On Weightlifting: A Personal View

CHAPTER 10

ON THE IMPORTANCE OF KNOWING YOUR WAY AROUND THE KITCHEN

By Donny Shankle CPT

“Diet is the most important factor.”- Anonymous

Dirty Rice

 

1lb. Ground Beef

1lb. Ground Pork

1lb. Chopped Chicken Thigh Meat

1lb. Minced Chicken Giblets

3 Cups Chopped Celery

1 Handful Chopped Parsley

1 Cup Chopped Yellow Onion

1 Cup Chopped Green Onion

3 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce

2 Bay Leaves

1 Green Bell Pepper

3 Tablespoons Sea Salt

3 Tablespoons Black Pepper

2 Pinches of Crushed Red Pepper

1/2 Stick of Butter

3 Tablespoons Minced Garlic

Dirty Rice gets its name from the unique flavor and look which comes from a combination of the minced chicken giblets (gizzards & hearts) and celery. A lot of folks either serve it as a side dish or as an entree. I personally like it as an entree and it was a staple dish served in my house growing up as a kid. You can't get much more Cajun than Dirty Rice and the great thing is it is simple to make.
  
In a large cast iron skillet add your ground beef, pork, chopped chicken thigh meat and minced giblets. You can dice your giblets with a knife but, I like to put them in a food processor to get them really finely minced. As soon as all of your meat has browned remove it from the skillet and place it on some paper towels to let the fat drain. This is optional but, I prefer draining the fat when cooking with any ground meat. Pour out any excess fat from the skillet leaving a light film of grease on the bottom.

Over medium heat in the same skillet add your onions, garlic, bell pepper, celery, parsley and red pepper. Saute until all of your vegetables become softened but not completely soft. Return all of the meat back into the skillet. Add your salt, black pepper, bay leaves, Worcestershire sauce and butter. Stir all of your ingredients together then add 2 cups of washed long grain rice. It is important to wash all of the starch from the rice so your dish ends up fluffy. After your rice is in, then add the required amount of water and stir. Bring the skillet to a boil then turn down your heat to low and cover allowing the rice to steam. This should take about 45 minutes to an hour. During this time ensure your heat is low and you do not remove the lid.

There are a lot of ingredients and steps here but once you make this dish a few times you will be knocking out some good dirty rice in no time. This dish feeds up to 8 people or 4 weightlifters. Also, if you let it rest in the fridge over night and then reheat and serve the next day it has an even richer flavor. My dirty rice recipe is guaranteed to add 15 kilos to your total and not break your bank account. Enjoy!