Jambalaya

Anyone have some recipes to share?

This is one I have been using. You have to have your own Cajun spice

• 2 cups of uncooked brown rice
• 3 or 4 hot links
• 2 halved chicken breasts
• 2 cups of cooked shrimp
• 1 onion
• 2 sticks of celery
• 2 tomatos (or more, if small)
• 1 bell pepper
• Cajun seasoning
• garlic
• spicy hot peppers to preference
• 1 quart of chicken broth
• 1 can of tomato paste

Start the rice simmering in the chicken broth in a large pot with a lid.
Dice up the links and chicken and cook them up in a skillet. Drain and set aside with the shrimp.
Slice the vegetables up and cook in a little oil until tender adding some garlic and Cajun seasoning (and spicy peppers).
By now the rice should have soaked up a lot of the chicken broth. Add the meat and veggies to the pot along with the tomato paste. Add more seasoning if you like. Stir often to get it all mixed up. When it looks like the the rice has absorbed most of the broth then it’s done.



The last time I made this I needed to add more water at the end to get it just right.

[Tripp]

Ahh, jambalaya, one of my favorite foods, and possibly my favorite food to make. I use a sort of "wing it" approach when making jambalaya, and have adjusted the recipe to fit my girlfriends picky diet.

-I generally start with 2 onion 2 carrots, 2 celery stalks, 2 chicken breasts, and a package of turkey sausage or kielbasa.


-start by cutting the chicken in to 1" cubes, and saute in the bottom of a large pot with a bit of oil. Remove and set aside.
-Add chopped veggies, and just enough chicken broth to cover the bottom of the pan. Simmer veggies in the broth until cooked through, adding more broth if needed(I do this because she doesn't like crunchy veggies)
-add 2 cans peeled, diced, chopped tomatoe, and the spices (this is where I wing it. I use about 1tbsp Cajun, 1/2tsp Cayenne, 1Tbsp Chili powder, and quite a few dashes of hot sauce, and 5 bay leaves)
-simmer 15 minutes
-add 1 tiny can of tomato paste, and the chicken and sausage. Continue simmering until it is as spicy as you like. I usually let it go for about another 30 minutes, adding more broth, and stirring every few minutes.


-At this point theres a hard way and an easy way

1 - the easy way to do this is to just add about 5 cups of cooked Minute rice, and stir.

2 - the hard way is to add 2 cups of rice, and about 2 more cups of Chicken Broth, and simmer until the rice is done, adding more broth as needed

- Finally, simmer until it's as thick as you need.

Thanks for the replies! I think I may try one of these this weekend.

There was a good recipe or two back at "the old site".

[macpappy]

Originally Posted by BC-Axeman

There was a good recipe or two back at "the old site".

As requested:

These are just two of the ways I make jambalaya:

Shrimp & Sausage Jambalaya

3 lbs. Shrimp (50 ct. size is good) Peeled and cleaned
1 lb. Andouille Sausage
2 tbsp oil
1 tbsp butter
1 large onion, chopped
1 large bell pepper, chopped
½ cup finely chopped celery
1 14.5 oz. can Rotel tomatoes
3 cloves garlic, chopped
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
2 cups chicken stock or water
½ cup chopped green onions
2 bay leaves
1 tsp. thyme
1 tsp basil
½ tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt
½ tsp chili powder
1-1/2 cup long grain rice


Slice the sausage and sauté in the oil and butter over low for about 5 minutes or until the sausage starts to brown. Add the onions, green peppers, celery and garlic and sauté until tender. Stir in the seasonings, rice, tomatoes and water. Add the shrimp and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and cover. Cook over low for about 25 minutes. About 5 minutes before the jambalaya is finished, add the green onions and parsley. Cook until the rice is done. Remove the bay leaves before serving.

This is an old family recipe and that means the measurements on the seasonings are approximate since we usually don’t measure things like cayenne pepper. We generally season until it smells and taste right. Also, this is a “Red” jambalaya (from the tomatoes) which we only do when it has shrimp or other seafood in it.


Duck & Sausage Jambalaya (For the more adventurous)

1 duck, cut into pieces
Salt, Black Pepper, Garlic Powder
Flour
¼ cup oil
1 lb. Andouille sausage, sliced
1 large onion, chopped
3 ribs celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 tsp. thyme
1 tsp basil
½ tsp cayenne pepper
2 cups long grain rice
1 can beer
1 cup chicken broth
1-1/2 cup water

(It takes a little more prep time, but I usually remove the bones from the duck before starting. Otherwise you can brown the duck, let it cool a little and then remove the meat from the bones and cut into bite size pieces.) Season the duck with salt, black pepper, and garlic powder. Dredge in flour and fry over medium heat until brown in a cast iron dutch oven or heavy aluminum pot. When brown, remove the duck from the pot and quickly add the sausage, onions, celery, garlic and bell pepper and cook until the vegetables are tender. Stir constantly to keep the flour (that was on the duck) from burning. Put the duck back in the pot, cover and cook on low for about 30 minutes. (if you didn’t debone the duck before browning, now is when you’ll need to remove the meat from the bones)

Add the seasonings and the rice and stir until thoroughly mixed. Add the beer, chicken broth and water. Cover and cooked over low heat until rice is done.

