Dish of Chicken & Sausage Jambalaya
(click to enlarge)

Chicken & Sausage Jambalaya


USA, Louisiana Creole
Makes:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 4-1/4 #
***
2-1/4 hrs
Yes		 Jambalayas differ from other Cajun / Creole stews by cooking the rice in the stew, rather serving the stew over it. This Jambalaya is Creole, as it includes Tomato - just skip it for Cajun. - see Comments.

12
12
3
1/2
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7
4
4
4
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2
1/2
1
1/2
2
1
1/3
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14
8
3
1-1/3
oz
oz

T
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oz
oz
oz
cl
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T
t
t
t
t
t
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oz
oz
c
c
Chicken Meat (1)
Sausage, smoked (2)  
Bacon slice
Oil
-- Trinity
Onion
Bell Pepper, green  
Celery
Garlic
-- Seasoning
Bay Leaves
Creole Seasoning (3)
Paprika, Smoked
Chili Flake (4)
Worcestershire
Salt
Pepper
-----------
can Diced Tomatoes
Tomato Sauce (5)
Chicken Broth
Rice (6)
Prep   -   (50 min)
  1. Cut CHICKEN into 1 inch chunks.
  2. Cut BACON crosswise about 1 inch wide
  3. Cut Sausage 1/4 inch thick. Cut slices in half if large.
  4. Chop ONION small. Cap and seed BELL PEPPER and chop small. Trim CELERY and chop small. Slice GARLIC thin. Mix all.
  5. Chop GARNISH HERBS medium.
Run   -   (1-1/4 hrs)
  1. In a coverable Dutch Oven or similar (4qt), heat 1/2 Tablespoon Olive Oil, then stir in Bacon and fry over moderate heat until Bacon is crisp. Remove Bacon, leaving the Bacon Fat behind. Just eat the Bacon.
  2. In the Bacon Fat, fry Sausage until lightly browned. Remove it and set aside.
  3. Stir in Trinity mix and and fry stirring until Onions are translucent.
  4. Stir in Chicken and fry stirring until all raw color is gone and exuded liquid has evaporated.
  5. Stir in all Seasonings and Sausage for a couple minutes.
  6. Stir in Tomatoes (with juice), Tomato Sauce, Chicken Broth, and Rice. Bring to a boil (see also Oven Method). Turn to a simmer and simmer tightly covered until Rice and Chicken are cooked tender, 25 minutes or so. From half way through, uncover a couple of times and give a stir, scraping up the bottom. Adjust liquid if needed. It should finish up quite moist, but with no free liquid. If doing ahead cook the rice a bit shy of done and finish when you reheat.
  7. Let rest covered for 10 minutes, then serve hot, garnished as desired
NOTES:

  1. Chicken Thighs / Broth:

      Weight is skinless and boneless. Some recipes use Chicken Breast, but many agree with me that Thigh is far superior. For recipes like this, I buy whole chicken thighs a day ahead. I remove skin, bones and fat and simmer those with water to cover well. After 2 to 3 hours, I strain and use my gravy separator to remove fat. This produces the Chicken Broth for the recipe. For more on making and storing Broth, see our page Soup Stock / Broth.

  2. Sausage:

      The traditional is Andouille Sausage, but it is imperfectly available outside Louisiana. Most recipes today just call for "smoked sausage" and many allow Polish Kielbasa. Some prefer Kielbasa if serving children, as Andouille has significant chili heat. The photo example was made with Bandi brand "Smoked Hot Nightstick Sausage, which has the heat but is a little stiffer in texture than Andoouille.

  3. Creole Seasoning:

      Many recipes call for the basic ingredients of a Creole seasoning, but that is almost as much trouble as making the seasoning per our delicious recipe Creole Seasoning, and then you'd have more for other recipes.

  4. Chili Flake:

      You could also use a good Louisiana style Hot Sauce. In either case, use your own best judgement as to how hot and how much. Also, see that there's a bottle of Louisiana style Hot Sauce on the table.

  5. Tomato Sauce:

      This should be a very simple tomato sauce. My favorite is Faraon Spanish Style which comes in convenient 8 oz cans, but other simple sauces will also work.

  6. Rice:

      Many recipes use parboiled ("converted") rice like Ben's Original, often called "Restaurant Rice" because it is more tolerant of mishandling. Others use long grain rice such as is grown in Louisiana and Texas. Thai Jasmine will also work.

  7. Oven Method:

    1. Preheat Oven to 375°F/190°C.
    2. At Step-11, after stirring in the Rice and Broth, and bringing back to a boil, cover the pot and place in the heated Oven for 15 minutes.
    3. Pull from the oven, uncover and stir so everything is evenly distributed. Replace the cover and place back in the oven for another 15 minutes.
    4. Check if the Rice is cooked. If not quite, check there is liquid and return to the oven for a few minutes more. It should finish quite moist but with no free water.
    5. Let rest covered 10 minutes, then serve hot, garnished as desired.

  8. Comments:

      This is a very traditional dish, so it will be made differently in each household, but the major ingredients remain the same. Most recipes fry the Chicken and set it aside, or use roasted Chicken, but a couple of the most authoritative recipes add the chicken raw. I use a compromise sequence and fry the chicken in the Trinity until all raw color is gone, as in Asian recipes (this is California). How Tomato is added varies a lot, but none I've seen uses raw tomatoes, always canned, and/or tomato paste or tomato sauce. No reputable Jambalaya includes a Roux.
  9. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
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