Louisiana Chicken Jambalaya Food

CREOLE CHICKEN AND SAUSAGE JAMBALAYA {FROM A NOLA LOCAL}

Steps:

• Heat 1.5 tbsp oil in large stockpot over medium heat. Add chicken thighs to skillet, smooth side down; cook for 5 minutes or until you can easily flip over the chicken. Flip and continue to cook for 6-7 more minutes or until no longer pink.
• Melt butter in a large stockpot or dutch oven set over medium-high heat. Brown sausage on both sides.
• Stir in onions, green pepper, celery, white parts of green onions, and garlic. Stir occasionally and cook about 5 minutes or until clear.
• Add crushed tomatoes, tomato puree, salt, pepper, cayenne, thyme, Tony Chachere Creole Seasoning, and bay leaf. Stir 2 minutes.
• Pour in chicken stock and stir to combine. Stir in pepper sauce or red pepper flakes.
• Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer. I reduced heat to a level 2/3 on the stovetop.
• Cook uncovered until liquid is reduced by 1/3 or about 1 hour.
• Bring jambalaya to a boil. Stir in 2 cups uncooked rice then reduce heat to medium. Stirring occasionally, cook 15-25 minutes, or until rice is done. *NOTE* If rice is not done and liquid is gone, stir in 1/4 cup water at a time.
• Stir in remaining green onions. Serve with hot sauce if desired.

CHICKEN, ANDOUILLE, AND SHRIMP JAMBALAYA

Steps:

• In a large Dutch oven, heat oil over medium high heat; add sausage and chicken, and cook about 5 minutes or until browned. Add onion, celery, and bell pepper, and cook, stirring frequently, about 3 minutes or until tender. Add garlic, stirring for about 30 seconds until fragrant. Add rice, and stir about 3 minutes until lightly toasted.
• Add tomatoes, and stir until juices are absorbed. Add broth, thyme, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium-low. Cover, and cook for 15 minutes or until rice is tender.
• In a medium bowl, combine shrimp, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, paprika, cayenne, and parsley. Add shrimp to rice mixture, and stir until combined. Cook for 2 minutes or until shrimp are pink and firm. Add remaining 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper.
• Garnish with green onion, if desired. Serve immediately.

LOUISIANA JAMBALAYA

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add sausage and ham; saute until lightly browned. Remove and keep warm. In drippings, saute celery, onion, green pepper and green onions until tender. Add garlic; cook and stir 1 minute longer. Stir in tomatoes, thyme, salt, pepper and cayenne; cook 5 minutes longer., Stir in broth, rice, water and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, until rice is tender, about 20 minutes. Stir in sausage mixture and shrimp; heat through. , Freeze option: Prepare jambalaya as directed, omitting rice and shrimp. Freeze shrimp and cooled jambalaya in separate freezer containers. Store rice in an airtight container at room temperature. To use, partially thaw jambalaya in refrigerator overnight. Place jambalaya in a 6-qt. stockpot; heat through. Add rice; cook, covered, about 10 minutes. Add frozen shrimp; continue cooking until shrimp are heated through and rice is tender, 5-7 minutes.

CAJUN CHICKEN AND SAUSAGE JAMBALAYA

Steps:

• The most important thing is to use the right equipment and I would suggest the following: a 2-gallon cast iron Dutch oven, a high BTU gas stove, and a large stainless steel chef's spoon.
• Use high heat to preheat the Dutch oven and add the sausage. Using a chef's spoon or large spoon, constantly move the sausage from the bottom of the pot. Be careful not to burn the meat. (Normally I use Manda's sausage because it has little fat, however at this point you may want to drain off all of the excess grease to reduce the fat content from the dish.)
• Add the thigh meat and brown the chicken on all sides. Again use the spoon to scrape the meat from sticking and burning to the bottom of the pot. Browning the sausage and chicken meats should take 20 minutes. Be careful not to over cook the thigh meat to the point that it shreds.
• Lower the heat to medium and add the onions and garlic; saute for about 15 minutes or until the onions are very limp and "clear". Scrape the bottom of the pot to remove all the "graton". This is where the jambalaya gets its distinct brown color and taste.
• Add the tasso, thyme, basil and black and white pepper. Simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. This will give the seasonings time to release their oils and flavors.
• At this point the jambalaya concentrate can be transferred to smaller containers, cooled to room temperature, covered and refrigerated for future use. (This is what we do commercially; it allows the seasonings to marry.)
• When you are ready to cook the jambalaya, add the stock to the concentrate and bring to a rolling boil. Add the rice, reduce the heat to medium and gently break up the rice. Using the stainless steel paddle, continue to insure that the rice is not sticking to the bottom of the pot; this is very important!
• After about 5 minutes, fold in the parsley. Continue to scrape the pot to insure that no rice sticks to the bottom. When the jambalaya returns to a boil, reduce heat to the lowest possible setting and simmer, covered, for at least 25 minutes. Do not remove the cover while the rice is steaming.
• If Manda's brand sausage is not available, any lean smoked sausage can be substituted. You may have to remove any excess grease from the pot after frying down an unknown sausage.
• For a richer jambalaya substitute turkey stock for the chicken stock called for above.
• If no stocks are available, then chicken soup base can be used. Be careful with your seasoning, as bases are usually full of salt.
• Alternate Method:
• The jambalaya is best when served directly out of the cast iron pot. While the rice is steaming, the sausage and meat will have a tendency to float to the surface of the jambalaya. Therefore, after the rice has steamed for 25 minutes, use the paddle to gently fold in the meat and seasonings into the cooked rice. This should only be done once or twice, the rice will loose a lot of heat and the rice will break apart.
• Also note, I do not add salt to my jambalaya. This is because I like to use herbs, tasso and seasonings to satisfy the need for salt. I would suggest having the table set with salt shakers and a selection of hot pepper sauces.
• Plate Presentation:

