Brown Cajun Jambalaya Recipes

CAJUN JAMBALAYA

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large enameled cast-iron skillet over medium-high. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Add chicken to skillet. Cook, turning occasionally to brown chicken all over, about 8 minutes. Remove chicken to a plate, leaving oil in skillet.
• Add sausage, cook turning once to brown, about 1 minute per side. Remove to plate with chicken, leaving oil in skillet. Reduce heat to medium. Add remaining tablespoon oil, onion, celery, bell pepper, garlic, and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, scraping brown bits from bottom of pan and stirring occasionally, until very soft and golden, about 8 minutes.
• Add rice and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Add bay leaf, paprika, cayenne, oregano, and thyme and continue to cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Return meat and any accumulated juices to skillet. Stir in broth, increase heat, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook until rice is tender, 20 minutes. Serve.

CAJUN CHICKEN AND SAUSAGE JAMBALAYA

Steps:

• The most important thing is to use the right equipment and I would suggest the following: a 2-gallon cast iron Dutch oven, a high BTU gas stove, and a large stainless steel chef's spoon.
• Use high heat to preheat the Dutch oven and add the sausage. Using a chef's spoon or large spoon, constantly move the sausage from the bottom of the pot. Be careful not to burn the meat. (Normally I use Manda's sausage because it has little fat, however at this point you may want to drain off all of the excess grease to reduce the fat content from the dish.)
• Add the thigh meat and brown the chicken on all sides. Again use the spoon to scrape the meat from sticking and burning to the bottom of the pot. Browning the sausage and chicken meats should take 20 minutes. Be careful not to over cook the thigh meat to the point that it shreds.
• Lower the heat to medium and add the onions and garlic; saute for about 15 minutes or until the onions are very limp and "clear". Scrape the bottom of the pot to remove all the "graton". This is where the jambalaya gets its distinct brown color and taste.
• Add the tasso, thyme, basil and black and white pepper. Simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. This will give the seasonings time to release their oils and flavors.
• At this point the jambalaya concentrate can be transferred to smaller containers, cooled to room temperature, covered and refrigerated for future use. (This is what we do commercially; it allows the seasonings to marry.)
• When you are ready to cook the jambalaya, add the stock to the concentrate and bring to a rolling boil. Add the rice, reduce the heat to medium and gently break up the rice. Using the stainless steel paddle, continue to insure that the rice is not sticking to the bottom of the pot; this is very important!
• After about 5 minutes, fold in the parsley. Continue to scrape the pot to insure that no rice sticks to the bottom. When the jambalaya returns to a boil, reduce heat to the lowest possible setting and simmer, covered, for at least 25 minutes. Do not remove the cover while the rice is steaming.
• If Manda's brand sausage is not available, any lean smoked sausage can be substituted. You may have to remove any excess grease from the pot after frying down an unknown sausage.
• For a richer jambalaya substitute turkey stock for the chicken stock called for above.
• If no stocks are available, then chicken soup base can be used. Be careful with your seasoning, as bases are usually full of salt.
• Alternate Method:
• The jambalaya is best when served directly out of the cast iron pot. While the rice is steaming, the sausage and meat will have a tendency to float to the surface of the jambalaya. Therefore, after the rice has steamed for 25 minutes, use the paddle to gently fold in the meat and seasonings into the cooked rice. This should only be done once or twice, the rice will loose a lot of heat and the rice will break apart.
• Also note, I do not add salt to my jambalaya. This is because I like to use herbs, tasso and seasonings to satisfy the need for salt. I would suggest having the table set with salt shakers and a selection of hot pepper sauces.
• Plate Presentation:

CAJUN JAMBALAYA

Steps:

• In a large Dutch oven or similar pot, fry the bacon over medium heat. When it's crispy, remove and chop. Set aside. Brown the duck and thighs well. Add the onion, celery and green pepper and brown that, too. Let this cook a minute or three, then add the garlic. In some cases, your pot may be too crowded, so if that happens, fish out the thighs for the moment.
• As the vegetables are cooking, use the liquid they release to scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pot. Let everything cook until you get bits starting to stick again. Add a splash of stock and the tomato paste, along with the oregano and Cajun seasoning. Stir well and let this cook until it starts to stick one more time.
• Stir in the rice and andouille and let this cook for a minute or two. Add in the rest of the stock, stir well, scrape any browned bits off the bottom of the pot and bring to a simmer. Cover the pot, drop the heat to low and let this cook until the rice is done, about 20 minutes.
• Stir in the chives and parsley before serving.

