Deer Liver Dirty Rice is an easy Cajun-inspired dinner made with finely chopped deer liver, ground pork, the classic onion-bell pepper-celery combination, and plenty of chilled rice, so you can feed a crowd with this recipe. It’s also one of my favorite ways to introduce hunters and their families to eating deer liver.
When my 11-year-old daughter Lucia shot her deer during North Dakota’s youth deer season, I knew before we ever started butchering it that I wanted to save the liver to make this dish. It's one of her favorites!
As a wild game chef and full-time recipe developer, I spend most of my days figuring out approachable ways to help hunters make better use of the animals they bring home. And while deer steaks, roasts, and ground venison are easy enough to find homes for, liver often presents a greater challenge. Plenty of hunters save the heart. Far fewer seem excited about bringing the liver into the kitchen.
This Deer Liver Dirty Rice might change that.
This Recipe Was Inspired by Emeril Lagasse
My version was inspired by Emeril Lagasse and the Louisiana dirty rice he helped introduce to so many home cooks. When I was in my twenties and working in restaurants, I loved watching Emeril on television. This was long before I became a wild game chef and food blogger, but I was working in restaurants and already fascinated by cooks who could explain not only what to do in the kitchen, but why it worked.
All these years later, standing in my kitchen in Fargo, North Dakota, with the liver from Lucia’s deer, I knew dirty rice was exactly where I wanted to take it.
I made this version for my wife Melissa and Lucia because dirty rice gives deer liver exactly what it needs: plenty of company. Ground pork adds fat and richness, while onion, green bell pepper, celery, garlic, and Creole seasoning surround the liver with enough flavor that no single ingredient dominates the dish.
The result is a hearty venison rice dish that tastes like something you made because you wanted to eat it, not because you felt obligated to use the liver.
The Secret to a Great Cajun Dirty Rice
There is a moment in this recipe when the skillet begins to smell like dinner rather than merely a collection of ingredients.
It happens after the onion, bell pepper, celery, and garlic hit the browned deer liver and pork.
At first, the vegetables are bright and crisp. Then the onion softens, the celery relaxes, and the green pepper loses some of its raw edge. The garlic and Creole seasoning join them, and suddenly the whole pan smells warm and inviting.
Next comes the chicken broth. As you pour it in, scrape your spoon along the bottom of the pan and loosen all those browned bits left behind by the meat. Those bits dissolve into the broth and carry their flavor through the entire dish. This is one of those small cooking habits that separates a decent skillet supper from one you want to make again.
How to Make Deer Liver Dirty Rice
The beauty of this recipe is that you cook everything in one pan. The liver requires some planning because of the two soaking periods, but both are almost entirely hands-off. Once the liver is ready, chop your vegetables and chill your cooked rice before you begin. Once the skillet is hot, everything moves quickly.
Ingredients
- 1 pound deer liver
- 1 ½ cups cold water
- 1 teaspoon salt, for soaking
- 1 ½ cups milk
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1 cup finely chopped yellow onion
- 1 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
- ¾ cup finely chopped celery
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 3 teaspoons Tony's Creole seasoning, divided
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 4 cups cooked rice, chilled
- 3 green onions, chopped
- hot sauce, for serving
Instructions
1. Cut the deer liver into roughly 4-ounce chunks. In a container large enough to hold the liver, combine 1 ½ cups cold water with 1 teaspoon salt and stir until the salt dissolves. Add the liver, cover, and refrigerate for 8 to 12 hours.
2. Drain the liver and rinse it thoroughly under cold running water. Transfer it to a clean container and add enough milk to cover completely. Cover and refrigerate for another 8 to 12 hours.
3. Drain the milk and rinse the deer liver again under cold running water. Pat dry, then chop the liver fine. Taking the time to chop it into small pieces allows the liver to mingle with the sausage and vegetables instead of leaving large pieces scattered through the finished rice.
4. Heat 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil in a 6- or 8-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the finely chopped deer liver and ground pork. Cook, stirring frequently and breaking up the meat as it cooks, until browned, about 4 minutes. Season with 1 ½ teaspoons of the Tony's Creole seasoning, then transfer the cooked meat mixture to a large plate.
5. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil to the now-empty Dutch oven. Add the onion, green bell pepper, celery, and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 2 minutes. Stir in the remaining 1 ½ teaspoons of Tony's and cook for another 2 minutes. The vegetables should begin to soften while picking up the flavor left behind by the browned meat.
6. Pour in the chicken broth and add the bay leaves. As the broth heats, scrape the bottom of the pan thoroughly to loosen the browned bits. Bring to a boil, then transfer the liver/pork mixture back to the Dutch oven, sprinkle in the sugar, and stir to combine.
7. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. This brief simmer gives the broth time to mingle with the deer liver, sausage, vegetables, and seasonings before the rice goes into the pan.
8. Add the chilled cooked rice and stir thoroughly, making sure the deer liver, sausage, and vegetables are evenly distributed throughout the rice. Continue cooking for about 3 minutes, stirring as needed, until the rice is heated through.
9. Remove the pan from the heat and discard the bay leaves. Taste and add more Tony's if needed. Serve immediately with green onions and your favorite hot sauce on the side.
Why Is It Called Dirty Rice?
