Cajun Jambalaya With Andouille Sausage And Tasso Recipes

PAUL PRUDHOMME'S CHICKEN AND TASSO JAMBALAYA

Steps:

• Combine first 7 ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a Dutch oven, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add tasso and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
• Add chicken and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring often. Add seasoning mix and half the onion, celery, and green pepper. Cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes.
• Add garlic and cook 2 more minutes. Stir in tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, remaining onion, celery, and green pepper.
• Add chicken stock and rice and stir to mix. Transfer mixture to 9-inch baking dish. Bake uncovered for 60 minutes. Stir well and remove bay leaves.

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:

CHICKEN, ANDOUILLE, AND SHRIMP JAMBALAYA

Steps:

• In a large Dutch oven, heat oil over medium high heat; add sausage and chicken, and cook about 5 minutes or until browned. Add onion, celery, and bell pepper, and cook, stirring frequently, about 3 minutes or until tender. Add garlic, stirring for about 30 seconds until fragrant. Add rice, and stir about 3 minutes until lightly toasted.
• Add tomatoes, and stir until juices are absorbed. Add broth, thyme, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium-low. Cover, and cook for 15 minutes or until rice is tender.
• In a medium bowl, combine shrimp, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, paprika, cayenne, and parsley. Add shrimp to rice mixture, and stir until combined. Cook for 2 minutes or until shrimp are pink and firm. Add remaining 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper.
• Garnish with green onion, if desired. Serve immediately.

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.

CAJUN JAMBALAYA WITH ANDOUILLE SAUSAGE AND TASSO

Steps:

• Combine the seasonings and set aside.
• In a heavy skillet, melt the margarine and brown the raw rice over medium heat, stirring constantly until golden-brown.
• Chop the Tasso and Andouille sausage.
• Melt the margarine in another heavy skillet (cast iron preferred) and cook the Tasso and sausage over high heat for 5 minutes or so.
• Add the onion, celery, bell pepper, garlic, and seasoning mix, and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until browned (about 10 minutes).
• Stir in the browned rice and add the stock.
• Stir well and bring to a boil.
• Reduce the heat and simmer until the rice is tender but still crunchy (about 20 minutes).
• This must be stirred frequently to keep the rice from sticking and burning.
• Remove the bay leaves and serve immediately, or pour into a long flat open pan to cool so it will not continue to cook.
• To serve, heat the plates and press about 1/2 cup lightly into a teacup or Pyrex custard cup and turn onto each plate.
• Serve 2 molds for a main course or 1 for an appetizer.
• Serve with little green peas and whole kernel com.

ANDOUILLE, SHRIMP, AND CHICKEN JAMBALAYA

Steps:

• Bring 3 cups chicken broth and rice to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the rice is tender and liquid has been absorbed, 20 to 25 minutes.
• Heat cast-iron Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cook and stir andouille sausage in hot pot until browned, about 5 minutes. Remove sausage from the pot with a slotted spoon, retaining any drippings in the pot.
• Saute sweet onion, green onions, celery, and bell pepper in the sausage drippings until tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Season vegetable mixture with Creole seasoning, minced garlic, hot sauce, and black pepper; cook for 1 minute more.
• Pour tomato sauce and diced tomatoes over the vegetable mixture; stir and add shrimp, shredded chicken, browned sausage, and 1 cup chicken broth into the tomato mixture. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook at a simmer until he shrimp are no longer translucent, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Scoop rice into bowls and ladle jambalaya over the rice.

CHICKEN AND TASSO JAMBALAYA

Steps:

• Combine the seasoning mix ingredients in small bowl and set aside.
• Melt the butter in a 2-quart saucepan over high heat. Add the tasso and cook until meat starts to brown, about 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Add chicken and continue cooking until chicken is brown, about 3 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently and scraping pan bottom well. Stir in the seasoning mix and 1/2 cup each of the onions, celery, and bell peppers and the garlic. Cook until vegetables start to get tender, about 5 to 8 minutes, stirring fairly constantly and scraping pan bottom as needed. Stir in the tomato sauce and cook about 1 minute, stirring often. Stir in the remaining 1/2 cup each of the onions, celery, and bell peppers and the tomatoes. Remove from heat. Stir in the stock and rice, mixing well. Transfer mixture to an ungreased 8x8-inch baking pan. Bake uncovered in a 350° oven until rice is tender but still a bit crunchy, about 1 hour. Remove from oven. Stir well and remove bay leaves Let sit 5 minutes before serving.
• To serve, mold rice in an 8-ounce cup and place 2 cups on each serving plate for a main course or 1 cup for an appetizer.

CAJUN JAMBALAYA WITH ANDOUILLE SAUSAGE AND TASSO

Steps:

• 1. Combine the seasonings and set aside.
• 2. In a heavy skillet, melt the butter and brown the raw rice over medium heat, stirring constantly until golden-brown.
• 3. Chop the Tasso and Andouille sausage. Melt the butter in another heavy skillet (cast iron preferred) and cook the Tasso and sausage over high heat for 5 minutes or so.
• 4. Add the onion, celery, bell pepper, garlic, and seasoning mix, and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until browned (about 10 minutes).
• 5. Stir in the browned rice and add the stock. Stir well and bring to a boil.
• 6. Reduce the heat and simmer until the rice is tender but still crunchy (about 20 minutes). This must be stirred frequently to keep the rice from sticking and burning.
• 7. Remove the bay leaves and serve immediately, or pour into a long flat open pan to cool so it will not continue to cook.
• 8. To serve, heat the plates and press about 1/2 cup lightly into a teacup or Pyrex custard cup and turn onto each plate. Serve 2 molds for a main course or 1 for an appetizer.
• 9. Serve with little green peas and whole kernel corn, if desired.