Smoked Chicken and Andouille Jambalaya
(Serves 4)
Jambalaya is a classic Cajun and Creole dish that can be made with a variety of ingredients but usually includes Andouille, a heavily smoked spicy pork sausage. Other ingredients commonly used are chicken, shrimp, pork, beef, duck, alligator, oysters, crawfish or a combination.
Most recipes for chicken jambalaya call for uncooked chicken to be added to sautéed vegetables and then rice, tomatoes (for the Creole version) and stock are added to the pot and everything cooks together. In this version I used smoked Cajun chicken and Andouille. I didn’t add the rice to the pot but serve the jambalaya over hot rice (similar to Gumbo). Note there is no salt in the recipe; my homemade Tasso is pretty heavily cured so added salt is not needed. (If you can’t find Tasso, use any smoked ham you enjoy.)
1 pound smoked chicken, cut into one-inch cubes
6 ounces Andouille sausage, diced
2 ounces Tasso, diced (about 1/2 cup)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced (about 1/2 cup)
2 stalks celery, diced (about 1/2 cup)
1 large yellow onion, large dice (about one cup)
1 jalapeño, seeded and minced (about two tablespoons)
3 cloves garlic, minced (about 1 1/2 tablespoons)
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chiles
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons tomato paste
1/2 cup homemade chicken stock
2 bay leaves
2 scallions, thinly sliced
2 cups cooked rice (for serving)
Spice mix:
1 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon each:
Garlic power
Onion powder
Freshly ground black pepper
White pepper
Cumin
Oregano
Thyme
Prepare the spice mixture by combining all of the ingredients in a small bowl.
Melt the butter in a large pot over medium high heat and add the Andouille and Tasso, sauté for five minutes or until the sausage is lightly browned. Add the bell pepper, celery, onion, jalapeño and garlic. (In Cajun cooking, the combination of onion, celery and bell pepper is called the “Holy Trinity” and is two parts onion and one part celery and one part bell pepper.) Sauté, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables soften, about five minutes. Stir in the spice mix.
Add the tomatoes, Worcestershire, tomato paste, and bay leaves. Stir to combine. Reduce heat and simmer for ten minutes. Add the diced chicken and continue cooking until the chicken is warmed. Remove the bay leaves. Add the scallions and ladle over hot white rice.
(Chef’s note: This is somewhat spicy. If you want a milder jambalaya, decrease the cayenne.)
Some of the various ingredients
Everyone in the pool for a ten minute swim!
Ready to eat
Somewhat spicy but oh so tasty!