Traditional Louisiana dirty rice gets its wonderfully descriptive name from finely chopped meat and seasonings speckling otherwise white rice, giving it a decidedly “dirty” appearance. The dish commonly relies on the Cajun holy trinity of onion, green bell pepper, and celery, and traditional versions have long used liver.
That makes venison dirty rice a natural destination for deer liver.
Soaking the Liver Makes All the Difference
If this is your first deer liver recipe, however, I recommend doing a little work the day before you intend to cook it. Cut the liver into roughly 4-ounce chunks and submerge them in 1 ½ cups cold water mixed with 1 teaspoon salt. Refrigerate for 8 to 12 hours, then drain and rinse the liver thoroughly under cold water.
Next, place the rinsed liver in a clean container, cover it with milk, and return it to the refrigerator for another 8 to 12 hours. Drain the liver and rinse it again before chopping it finely.
Yes, this requires planning ahead. But nearly all of that time is hands-off, and I find the two-step soak particularly useful for deer liver. The salted water helps draw out residual blood, while the milk helps soften some of the stronger mineral character that can make liver challenging for someone trying it for the first time.
Cooking Tips for This Venison Dirty Rice
Once soaked and rinsed, chop the liver fine. You don’t want large pieces announcing themselves with every forkful. Finely chopped liver mingles with the crumbled pork and eventually scatters itself throughout the rice.
The next important detail is browning. Use a Dutch oven and give the meat enough room to make proper contact with the hot surface. As the pork browns, its fat coats the pan while the deer liver darkens and loses its raw appearance. Soon you’ll have browned bits clinging to the bottom of the pan. Don’t scrub those away. They are waiting for the chicken broth.
Finally, use chilled cooked rice. Cold rice is firmer and drier than freshly cooked rice, so the individual grains stand a better chance of remaining separate as you stir them into the meat and broth. This is especially important with dirty rice because too much moisture can turn those distinct grains soft and mushy.
More Venison Organ Meat Recipes
If you are looking for other ways to use the organ meat from your deer, antelope, elk, or moose be sure and check out my Smoked and Stuffed Deer Heart or Pan Fried Venison Heart Recipe or British Meatballs.
Come Deer Hunting in North Dakota
If you are headed our way for North Dakota deer season, check out the North Dakota Game & Fish Department website. And if you want me to come along with you as your camp cook, photographer, or butcher, you can find out more details here.
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Deer Liver Dirty Rice
Ingredients
- 1 pound deer liver
- 1 ½ cups cold water
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 ½ cups milk
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil divided
- 1 pound ground pork
- 3 teaspoons Tony's Creole seasoning, divided
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced (about 1 cup)
- 1 green bell pepper, diced (about 1 cup)
- 3 celery stalks, diced (about ¾ cup)
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 4 cups cooked rice, chilled
- 3 green onions (both green and white parts), chopped
- hot sauce
Instructions
- Cut the deer liver into roughly 2-ounce chunks. In a container large enough to hold the liver, combine 1 ½ cups of cold water with 1 teaspoon of kosher salt and stir until the salt dissolves. Add the liver, cover, and refrigerate for 8 to 12 hours.
- Drain the liver and rinse it thoroughly under cold running water. Transfer it to a clean container and add milk to cover it completely. Cover and refrigerate for another 8 to 12 hours.
- Drain the milk and rinse the deer liver again under cold running water. Pat dry, then chop the liver fine. Taking the time to chop it into small pieces allows the liver to mingle with the sausage and vegetables instead of leaving large pieces scattered through the finished rice.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil in a 6- or 8-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the finely chopped deer liver and ground pork. Cook, stirring frequently and breaking up the meat as it cooks, until browned, about 4 minutes. Season with 1 ½ teaspoons of the Tony's Creole seasoning, then transfer the cooked meat mixture to a large plate.
- Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil to the now-empty Dutch oven. Add the onion, green bell pepper, celery, and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 2 minutes. Stir in the remaining 1 ½ teaspoons of Tony's and cook for another 2 minutes. The vegetables should begin to soften while picking up the flavor left behind by the browned meat.
- Pour in the chicken broth and add the bay leaves. As the broth heats, scrape the bottom of the pan thoroughly to loosen the browned bits. Bring to a boil, then transfer the liver/pork mixture back to the Dutch oven, sprinkle in the sugar, and stir to combine.
- Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. This brief simmer gives the broth time to mingle with the deer liver, sausage, vegetables, and seasonings before adding the rice.
- Add the chilled cooked rice and stir thoroughly, making sure the deer liver, sausage, and vegetables are evenly distributed throughout the rice. Continue cooking for about 3 minutes, stirring as needed, until the rice is heated through.
- Remove the pan from the heat and discard the bay leaves. Taste and add more Tony's if needed. Serve immediately with green onions and your favorite hot sauce on the side.
Sammy says
This was really good! I used the liver from a doe I got with my bow. Soaked it in buttermilk instead of regular milk because I had some. But just milk would have probably worked. Another great recipe from a Jeff who I can always count on to deliver a recipe I can trust.
Jeff Benda says
Thanks, Sammy. Great to hear you liked it and that buttermilk worked for the soaking.
Kathy says
Great recipe. Will be making this one again!
Jeff Benda says
Thanks, Kathy! Glad you enjoyed it.