Chicken and sausage jambalaya recipe
If you love fusion food, you’re probably a pretty big fan of the culinary whirlpool that is New Orleans. A brazen, haphazard mashup of North American, European, African and Caribbean food culture, New Orleans’ cuisine has settled into two quickly merging styles, Creole and Cajun.
Classic and refined, Creole is the genteel descendant of traditional French cuisine — served in the city’s finest restaurants by some of the worlds most accomplished chefs. Cajun food on the other hand, is the mouthwatering country cookin’ (without that pretentious “G”) of rural Louisiana that makes extensive use of spice, small woodland creatures and swamp animals but somehow shies away from tomatoes. In what other city could you enjoy crawfish mousse stuffed zucchini flowers and a rustic jambalaya made with sausage and rodents of unusual size (or ROUSs)?*
For this chicken and sausage jambalaya recipe, we decided to create a dish that borrowed a little from both the Creole and Cajun styles. Both the Creole “red” and Cajun “brown” jambalaya styles use the “Holy Trinity” of onions, bell peppers and celery at their base — and ours in no different — but we did use tomatoes (and skipped the swamp animal) like the Creole style would and gave the jambalaya some smoke and spice like a Cajun would. Purists needn’t worry though, jambalaya is one of our favorite dishes so we’ll almost certainly do some dedicated Creole and Cajun style recipes soon. Hey, who knows, Wesley and I might even fire roast some ROUSs for jambalaya at some point.
* ROUSs do exist, though somewhat smaller than the ones found in the Fire Swamp. A cousin of the muskrat, these ROUSs are a giant swamp rat known as the nutria — the other, other, other white meat. (for real though, there’s a movie). I understand that nutria is sustainable and healthier than traditional beef —and from what I gather pretty tasty — but that’s going to be a really tough sell at Chili’s.
Image: ForkingSpoon
Chicken and sausage jambalaya recipe
This chicken and sausage jambalaya borrows from the best Creole and Cajun traditions for a spicy jambalaya thats the best of both worlds.
Ingredients
Instructions
Cook the chicken and sausage
In a large dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium to high heat, cook the diced bacon for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring often, until the bacon is browned but not crisp. Add the smoked sausage and cook for a 8 to 10 minutes until the sausage is browned. Remove the bacon and sausage and set aside.
Coat the chicken in the paprika and cook the chicken for 7 to 8 minutes or until the chicken is completely cooked through. Remove the chicken and set aside.
Cook the vegetables
Mix in the butter, scraping up any browned bits (or fond) from the meat, and stirring occasionally, cook the onion, celery, green pepper and red pepper for 10 to 12 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Add in the jalapeños, garlic, tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano, thyme, chili powder and cayenne pepper and cook for an additional 5 minutes until the vegetables and spices are well blended. If necessary, break down any stubborn tomatoes with your spatula.
Cook the jambalaya
Add the white wine, again scraping up the fond from the bottom of the pot, cooking for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the bacon, sausage, chicken, chicken stock, rice and bay leaves and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce to low heat and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the bay leaves and add the green onions, parsley and lemon juice. Cover the pot and cook until the rice is tender ( 15 minutes). A folded kitchen towel placed under the lid can absorb any excess condensation. Fluff the rice with a fork and serve.
Notes
Sometimes to save time a recipe will call for the rice to be cooked separately from the meat and vegetables. That, as my former boss and former chef from New Orleans once told me, is only for hooligans. Don't be a hooligan. Cook the rice with the meat and vegetables — it's worth the extra effort.
Ingredients
Directions
Cook the chicken and sausage
In a large dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium to high heat, cook the diced bacon for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring often, until the bacon is browned but not crisp. Add the smoked sausage and cook for a 8 to 10 minutes until the sausage is browned. Remove the bacon and sausage and set aside.
Coat the chicken in the paprika and cook the chicken for 7 to 8 minutes or until the chicken is completely cooked through. Remove the chicken and set aside.
Cook the vegetables
Mix in the butter, scraping up any browned bits (or fond) from the meat, and stirring occasionally, cook the onion, celery, green pepper and red pepper for 10 to 12 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Add in the jalapeños, garlic, tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano, thyme, chili powder and cayenne pepper and cook for an additional 5 minutes until the vegetables and spices are well blended. If necessary, break down any stubborn tomatoes with your spatula.
Cook the jambalaya
Add the white wine, again scraping up the fond from the bottom of the pot, cooking for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the bacon, sausage, chicken, chicken stock, rice and bay leaves and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce to low heat and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the bay leaves and add the green onions, parsley and lemon juice. Cover the pot and cook until the rice is tender ( 15 minutes). A folded kitchen towel placed under the lid can absorb any excess condensation. Fluff the rice with a fork and serve.
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