Monday, 19 July 2010

• Jambalaya: Labor of Love

   

  
  This traditional Cajun comfort food takes about 3 hours total to cook up, but the resulting richness of textures and flavors and worth every minute.
  This is the basic recipe: 
  
  

  2 tbsp vegetable oil
  
  1 chicken, cut up.
  1lb smoked sausage of your choice or Andouille, sliced to 1/2 inch on the bias
  
  1 whole large white onion, chopped
  3 stalks celery, chopped
  1 large bell pepper, seeded and chopped
  2-4 green onions, sliced
  4 large cloves fresh garlic, minced, OR 2tsp garlic powder
  
  1/2 tsp salt
  1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  2 tsp black pepper
  2 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
  
  2 bay leaves
  1 tsp oregano
  1/4 tsp thyme
  1/4 tsp dried basil
  
  2 cups white rice (long grain)
  1 can stewed whole tomatoes (28oz)
  4 cups chicken stock
  7-10 quarts stock pot
  
  1/2 tsp paprika

  
  
  This recipe works best with a helper, since it's a lot of chopping and preparing, and you don't want whatever you've got on the heat to burn.  Start by quartering your whole chicken. 
  
  

  

  
  We split it down the middle with a cleaver, then used a sharp knife to separate it at the leg, thigh, and wing joints.  Leave the bones in and the skin on for now.  We also used the giblets and just fine diced them, since they add good flavor, but that's optional if you're queasy about it.
  
  

  

  
  We froze the neck and spine in ziplock to make soup later.  It's not much use for this recipe, but will make a good chicken stock, and there's no sense in wasting it!
  
  

  

  
  Next add your oil and chicken pieces to your stock  pot, and add about half of your salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and cayenne.  Cook covered on about medium/medium high for around half an hour, until it's cooked through.  It should put out a lot of water, so as long as you have it covered and check/ rearrange it from time to time, it shouldn't burn.
  
  

  

  
  The spice measurements we gave above are conservative, and estimates.  We actually just used these shakers until it seemed about right. The goal is to get a nice caramelized kind of spicy crust on both the chicken and sausage that will stand up well when you boil it all together later.
  
  

  

  
  While you have the chicken going, roughly chop the onion, celery, green onion, bell pepper, and garlic, and set them aside in a large bowl.
  
  

  

  
  Then go ahead and slice the sausage to about a half inch, on the bias (as shown)
  
  

  

  
  When your chicken is ready to come out, it should look like this.  Save all those drippings that will be in the bottom of the pot in a bowl and set them aside.  They can sub in for one of your cups of chicken stock, and will be much more delicious.
  
  

  

  
  Go ahead and throw your sausage in the pot with the rest of the same seasonings you used earlier and mix it around on medium heat, being careful not to burn it.
  
  

  

  
  As you can see here, it should really just get brown and get that glaze we were talking about earlier.
  
  

  

  
  While that's going, allow the chicken to cool so that you can debone it.  We put it in the freezer to speed things up, and it helped. As you debone it, go ahead and pull it apart into bite sized pieces.  Discard the skin and bones.  When you've got it all done, go ahead and add it back in with the sausage  and turn the heat up a bit so that it can caramelize too, since it probably didn't get to earlier when all those drippings were in the pot.
  
  

  

  
  After that's done, dump the meat into a large bowl and set aside.  Add your chopped veggies and just a tiny bit of oil, and cook on medium heat until the onions start to brown and everything cooks down.  Make sure and scrape the bottom with a spatula or something so that anything stuck from the caramelization doesn't continue to burn there, and also so that it adds flavor to the veggies. 
  
  

   

  
  They should look about like this when they're all ready.
  
  

  

  
  Now go ahead and deglaze with your chicken stock and tomatoes, add the meat back in, and add the rest of your herbs and spices.
  
  

  

  
  Next bring it to a rolling boil and add the rice. Turn it down to low/medium-low and cook for 15-20 minutes, turning occasionally with a large spoon.
  
  

  

  
  Now go ahead and remove from heat and take the lid off, and turn the jambalaya a bit so that it loses and absorbs some water and starts to cool off.  Add a dash of paprika for a little more flavor and color.  It should be nice and thick, much more like a rice pilaf than a soup, for lack of a better analogy.
  
  

  

  
  And there you have it!  There are ways to save some time and work (like using boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs and cutting them small to begin with), but they sacrifice some of the flavor. Pair with a nice blush (like a dry rose) or a hearty Australian Shiraz, and enjoy!
  
  What meal took you the longest to prepare?

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