EASY CAJUN JAMBALAYA

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Saute chicken and kielbasa until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic. Season with cayenne, onion powder, salt and pepper. Cook 5 minutes, or until onion is tender and translucent. Add rice, then stir in chicken stock and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer 20 minutes, or until rice is tender. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce and hot pepper sauce.

CAJUN PORK JAMBALAYA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
• In a large, heavy cast-iron pot with a heavy lid over medium-high heat, fry the bacon until crispy. Remove the bacon, chop into pieces and save for later.
• Add the onions, celery, and bell pepper to the bacon drippings. Cook until translucent and add the garlic. Cook for another 2 minutes and then remove the vegetables to a platter.
• In the same pot, add the sausages, tasso, and ham. Continue to sauté until the meats turn brown, about 5 to 10 minutes. Deglaze the pot by pouring in the beer and scraping the bits from the bottom of the pot while stirring.
• Add the bacon pieces, all of the browned vegetables, parsley, and green onions. Add the cayenne and a couple of shakes of hot sauce along with salt and black pepper to taste.
• Add the rice to the pot and stir until evenly distributed. Add the stock and stir again.
• Here is the important point of jambalaya cooking - cover the pot and place in the hot oven for 1 hour. Open a cold beer and forget about it. Do not stir or even raise the lid on the pot for the first hour. In that hour, all the flavors are coming together, and the rice is gently cooking.
• At the end of 1 hour, take a peek, but do not stir (or it will become sticky and starchy). Make sure most of the stock has been absorbed and take a taste to see if the rice is cooked to at least al dente. If so, turn off the oven, cover the pot and let it continue cooking in the carryover heat of the oven for another 20 minutes.
• When your guests are seated, remove the pot from the oven and place in the middle of the table. Uncover and dig in. Oh, and be sure to have lots of French bread and ice-cold beer.

BROWN CAJUN JAMBALAYA

Steps:

• Prepare Spice Mix in small container; set aside.
• In large Dutch oven brown cooked chicken, smoked sausage and diced ham; drain grease.
• Add to browned meats the onion, celery, bell pepper and garlic. Saute for 5 minutes, or until vegetables are soft, lifting brown bits from bottom of pan.
• Add spice mix and stir.
• To the same pot stir in 4 cups chicken broth, parsley, green onions, Kitchen Bouquet and bay leaf; bring to a boil.
• Add 2 cups converted rice, stirring once.
• Cover and cook about 20 - 25 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.

BROWN RICE JAMBALAYA

Steps:

• In a large Dutch oven, heat oil over medium high heat, Add chicken, browning well on all sides; transfer chicken to plate, add sausage; cook until browned.
• Add onions, celery, green pepper and garlic; cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
• Add rice; stir to coat and continue cooking one minute.
• Add stock, salt, pepper and cayenne; bring to boil stirring well.
• Nestle chicken pieces into rice.
• Cover, cook over low heat until chicken is cooked through, liquid is absorbed and rice is tender, about 30 minutes.
• Remove from heat, stir in cilantro or parsley and leave covered 10 minutes.
• Garnish with sliced jalapeño.
• (I added the jalapeño into the jambalaya with the green pepper, rather than use it as a garnish).

JAMBALAYA

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a Dutch oven. Add the onion, bell pepper and celery and sauté for 8 to 10 minutes. Add garlic and sauté for 2 minutes.
• Add sausage and chicken and cook for about 10 minutes.
• Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, bay leaves, broth, Creole or Cajun seasoning and rice. Cover and simmer on low heat for about 40 minutes.

CAJUN JAMBALAYA

Steps:

• In a bowl combine shrimp, chicken and Creole seasoning, and work in seasoning well. In a large saucepan heat oil over high heat with onion, pepper and celery, 3 minutes. Add garlic, tomatoes, bay leaves, Worcestershire and hot sauces. Stir in rice and slowly add broth. Reduce heat to medium and cook until rice absorbs liquid and becomes tender, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. When rice is just tender add shrimp and chicken mixture and sausage. Cook until meat is done, about 10 minutes more. Season to taste with salt, pepper and Creole seasoning.