A Cajun Makes Jambalaya

redchaserron

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My brother will be here all week helping out with a bathroom remodel so I’ve got to make sure there’s plenty of food in the fridge. Made a jambalaya with pork, smoked sausage and fresh sausage, and while not exactly barbecue I did make it with a smoked turkey and chicken wing stock that I had made.

I started with about 4lb of pork butt cubed and seasoned well (actually intentionally over seasoned). 1 1/2 pounds smoke sausage, 1 1/2 pounds fresh sausage. I start by browning the meats VERY well. First just the pork then I add in the sausages.
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Browning well is critical the browned meats and well developed fond is what give jambalaya it’s color and much of its flabor.

I brown, then add some water to the pot, deglaze a bit, cook out the water re build the find and repeat about 3 times.

Once the meat is very well browned and the pot coated with fond I pull the meat, drain off excess fat then return the pot to heat and add my trinity of 2 diced onion, 2 bell pepper and 3 ribs of celery. I sweat them well letting the moisture they release deglaze the pot a little.
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Once the trinity is starting to brown I add about 4 Clove of chopped garlic and return the meat to the pot.

I brown the meat and trinity together for about 5 minutes stirring most of the time

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Unlike when I’m just cooking rice, for jambalaya up to about 5 gallons I use a pretty strict 2 to one stock to rice ratio. For this batch I used 8 cups of stock which I added at this point

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I let the stock and meat come to a simmer and simmer for 10-20 minutes adjusting seasoning. I season with Tony’s additional salt, black pepper, white pepper, celery salt, garlic powder, a few bay leaves, ground thyme and oregano Worcestershire sauce, Louisiana hot sauce and a fair amount of soy sauce. You want thenliquid to be a little saltier and spicier than you want the finished jambalaya to be. While the meat and brother are simmering. I rinse 4 cups of rice very well. A big secret to getting great fluffy rice whether in a jambalaya or just cooking rice is to rinse it very well. Cajuns eat a lot of rice so we’ve got this down.

Once the broth has simmered a bit and I like where the seasoning is I add the rinsed rice
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I stir in and bring the pot back to a boil. I let boil for 5-10 minutes until I can see the rice starting to swell

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Once it’s at this point I add a bunch of chopped green onions and parsley and stir to make sure everything is incorporated evenly

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I lower heat to a bare simmer, cover tightly and let it cook for 30 minutes undisturbed. No peeking.

After 30 minutes I kill the heat and open it up

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I test the rice to make sure it’s cooked then working my way around the pot I use a large spoon to “turn over” the jambalaya without really stirring it.

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I re covered and let sit for about 10 minutes befor playing on fine Chinette

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Ca’ cest bon
 
I like it at the point where you added green onions and parsley. Its like a thick soup/stew. Just looks so much better then the final rice product.
 
Looks insanely good. No doubt it tasted amazing. Love me a good jambalaya.
 
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