and a little extra garlic... because garlic is heavenly, but this recipe is a winner. Our market only had the no salt version of the Tony Chacere’s creole seasoning, so I added a bit of salt each time it was called for. A definite winner. BBMF.
Dinner came late at the Shifty house. Can't rush quality.
I bought some Tony Chacere's seasoning, but what I didn't know is that here is a regular, a spicy, and BOLD. I got the spicy. This was fine for Mrs. Shifty and me, but G8 does not like spicy food. Thankfully I was very careful not to overdo it.
I added some shrimp, so thanks for that solid idea. Not a full pound, but some. I added torward the end so they didn't overcook AND the taste didn't get too shrimp-y.
The dish was delicious. It is a really great recipe. Deep and rich flavor. It is not overly complicated. The one ingredient that people need to be aware of is time. Chopping and prep, then cooking, then simmering as the liquid reduces . . . it was a solid hour at least, if not more.
Next time I'll cook it early and then reheat at dinner time.
Glad you also had a positive experience.
for dinner. I may add shrimp too. Thanks for the idea.
riced cauliflower in place of the rice.
...See link for source.
Cash's Jambalaya Recipe
Ingredients:
about 5 boneless chicken thighs
1 pack of smoked sausage (cajun if possible - I found some knock-offs here that aren't bad), sliced or cubed.
1 large onion, diced (red, yellow, or white will do)
1 large red bell pepper, diced (1 1/2 to 2 if smaller)
~4 stalks of celery, diced
~2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 cups of white rice
~ 1/2 cup of worcestershire sauce
6 cups of chicken broth (if you're using bouillion cubes or equivalent, make it a little more concentrated than directions suggest; e.g., 8-9 cubes for 6 cups)
salt and pepper, Tony Chachere's optional
olive oil
Note: The lid stays off of the pot throughout the entire cooking process until you're done.
Directions:
1. Put a large, preferably heavy pot (a dutch oven or cast iron pot is ideal) on medium-high heat and add enough olive oil to coat the bottom completely.
2. Salt/pepper/Tony's both sides of the chicken thighs, and put them in the pot. Let one side get a good golden brown crust, then flip and do the same for the other side, then remove. If the chicken isn't cooked all the way through, it's OK. You'll cook it more later. Set the chicken aside. It will need to be cut into bite sized pieces before going back in.
3. Right after taking the chicken out, add the diced onions and sprinkle them liberally right away with salt/pepper and/or Tony's. Stir regularly making sure not to let the onions burn. You can add a little olive oil if there's not enough left over from the browning of the chicken thighs.
4. Once the onions are good and soft/translucent, add the garlic, red bell pepper, and celery. Add a little more salt/pepper/Tony's. Stir regularly again as before. Cook about 5-10 minutes more again making sure not to let the veggies stick and burn.
5. Once all the vegetables are good and soft, add the diced chicken and sausage and stir them in for a minute or so. Then add the rice and stir for another 30 seconds or so.
6. Add the worcestershire sauce and about half of the chicken broth and stir well. Allow the liquid to come to a good boil. From here on out, you need to be stirring well every minute or two because you're still cooking with medium-high heat and you really don't want stuff to stick too much or it will burn.
7. As the liquid starts to boil off, add about half of what remains of the broth and stir regularly some more. You'll have to repeat this with the last of the chicken broth. As the rice becomes close to fully cooked, reduce the heat gradually and keep stirring. When just a little liquid remains in the jambalaya, turn the fire off, stir well, and cover the pot.
It's done. For best results, let it sit in the pot more than 30 minutes, but this is hardly essential. Sometimes I sprinkle in sliced scallions at the end for color more than anything else, but this is essentially superfluous.
The worst part about this recipe is that it requires your attention be on stirring up the boiling pot for a good 20 minutes or more straight. But it's worth it.
Last thing: the quality of the sausage makes all the difference. I've found Savoie's sausage once here in Nashville and that's optimal, but some of the more national brands will make what they call "andouille", but actually tastes to me nothing like real andouille. Luckily, it does taste most like a good cajun smoked sausage, which is what you need. I used Johnsonville's version the other day and it worked fine.
Enjoy. (Posted in the BR by Cash 4/27/10)