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Jesster
09-22-2006, 03:16 PM
Anybody have a great Jambalaya recipe? I hate doing this on Fri so I may bump on Mon. I am hoping A Catered Life will respond Iv'e used the recipe's in his sig before and they are great. :rollside:

donzi5150
09-22-2006, 03:21 PM
I am from Louisiana, do you want a seafood, chicken and sausage, or pasta?

Jesster
09-22-2006, 03:32 PM
I am from Louisiana, do you want a seafood, chicken and sausage, or pasta?
Seafood, chicken and sausage would be perfect. I was in NO about a year and a half ago and will never forget how good it was. I think the place was called Mothers or something like that. Jambalaya and Po-boys, I could have lived off those. :)

donzi5150
09-22-2006, 03:56 PM
This may be long........
1.Start with your chicken, boil till cooked with plenty of creole seasoning garlic and red pepper. Cut up the chicken and set aside the fluid for later.
2. Cut up several white onions,green and red bell peppers, celery, green onions, and fresh garlic and set aside.
3. Cut up your smoked sausage and if you like, take some boneless porkchops and season and pan fry with a little oil till cooked. Set aside.
4. Now you need to make a roux: This is best in a black cast iron pot.....you will need a cup of flour and about 3/4 a cup of oil. You will need to cook this mixture on medium heat stirring constantly. If you burn it you will have to start over. You will cook untill the mixture starts to clump together, turn a dark brown and starts to smell of rosted nuts.....This can take quite awhile so don't rush this part, the roux will make this or break this.
5. When the roux is complete, dump in the celery, peppers, onion, and garlic and stir completly cooking down the mixture untill the vegtables are soft. You can add some water so that the roux dose not burn and facilitate the cooking.
6. When the vegtibles are done, you can add the meat and stir. Depending on the size of pot, Louisiana pots are big, you will need to add your rice and water. I usually add three cups of rice with six cups of water, starting with the chicken broth first and then water to finish off. Stir.
7. Bring to boil then down to med/low till the rice is cooked. Stir every few minutes to it does not burn to the bottom. About 30 to 45 minutes.
Always add some creole seasoning a little to each process, test the water mixture after the boil to see if you need a touch more in the cayanne pepper dept.
I hope this works for you and this is great with hot fresh french bread with butter and ICE COLD BEER!

raff
09-22-2006, 04:00 PM
1/2 cup vegetable oil,3 cups chopped onions,1 cup chopped bell pepper,
3 teaspoons salt,1-1/4 teaspoons cayenne, 1 pound andouille sausage,
2 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined, 3 bay leaves,3 cups medium grain white rice, 6 cups water or stock,1 cup chopped green onion.
1. heat the oil in a large cast-iron Dutch oven, over medium heat. Add the onions and bell peppers,2 teaspoons of the salt,and 1 teaspoon of cayenne.stirring often, brown the vegetables for about 20 minutes, or until they are carmalized and dark brown in color. scrape the bottom and sides of the pot to loosen any browned particles. add the sausage and cook, stirring often for 10-15 minutes, scrape the bottom and sides of the pot to loosen any browned particles.
2. Season the shrimp with the remaining 1 teaspoon salt and remaining1/4
teaspoon cayenne.Add the shrimp and bay leaves to the pot. cook for 5-10 minutes, scrape the bottom and sides of the pot to loosen any browned particles.
3. Add the rice and stir for 2-3 minutes to coat evenly. Add the water, stir to combine, and cover. Cook over medium heat for 30 to 35 minutes, without stirring, or until the rice is tender and the liquid has been absored. remove the pot from the heat and let stand, covered, for 2 to 3 minutes. remove bay leaves.
4. Stir in green onions and serve.
10 to 12 Servings.
Mark out

raff
09-23-2006, 02:00 AM
killer, can you add what ever meat/seafood you what? :cool:
Sure, why not, you can use what you like.

SmokinLowriderSS
09-23-2006, 01:25 PM
This one has been popular here, from my Venison Cookbook:
1T Canola oil (I tend to use the Olive Oil I keep arround)
1 Lb Herbed and Spiced Venison Sausage (I've used various, Kielbassa, etc, hard to find Andoule here)
1 Lb medium shrinp, peeled
1 med onion, chopped
1 small Bell Pepper, cut to thin strips
1/2 Cup clelery, sliced thin
2 cloves minced garlic (I use about 4 to 6)
1 10-oz package frozen Okra, thawed (we dislike so leave out)
1 14.5oz can Del Monte Cajun-Style Stewed tomatoes, undrained
1 8oz can tomato sauce
1 tsp Tabasco Sauce
1 tsp Creole seasoning
1 bay leaf
1.5 Cups quick-cooking rice, uncooked
2 Tbsp chopped parsley
Salt & pepper to taste
Heat oil in skillet
Cook sausage to 1/2 done
add shrimp, cook 2 to 3 min or till done
empty skillet
Add onion, pepper, celery, garlic to skillet, cook till onion tender.
Add Okra, tomatoes, tomato sauce, Tabasco, Creole seasoning, bay leaf.
Bring to boil, reduce heat to low, cover & simmer 5 to 10 min.
Stir in rice and meats.
Cover, remove from heat, let sit 5 min.
Fluf with fork, sprinkle with parsley.
serves 6.