JAMBALAYA

Steps:

• Heat 1 tablespoon of peanut oil in a large heavy Dutch oven over medium heat. Season the sausage and chicken pieces with Cajun seasoning. Saute sausage until browned. Remove with slotted spoon, and set aside. Add 1 tablespoon peanut oil, and saute chicken pieces until lightly browned on all sides. Remove with a slotted spoon, and set aside.
• In the same pot, saute onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic until tender. Stir in crushed tomatoes, and season with red pepper, black pepper, salt, hot pepper sauce, Worcestershire sauce and file powder. Stir in chicken and sausage. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Stir in the rice and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed.

LOUISIANA CHICKEN JAMBALAYA

Steps:

• In a heavy iron pot, heat the oil over medium high heat.
• Add onions, celery, green pepper, garlic, and tomato paste, and sauté until onions are tender.
• Stir in meat and seasonings.
• Cook until meat begins to brown, stirring often so it doesn't stick (8-10 minutes).
• Add water, and cook over medium-low heat for about 40 minutes, stirring often.
• I start my rice steamer now.
• Sprinkle with parsley and simmer over low heat, uncovered, for 15 minutes.
• Mix in cooked rice, and serve.

LOUISIANA CHICKEN AND SAUSAGE JAMBALAYA

Steps:

• In dutch oven or stock pot add chicken pieces, barely cover with water and season with salt and pepper or creole seasoning.
• Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce to a slow simmer and cook, covered, 30 to 45 minutes until meat can be easily de-boned . Do not overcook or cook too fast or the chicken will be stringy. Reserve 5 cups of stock or reduce stock to 5 cups.
• Remove chicken from pot, cool, de-bone, and cut into bite sized pieces, discarding skin and bones and setting aside the meat.
• In Heavy skillet (I use a 12" well seasoned cast iron skillet) saute ground pork sausage in oil, scrambling with a spatula, until done. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside, leaving fat in skillet.
• Add smoked sausage to skillet, cook until lightly browned. Remove from skillet with slotted spoon and set aside, reserving pan drippings.
• Sauté vegetables in hot skillet with 3 TBS of reserved pan drippings (more if needed) until celery is tender and onion is clear to lightly caramelized. Remove from skillet and set aside.
• In large heavy bottomed stock pot or dutch oven (at least 12 quart) add reserved chicken stock, rice, sausage, and vegetables, season to taste with salt and pepper or creole seasoning, bring to rapid boil, reduce to low heat, cover and cook for 30 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and rice is desired consistency. Do not remove lid during cooking.
• Remove from heat and gently fold to mix together the ingredients as they tend to stratify during cooking. Don't get too aggressive or you'll break up the rice grains and mush it up.
• Serve with a salad, garlic bread and iced tea.

LOUISIANA SAUSAGE JAMBALAYA

Steps:

• Melt butter in large pot over medium-high heat.
• Add the onions, green onions, bell pepper, garlic, serrano chile, bay leaves, Creole Seasoning, cayenne pepper and thyme.
• Cover and cook until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes.
• Add sausage, broth, tomatoes and rice.
• Bring mixture to simmer.
• Reduce heat to low, cover and cook until rice is very tender, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes to 45 minutes.

LOUISIANA CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Place flour in oven bag; shake to coat. Place oven bag in a 13x9-in. baking pan or larger roasting pan. Sprinkle chicken with salt and cayenne pepper; place in bag. , Surround chicken with onions, potatoes, carrots and green peppers. Place one garlic clove inside the chicken and one with the vegetables. Sprinkle parsley and mint over vegetables and chicken. Combine broth, Worcestershire sauce and bitters if desired. Pour under chicken inside of bag., Fasten the bag. Puncture the top of the bag five or six times with a fork. Bake until a thermometer inserted in thickest part of thigh reads 170°-175°, 1 to 1-1/2 hours.