Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Food, Cooking, and Game Preparation Any tried & true really good Jambalaya recipes?

I'd like to make some really tasty (spicy, but not "HOT") Jambalaya using smoked sausage and chicken or either one alone... or your favorite Jambalaya recipe is ok, too.

I've got one of Justin Wilson's cookbooks featuring both a sausage Jambalaya and a pork Jambalaya. The two recipes look easy, but I've found a good many excellent recipes of different things here in the past... and thought I'd see what our members have in the way of Jambalaya recipes.

Thanks in advance for your favorite Jambalaya recipe...


Strength & Honor...

Ron T.

our member, Simoneaud posted a really good recipe some years back. If you can find him, I bet he could give it to you.

I make a good jambalaya, but I don't really use a recipe. It probably is different each time I serve it.
Remember, this is not gumbo, so it is not a heavy, roux based dish. A good jambalaya is more like a Spanish paella, and is made much the same way. Raw rice added late, that cooks with the liquid already in the mixture.

As Sam said the secret to good Jambalaya if there is one is not to make it too soupy. It should mound on the plate.

I like making jambalaya but I have to modify it for my wife's allergies and tastes.

I only use cast iron pots like: http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Bayou-Classic-Cast-Iron-2.75-gal-Jambalaya-Pot/6220490/product.html?cid=202290&kid=9553000357392&track=pspla&kw={keyword}&adtype=pla which give it a much richer flavor. This has become one of my favorite cast iron pots and I highly recommend buying one for stove top and camp fire cooking.



I have also heard great things about these (like the price) but the shipping to Alaska is outrageous: http://www.readydepot.com/servlet/the-74/Rusty-Goat-14-Quart/Detail

It even comes with lifting handles for that price.

I tend to use whatever sausage is available and catches my eye from "Little Smokies" to hot links and reindeer. Most any chicken (or other bird) will work but my wife prefers a mixture of boneless, skinless thighs and breasts. I think that the dark meat works best. I use canned stewed tomatoes so that my wife can more easily pick them out, she hates beans, and she is allergic to shrimp.

Having explained these limitations I first lightly brown the chicken in the cast iron pot then add water to cover and simmer 1+ hour until tender and a good broth has formed. I add a little salt and red pepper to flavor the chicken. You might want to strain the broth for appearance. Depending on the sausage type you might want to brown it before adding to chicken and broth. Add tomatoes (and cooked shrimp if your wife is not allergic to them) then guesstimate your liquid quantity and add half as much (not Minute) rice. Long grain rice from an Indian grocery is especially good. Add a little more salt and spices then cover and simmer for 30+ minutes until rice is tender and liquid is mostly absorbed. Fluff with a "fork" and serve with vinegar and hot sauces available. Stewed beans, fresh green beans, fried yellow squash,and skillet cornbread are good sides.

I have fixed "healthier" jambalaya skimming the fat off the broth and using brown rice. You will have to cook the brown rice a little longer to make sure that it is tender. It is OK but has no great fans.

I do not list quantities since I might use a 1 gal Dutch oven up to a 10 gal iron cauldron depending on the number of dinner guests and if you add a little more chicken than sausage or the other way around it does not matter that much. Jambalaya is more of an art than a science.

I prefer Cajun brown jambalaya to the Creole red type.

I met a Cajun in an airport who suggested brown rice � Bingo! I had always had trouble with white rice being sticky/clumpy or under cooked. With brown rice you can stir and add more liquid much easier and it is a lot better for you. NO tomatoes!

Mines pretty simple:

Cook diced onions, peppers and garlic until caramelized � almost burnt. Add in diced chicken and browned sausage (cooked to be browned and get rid of some fat) and rice. Stir a �while� until browned and then add in some Cajun seasoning, thyme, a bay leaf or two, couple dashes Worcestershire sauce and then double the amount of liquid to the rice you used (ie 2 cups rice = 4 cups stock or water). Bring to a boil and cook about 45 mins. Stir and check occasionally, you may need to add a little more liquid. Garnish with green onions and parsley.

Thanks for the information so far... I'm copying all of this down for future use.

Ron T.

easy search

That looks pretty good and a bit easier to do than the other one posted.