Jambalaya

[Gerald]

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............... I usually make a much larger batch and freeze it in meal size portions to be cooked with rice later.

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.
· Skim off excess grease, but leave some to add flavor.

Cooking Rice


If preparing large amount of the Jambalaya, take out about 1 cup of “stock” for each serving desired to eat now. Put remaining portion aside to cool and then put in labeled containers to save or freeze. The extra Jambalaya w/rice can also be frozen for a few months. Add seasoning to pot, if needed, after eating.

· 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.