BajaMike
09-23-2006, 08:00 PM
This may be long........
1.Start with your chicken, boil till cooked with plenty of creole seasoning garlic and red pepper. Cut up the chicken and set aside the fluid for later.
2. Cut up several white onions,green and red bell peppers, celery, green onions, and fresh garlic and set aside.
3. Cut up your smoked sausage and if you like, take some boneless porkchops and season and pan fry with a little oil till cooked. Set aside.
4. Now you need to make a roux: This is best in a black cast iron pot.....you will need a cup of flour and about 3/4 a cup of oil. You will need to cook this mixture on medium heat stirring constantly. If you burn it you will have to start over. You will cook untill the mixture starts to clump together, turn a dark brown and starts to smell of rosted nuts.....This can take quite awhile so don't rush this part, the roux will make this or break this.
5. When the roux is complete, dump in the celery, peppers, onion, and garlic and stir completly cooking down the mixture untill the vegtables are soft. You can add some water so that the roux dose not burn and facilitate the cooking.
6. When the vegtibles are done, you can add the meat and stir. Depending on the size of pot, Louisiana pots are big, you will need to add your rice and water. I usually add three cups of rice with six cups of water, starting with the chicken broth first and then water to finish off. Stir.
7. Bring to boil then down to med/low till the rice is cooked. Stir every few minutes to it does not burn to the bottom. About 30 to 45 minutes.
Always add some creole seasoning a little to each process, test the water mixture after the boil to see if you need a touch more in the cayanne pepper dept.
I hope this works for you and this is great with hot fresh french bread with butter and ICE COLD BEER!
This is the best one....you can't make Jambalaya without making a roux first....
This recipe sounds very good....I used to live in New Orleans and know the food!
:idea:

502 JET
09-23-2006, 08:15 PM
When you want it quick and easy.
http://www.zatarain.com/images/products/7142909523.gif
I peel a pound of shrimp and make stock out of the shrimp shells.I add the shrimp and a pack of Hillshire Farms hot links sausage.Quick easy and spicy.

billet racing 1
09-23-2006, 08:37 PM
I too use the Zatarain's, but its too bland straight from the box.
Add an onion, bell pepper, diced tomatoesand some chili pepper
cubedchicken, Hot links and add the shrimp last.
Jerry

a catered life
09-25-2006, 07:27 AM
donzi5150 is as close to mine so far but all recipes sound good (i have tasted raff and its good) but i have a few suggestions
i have never seen roux used in jambalya (gumbo and gravy's) rice has so much starch you dont need any thicking agent
also i used boneless breast of chicken 2 reasons one it cuts down on the amount of oil and fat and two its faster(chopped up in bite size chunks) sautee first with lots of creole seasonings and a little oil ading your vegetable in the last minute of cooking the chicken
do not over cook the chicken cause it will be boiled in the pot shortly
also some people dont like the texture or taste of the original sausage(andoille) so i have found it better to use a good quality spicy chicken sausage, farmer john louisiana sausage or louisana red hot(red package in deli meats isle and my choice)...but be careful when you season the mixture because the seasonings from the hot links will kick it up a lot
also dont be afraid to add more water and seasonings if it cooking to fast.....the object is to have a fluff product without over cooking the rice (a mistake a lot of people make)
finally about using the box mixture its fine just remember to add a few bayleaves and extra creole seasonings and cajun pepper its not bad for a box just needs a little tlc
you must have missed my annual christmas party last year we served jamabalya which was a big hit :p
good luck and let me know why it comes out

Old Texan
09-25-2006, 07:41 AM
One very key thing I have found with most of these dishes, is to not add the seafood until the very end or with a dish like seafood gumbo, precook the shrimp, oysters, crab, fish, etc. and add when serving.
If you allow the seafood to boil and simmer for a long period of time it breaks down and shrimp become very rubbery.
Sausage, especially Andoullie will dominate a dish so I like to also precook and add it at the end. Not only will it not overwhelm everything else, it will be not be cooked out. I don't ever boil sausage as it breaks down the fat and herbs and leaves a tasteless hunk of "cardboardlike" residue.

Old Texan
09-25-2006, 07:46 AM
Another thing: Roux
Roux is really pretty difficult to get right without a lot of practice. I like to use a premade roux found in the specialty sections of most good supermarkets or use Tony Chachere's instant roux mix.
Roux is more of a gravy thickener and doesn't really affect flavor that much. Good dark Cajun roux is tough to make and the premixed gets you closer than you can do on your own.

a catered life
09-25-2006, 07:49 AM
i never :yuk: precook my shrimp but i do add it in the last few minutes of cooking :p and yes if your right if you use the andoille or chicken sausage sautee both with the chicken first but any of other sausage or links are good to add in the last 15-20 minutes especially if there already smoked
but we can stop this discussion about shrimp and sausage and start to talk about old texans avator...me likey :p

Jesster
09-25-2006, 08:20 AM
Me likey that avatar too. You get to see it alot if you post in the political Rhetoric section. Thanks for the recipes, ACL's and Old Texan's modifications make a lot of sense.
We are having some people over later this week, and I think I will make this. I'll let you know how it turns out. :rollside:

a catered life
09-25-2006, 09:27 AM
your welcome and wait a minute you got a nice avator also :p