What is Jambalaya and how do you make it?
Big Easy Life looks into the history of Jambalaya and makes 2 versions of this iconic dish for you to see how its changed in our culture.
Our Creole Jambalaya
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
4 ouncessmoked sausage, sliced into rounds
4 ounces pickled pork or ham, cut into cubes
1 1/2 pound boneless skinless chicken thigh meat, cubed
1 medium-size yellow onion, chopped
1 or 2 stalks of celery
1 medium-size green pepper, chopped
2 cans (10 oz each) crushed tomatoes
1/4 cup canned tomato puree
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 whole bay leaf
1 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne or red pepper flacks
1/4 teaspoon dry thyme leaves
4 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon Louisiana hot sauce
2 cups long-grain white rice, uncooked
Season chicken thighs generously with Cajun seasoning the night before.
Over medium-high heat, melt the butter in a heavy, nonreactive saucepan or Dutch oven. Add the sausage and pickled pork or ham and cook until all of the fat is rendered out of the meats, about five minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add your seasoned diced chicken thighs and sear unti; brown. Add the trinity(pepper, celery, onions). Cook the vegetables until they are clear, about five minutes, occasionally stirring and scraping the pan bottom clean. Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato purée, garlic, bay leaf, table salt, black pepper, cayenne (or red pepper flacks), and thyme. Cook and stir this base sauce about two minutes.
Add the chicken stock and hot sauce to the base and bring to a boil then stir in the rice.
Reduce the heat to medium, and cook uncovered until the rice is just short of being done (should still be a little firm in the center), about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Cajun Jambalaya
1 pound Andouille smoked pork sausage, sliced
1 pound cubed ham
1 pound shrimp sheels and heads removed
2 cups onions, diced
1 cup bell pepper diced
1 cup celery diced
2 tbsp minced fresh garlic
1/2 cup Cajun Seasoning
1/2 tbsp ground black pepper
1/2 tbsp white pepper
1/2 tbsp cayenne or red pepper flacks (optional)
3/4 tbsp thyme leaves
3/4 tbsp basil leaves
3 to 4 medium bay leaves
5 cups chicken stock
1 beer
3 cups long grain rice
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup AP flour
Use high heat to preheat the pot and add the sausage and pork. With a large spoon, constantly move the sausage from the bottom of the pot. Brown the sausage but be careful not to burn the meat; remove sausage.
Using excess sausage drippings, add your oil and flour. Stirring constantly over medium heat cock the flour in the oil until it reaches a khaki color.
Add onions celery and bell peppers. Cook in the roux base until vegetables soften Add red, black and white peppers to mixture and cook until veggies are translucent, about 5-7 minutes over medium-high heat. Again use the spoon to scrape the meat from sticking and burning to the bottom of the pot.
Add garlic and cook for another minute stirring and scraping bottom of pot to not scorch garlic. Add the remaining Cajun seasoning to taste, thyme, basil and bay leaves; stir. Return chicken and sausage to pot; mix and fold. Cook over low heat for 10 minutes. This will give the seasonings time to release their oils and flavors.
Add beer to de-glaze pan scraping about 2 minutes. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Add the rice and fold in. Return to a slow boil and cook uncovered for about 5 minutes stirring and scraping pan bottom so rice does not stick and burn to pan bottom. Reduce heat to the lowest possible setting and simmer, covered, for at least 30- minutes. Do not remove the cover while the rice is steaming.
With approx. 5 minutes remaining in the cook time add your peeled shrimp to the pot. Gently fold the shrimp into the rice mixture. Cover and allow 5 more minutes of cook time.
After uncovering there may be some liquid remaining on top. Fold the rice in it. Turn off heat and let stand till liquid is absorbed.
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