JAMBAYLAYA

 

Jambalaya (jum-buh-LIE-uh) Jambalaya is a rice dish where the rice is cooked with a meat or seafood and vegetable mixture.  Jambalaya is prepared with just about any meat, including chicken, sausage, pork, giblets, rabbit, beef, or seafood.  Often several different meats are used in the same jambalaya.  You can also use left over meat and gravy from a roast or rice and gravy.  The meat is browned, the vegetables are sautéed, then rice, water and stock are added and cooked until the rice is done.  I cooked a patch of shrimp jambalaya for a graduate student get together, and one of my graduate students from Mexico commented that it was a lot like paella, which is a spanish dish made with rice and meat or seafood.  Jambalaya may have had its origin in paella.  I make two kinds of jambalaya, chicken/sausage jambalaya and shrimp jambalaya.  My wife makes a ground beef/cabbage jambalaya using a recipe she obtained from her sister in Ville Platte.  You really should try the Ground Beef and Cabbage Jambalaya; it is easy to make and has a very good taste.  My wife and I always cook our jambalaya in an automatic rice cooker.   The rice cooker automatically cuts off when the rice is done, so you never burn the rice and the jambalaya is always cooked just right.  I guess you could consider using a rice cooker cheating, but gosh rice is hard to cook! Recipes Shrimp Jambalaya Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya Ground Beef and Cabbage Jambalaya ************************************************************************************* Shrimp Jambalaya Ingredients 1 1/2 lb shrimp 1/2 stick  butter (not margarine) 1 medium onion, chopped 1 bell pepper, chopped 2-3 stalks celery, chopped  3-5 cloves garlic, chopped 1/4-1/2 cup parsley, chopped 1/4-1/2 cup green onion tops, chopped 1 tbs. Worcestershire sauce 1 tsp. roux 1 14-oz can diced stewed  tomatoes, or 1 10-oz can Rotel tomatoes/green chilies  1 cup uncooked white rice 1 cup water 2 tsp. cajun seasoning mix (homemade, Chachere's or Zatarain's) Sauté shrimp Peel the shrimp and remove the vein.  Cut the shrimp in halves or thirds.  Buy the smaller shrimp; they're cheaper and I cut them up any way. Sauté the shrimp in the butter just long enough until they are firm.  Use a heavy walled aluminum pot.  Shrimp have a delicate flavor, hence I prefer to use butter and not margarine. Remove the shrimp from the pot and set aside. Sauté vegetables Sauté all the vegetables together until the onions are clear. Add the diced tomatoes or Rotel.  Use Rotel diced tomatoes with green chilies if the want the dish to have a hot flavor.  Add the Worcestershire sauce, roux and seasoning.  The small amount of roux adds a bit of body to the flavor.  Simmer for 5-10 minutes or so. Mix and cook the jambalaya Mix the shrimp, uncooked rice and water into the vegetable mixture. Make sure there is enough liquid to cover the mixture.  If necessary add water. Add the mixture to the rice cooker and cook until the rice is done. If you do not have a rice cooker, then cook the dish on the stove until the rice is soft, but not mushy.  If you decide to cook the jambalaya on the stove make sure you do it in a heavy walled aluminum or cast iron pot, or else you are sure to burn the rice at the bottom.  Keep the lid on the pot, especially once the mixture comes to a boil, and do not stir the pot.  If you burn the rice on the bottom of the pot, then you're not any better than I am at cooking rice. Serving Jambalaya is moist and best served and eaten right after it is finished cooking.  Upon sitting, the rice absorbs the moisture and jambalaya becomes more dry.  ************************************************************************************* Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya Ingredients 2  lb chicken on bone, or 1  lb boneless chicken 1 lb smoked sausage, sliced 1/4-1/2 stick butter or margarine, or oil 1 medium onion, chopped 1 bell pepper, chopped 2-3 stalks celery, chopped  3-5 cloves garlic, chopped 1/4-1/2 cup parsley, chopped 1/4-1/2 cup green onion tops, chopped 1 tbs. Worcestershire sauce 2 tsp. roux 1 cup uncooked white rice 1 cup broth made with bones/skin, or 1 14-oz can chicken broth, or 1 cup water with 2 chicken bouillon cubes 2 tsp. cajun seasoning mix (homemade, Chachere's or Zatarain's) Brown the chicken and sausage Brown the chicken and sliced sausage in oil in a heavy walled aluminum or cast iron pot. Remove chicken/sausage from the pot, and set aside. Remove the chicken from the bone and skin, if you are using chicken with bones. Dice or tear the deboned chicken into small pieces. Make chicken broth Either, lightly boil the chicken bones and skin in water for a half hour or so.  You need about 1 cup of broth. Or, use a can of chicken broth. Or, dissolve 2 cubes of chicken bouillon in a cup of warm water. Sauté vegetables Add a bit more butter, margarine or oil to the pot, and sauté all the vegetables together until the onions are clear. Scrape the browning from the bottom of the pot as the water comes out of the vegetables and the brownings become loose.  Add the broth, Worcestershire sauce, roux and seasoning.  The small amount of roux adds a bit of body to the flavor.  Simmer for 5-10 minutes or so. Mix and cook the jambalaya Mix the chicken, sausage and uncooked white rice into the vegetable mixture. Make sure there is enough liquid to cover the mixture.  If necessary add water. Add the mixture to the rice cooker and cook until the rice is done. If you do not have a rice cooker, then cook the dish on the stove until the rice is soft, but not mushy.  If you decide to cook the jambalaya on the stove make sure you do it in a heavy walled aluminum or cast iron pot, or else you are sure to burn the rice at the bottom.  Keep the lid on the pot, especially once the mixture comes to a boil, and do not stir the pot.  If you burn the rice on the bottom of the pot, then you're not any better than I am at cooking rice. Serving Jambalaya is moist and best served and eaten right after it is finished cooking.  Upon sitting, the rice absorbs the moisture and jambalaya becomes more dry.  Variations You can substitute just about any any meat in the above recipe.  I've had it with pork, gizzards, sausage, rabbit, and left over roast or meat from rice and gravy, and various mixtures of meat.  Jambalaya is just a really good way to take any meat and make a meal out of it.  The secret is in the browning of the meat - that is what creates the richer flavor. One can use beef bouillon cubes in place of chicken bouillon if you want a more hearty flavor.  Sometimes I even use beef bouillon in chicken jambalaya. ************************************************************************************* Ground Beef and Cabbage Jambalaya (from Lynn Ledoux Reed via Marianne Fontenot) Ingredients 1 1/3  lb ground beef 1 large onion, chopped 1/2 bell pepper, chopped 1 stalk celery, chopped  1 head cabbage, chopped 1 10-oz can Rotel tomatoes/green chilies, drained 1 cup uncooked white rice 1 cup water  salt and pepper to taste Brown the ground meat Brown ground meat in oil in a heavy walled aluminum or cast iron pot. Drain fat Sauté vegetables Sauté all the vegetables together with the browned ground meat.. Mix and cook the jambalaya Mix the meat and vegetable mixture with drained Rotel, 1 cup uncooked white rice, 1 cup water, and seasoning. Add the mixture to the rice cooker.  Press the mixture; it may seem like a lot of cabbage, but don't worry it will cook down.  Cook until the rice is done. Stir a few times during cooking. Serving This jambalaya is moist and stays moist due to the cabbage. ©David Wm. Reed