Jambalaya
Jambalaya can be made with different meats. It usually contains chicken and one or more other meats (sausage, pork, beef, venison, squirrel, duck, goose, etc.) along with a variety of vegetables and spices. This can also be made with seafood such as crawfish, shrimp or crab; but not fish...it would fall apart. This can also be made with or without a roux.
For 4 to 6 people.
Preparation
· 3 or 4 large yellow onions, chopped.
· 2 to 4 cups of celery, chopped.
· 1 med. Bell pepper, chopped.
· 3 to 5 cloves of garlic, finely chopped.
· ½ cup parsley, chopped.
· 1 cup green onions, chopped (optional).
· 1 cup chopped fresh or 1 small can of mushrooms (optional).
Meats
· 1.5 to 2.5 lbs., chicken can be in whole pieces but cut other meat into bite size portions.
· 1 lb smoked sausage cut into bite size pieces.
Cooking Stock
· Brown sausage on med. heat and place on paper towel to remove grease.
· Brown all other meat. This may take a couple of batches.
· Sauté the yellow onions, celery and bell pepper in with the meat. [not the sausage]
· Add ~3 cups of water to pot and add meat and sausage after browning.
· Add about 1 tablespoon salt and black pepper....... for a different flavor, add 1 can of Rotel
· Add about ½ teaspoon red pepper. tomatoes instead of the black & red pepper.
· Add garlic and parsley. ........Or add ½ jalapenopepper, finely chopped.
· Add 1/8 cup sugar.
· Add ½ teaspoon thyme and sage (optional).
· Add mushrooms (optional).
· Add ½ to 1 cup of Roux (optional). See recipe for making Roux.
· Add one small can of tomato sauce for a little different flavor (optional).
· Stir and simmer at least 30 minutes. Taste and add seasoning, as needed. Chicken will fall apart if cooked too long. So if you want the chicken to stay in larger pieces, add it after you simmer the other meats.
· Skim off excess grease, but leave some to add flavor.
Cooking Rice
· Add about 2 cups water to the Jambalaya stock and bring to boil.
· Add ~2 to 2.5 cups rice. [~ ½ cup rice per serving]
· Stir, cover and Cook on low heat about 20 minutes.
· Add more water, as needed, while cooking rice.
Pictures are of a batch of Jambalaya and containers to put in the freezer for later.
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