[SnuffCan]

Originally Posted by macpappy

As requested:

These are just two of the ways I make jambalaya:

Shrimp & Sausage Jambalaya

3 lbs. Shrimp (50 ct. size is good) Peeled and cleaned
1 lb. Andouille Sausage
2 tbsp oil
1 tbsp butter
1 large onion, chopped
1 large bell pepper, chopped
½ cup finely chopped celery
1 14.5 oz. can Rotel tomatoes
3 cloves garlic, chopped
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
2 cups chicken stock or water
½ cup chopped green onions
2 bay leaves
1 tsp. thyme
1 tsp basil
½ tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt
½ tsp chili powder
1-1/2 cup long grain rice


Slice the sausage and sauté in the oil and butter over low for about 5 minutes or until the sausage starts to brown. Add the onions, green peppers, celery and garlic and sauté until tender. Stir in the seasonings, rice, tomatoes and water. Add the shrimp and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and cover. Cook over low for about 25 minutes. About 5 minutes before the jambalaya is finished, add the green onions and parsley. Cook until the rice is done. Remove the bay leaves before serving.

This is an old family recipe and that means the measurements on the seasonings are approximate since we usually don’t measure things like cayenne pepper. We generally season until it smells and taste right. Also, this is a “Red” jambalaya (from the tomatoes) which we only do when it has shrimp or other seafood in it.


Duck & Sausage Jambalaya (For the more adventurous)

1 duck, cut into pieces
Salt, Black Pepper, Garlic Powder
Flour
¼ cup oil
1 lb. Andouille sausage, sliced
1 large onion, chopped
3 ribs celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 tsp. thyme
1 tsp basil
½ tsp cayenne pepper
2 cups long grain rice
1 can beer
1 cup chicken broth
1-1/2 cup water

(It takes a little more prep time, but I usually remove the bones from the duck before starting. Otherwise you can brown the duck, let it cool a little and then remove the meat from the bones and cut into bite size pieces.) Season the duck with salt, black pepper, and garlic powder. Dredge in flour and fry over medium heat until brown in a cast iron dutch oven or heavy aluminum pot. When brown, remove the duck from the pot and quickly add the sausage, onions, celery, garlic and bell pepper and cook until the vegetables are tender. Stir constantly to keep the flour (that was on the duck) from burning. Put the duck back in the pot, cover and cook on low for about 30 minutes. (if you didn’t debone the duck before browning, now is when you’ll need to remove the meat from the bones)

Add the seasonings and the rice and stir until thoroughly mixed. Add the beer, chicken broth and water. Cover and cooked over low heat until rice is done.

One must always use andouille in cajun dishes, my wife and I almost always embark upon divorce negotiations when she asks me to substitute with chicke or turkey sausage...NO EXCUSES!!!

[Mark C]

I've been in the mood for a good jambalaya for awhile now. This was just what I need, thanks!

Jambalaya is real "feel good" food. Makes good leftovers too. Always make too much.

Originally Posted by BC-Axeman

Jambalaya is real "feel good" food. Makes good leftovers too. Always make too much.

There's no such thing as too much.

[Tripp]

Originally Posted by shortstory5

There's no such thing as too much.

When I make jambalaya, my cubemates make fun of me because I have it for lunch almost every day for at least a week after I make it.

[Tredegar]

Remember when making Jambalaya it's best to use a heavy pot, preferably cast iron. Once the pot gets hot and the water boils, you can turn off the heat, put a lid on the pot and let the heat from the pot cook the rice with no chance of burning. Works every time.

[longknocker]

Originally Posted by Tripp

When I make jambalaya, my cubemates make fun of me because I have it for lunch almost every day for at least a week after I make it.

Me, Too! I Use Zatarain's Cajun Cheesy Mix With Hot Conecuh Sausage Made Right Here In Alabama!

There is nothing like the smell of jambalaya cooking in the house. It sure gets the appetite going.

[shadow king]

Thanks for the recipes!! This is one of my all time favorite foods. I was looking for an "authenic" recipe for a while now. I have been using Zatarain's with my own little add ins of veggies.

Thanks, Joe, for those recipes. I really want to try that duck one.

[8zeros]

I just made some jambalaya tonight. I thought I might post a recipe but it's not much different than these. I was thinking I was making too much and it got wiped out quick. I didn't have sausage so I used bacon. That's a winner.

[icehog3]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMMVvS_mmqE

[pnoon]

Originally Posted by icehog3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMMVvS_mmqE

[Axeman]

Just had some homemade jambalaya this week.
Life is good.
Working on the beef and barley soup now.
Life is still good.
My jambalaya is better than my wife's. But her b&b soup is a winner!