Recipe: Jambalaya (The Real Cajun Way)

When it comes to utilizing fish or game there may be no better dish than Jambalaya.

Jambalaya is a creole rice dish taking elements from West African, French and Spanish cooking. The dish consists of mainly of meat and vegetables mixed with rice. Traditionally, the meat always includes sausage of some sort, another meat and seafood. The vegetables are the Cajun base known as the "holy trinity". Onion, celery, and green bell pepper. The possibilities are endless with what proteins you can use and with the spices and flavors of this dish it matches with wild game and fish.

If you’ve ever ordered Jambalaya at a restaurant outside of Louisiana you’ve most likely been served some terrible imposter of the dish. I have found too many people make it soupy and often with tomato, which would offend any Cajun I’ve ever met. Let me start with one rule. One fact that you can take from this. Jambalaya is not a soup, and never should be soupy.

Also when it comes to most cajun dishes, there’s often no set “recipe” and often carries from family to family. As an honorary New Orleanian, I will warn you that when I cook exact measures are not a thing and my food is based off of years and years of experience making it. Cajun food isn’t science, it’s ingredients, technique and loads of LOVE.

For this recipe I will use non wild ingredients, but feel free to swap to a wild ingredient that I will include in [ ].

Ingredients:

· 2lb Andouille Sausage

· 1lb Shrimp [redfish or walleye]

· 1lb shredded chicken [duck or venison]

· 4 cups white rice

· 8 cups shrimp stock (could substitute any stock)

· 2 cups chopped onion

· 1 cup diced bell pepper

· 1 cup diced celery

· 4 cloves of garlic chopped

· 3 Tbsp bacon grease or lard (canola oil can be substituted)

· 1 bunch of scallions chopped.

· 1 Tbsp fresh thyme picked from the stem

· Tony Chachere creole season to taste

· Crystal Hot sauce (Louisiana brand as well) to taste

Let’s Cook!

1. Begin by heating 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat in your pot over a medium heat. Then place in the andouille sausage and brown while rendering out some of it’s fat. Using a slotted spoon remove the andouille and reserve for later while leaving all of the fat in the pot.

2. Next toss in the onion and season with some of the creole seasoning. After a few minutes of cooking the onions add the green pepper, celery and garlic and season with a little more creole seasoning and a few dashes of hot sauce. The spicier you want, add more hot sauce. Cook until all of the vegetables are soft.

3. Remove the cooked veggies and place the remaining tablespoon of bacon fat in the pot along with the rice. Make sure to keep stirring so you do not burn the rice. Once you notice a slight nutty or toasted fragrance from the rice add the cooked vegetables back in the pot and stir to mix everything.

4. Add the shrimp stock, chicken, and cooked andouille sausage and stir.

5. Bring to a boil.

6. Once pot reaches a boil, cover pot and turn heat down to a simmer.

7. After about 15-20 minutes check and stir the rice and add the shrimp in and turn off the heat.

8. Cover the pot and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes.

9. After sitting time transfer to another dish and toss with chopped scallions and serve with hot sauce.

Jambalaya is a perfect party food and often served as part of any gathering in Louisiana like a football game or the biggest party of them all, Mardi Gras! Whenever you chose to make it. Jambalaya is always a crowd pleaser and a blank canvas to use any kind of meat you want.