The rendered organ meat and fat stain the grains a rich brown, and the Creole seasoning (in our case, Hammer Blend) drives the flavor throughout. It's one of the most flavorful rice dishes in American cooking and it came from nothing — scraps, fat, and seasoning.

Instructions

1. Cook the Dirty Rice. Brown ground pork in a Dutch oven over high heat. Add minced chicken livers and cook until they're no longer pink — they'll begin to stain the pork brown. Add the Holy Trinity (onion, bell pepper, celery) and garlic. Cook down 8 minutes. Add Hammer Blend and stir. Add dry rice, toast 2 minutes, then add stock. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat, and cook 18–20 minutes until rice is tender. Let stand 5 minutes before fluffing.
2. Blacken the Chicken. Pound breasts to even thickness. Coat generously with Hammer Blend. Blacken in a screaming-hot cast iron with clarified butter — 5–6 minutes per side. Rest 5 minutes, then slice on the bias to reveal the contrast between the dark crust and the white interior.
3. Plate. Mound dirty rice on the plate. Fan sliced blackened chicken alongside. Garnish with green onions and a drizzle of the pan juices. Serve with hot sauce on the side — this dish can handle it.

Pro Tips

• The chicken livers are non-negotiable in dirty rice. If you remove them, you've made regular rice with seasoning. They're the "dirt." Use them.