Recipe Creole Jambalaya

[The Late Night Gourmet]

Jambalaya is the creole paella. Both one-pot dishes feature rice, tomatoes, and various meats, particularly shrimp. There’s no saffron in Louisiana’s version, and less heat in the Spanish interpretation.

I bought shrimp specifically to make this recipe. And, that was before the contest started. The problem is, I left them in the refrigerator for too long. I love the taste of shrimp in Creole cuisine.

To clarify, Creole cuisine likes using tomatoes, and Cajun cuisine does not. I put double the tomatoes in this recipe compared to most, so I guess that makes me an authentic Creole son of the earth.

I took care to cook the chicken lightly, so it came out beautifully in the final product. And, as much as you may be tempted to use a different kind of sausage, please try to find andouille sausage. There’s nothing quite like the smoky character.

As much as it seems to be blasphemy, I can certainly see making this a vegan recipe. Use vegetable oil instead of bacon grease, vegetable instead of chicken stock, and no meat, and you still have a hearty, flavorful dish.

File powder is made from sassafras, and adds a unique flavor. It isn’t absolutely essential, but I always try to include it.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon bacon grease
12 ounces chicken breast, cut in chunks
Slap Ya Mama Seasoning
12 ounces andouille sausage, cut in 1/2 in. (12mm) chunks
3 celery stalks, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 small red onion, chopped
1 large jalapeño pepper, chopped
2 teaspoons file powder
5 garlic cloves, diced
28 ounce can San Marzano tomatoes
14 ounce bag okra

Directions
1. Heat 1 tablespoon bacon grease in a large, deep pan on medium heat. Season chicken breast. Cook chicken breast pieces for two minutes, then flip over. Cook until fully cooked, about six minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.

2. Heat sausage until fully cooked. If sausage is already cooked, still cook in a pan for a minute or 2 on each side to caramelize it and develop the flavor. Remove from pan and set aside.

3. Add 1 tablespoon bacon grease to the pan. Add celery, onion, pepper, and jalapeño, and stir thoroughly. Cook for about 5 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan occasionally with a spatula. Stir in file powder and cook for another five minutes, stirring occasionally. Open a spot at the bottom of the pan, and add remaining bacon grease. Cook garlic for about one minute, stirring continuously, until slightly browned.

4. Stir in okra, tomatoes, rice, stock, and bay leaves. Raise heat until it just starts to bubble, then lower heat to medium low. Scrape the bottom of the pan, then cover and cook for 25 to 30 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan occasionally.

5. Stir in chicken and sausage, and cook for a few minutes. Garnish with celery leaves.

 

[caseydog]

Growing up in Port Arthur, I ate a lot of cajun, and very little creole. There are similarities, like the Trinity, but I've never seen red onion in cajun Trinity. I have no idea if that is a creole thing or a Detroit creole thing.

I'm kinda' old school, where you don't mix meat and seafood. People do it, just not me and the cajun women who taught me. So, chicken and sausage is fine by me. It really all comes down to who taught you -- that's the "right" way.

File is something people either like or don't. I usually put it on the table for people to add if they want. Same with hot sauce.

Anyway, I took the long road to saying your Jambalaya looks good, and I'd eat it. It ain't how I make it, but that would not stop me from eating a bowl, and maybe going back for seconds.

CD

 

[The Late Night Gourmet]

Growing up in Port Arthur, I ate a lot of cajun, and very little creole. There are similarities, like the Trinity, but I've never seen red onion in cajun Trinity. I have no idea if that is a creole thing or a Detroit creole thing.

I'm kinda' old school, where you don't mix meat and seafood. People do it, just not me and the cajun women who taught me. So, chicken and sausage is fine by me. It really all comes down to who taught you -- that's the "right" way.

File is something people either like or don't. I usually put it on the table for people to add if they want. Same with hot sauce.

Anyway, I took the long road to saying your Jambalaya looks good, and I'd eat it. It ain't how I make it, but that would not stop me from eating a bowl, and maybe going back for seconds.

CD

One of the reasons I came to Cookingbites is because I posted a gumbo recipe on Discusscooking, and some people were offended by my ingredient choices (the red onion may have been that hot button item). Then, some idiots decided that I was claiming my recipe was Authentic, which I wasn't. That board didn't have the quality moderation that we have here: anyone could post what they wanted, including harassing other members, and there were no repercussions (other than people leaving).

Anyway, thank you for the compliment! I'm not sure why some get so offended by deviations from what they consider to be authentic. But, I can see a discussion thread sprouting out of this...as soon as I get done posting this reply. I think we've had something similar before, but it's something all of us have encountered in some form or other.

 

[medtran49]

If you want to get technical, red bell pepper isn't traditionally in the trinity either. A traditional trinity is white or yellow onion, celery and green bell pepper. I'm not fond of green bell pepper at all and my dislike has grown along with my birthdays, but we use it in recipes that we've made for years because that's the way we've always made them and we like the way they taste.

However, with that said, I'll more often than not substitute bell peppers other than green in new recipes and if I'm out of onions except for red, then I'll use red and vice versa.

I'd give this recipe a try, BUT, I'd leave out the filé and the okra because I'm in the camp of absolutely cannot stand the taste of filé and I'm not much for okra either. I'd also use thighs instead of a breast. Of course, it then won't really be TLNG's recipe.

I like the way the chicken is seasoned and cooked separately, then stirred in at the last. That's the way we make our gumbo. Chopped raw chicken goes in with the cooked veges, rice, stock, and sausage in our jambalaya and then everything goes in oven. I'm going to change things up next time we make jambalaya and use this technique.

BTW, there is a jambalaya using either tasso or andouille and shrimp in Chef Paul Prudhomme's first cookbook if memory serves.

Cajun cuisine is of a people that made do with what they had and/or could easily acquire via hunting, fishing, gathering and/or trading. Who knows what kind of combos got made in tough times.

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

This looks DELICIOUS and I will probably try making it this weekend!

 

[JAS_OH1]

I love file, detest okra, and I would have used the shrimp with other meats (of course not shrimp that wasn't fresh). My mother and father were raised in Port Arthur, Texas, and my mother's little sister married a Cajun from SW Louisiana (Port Arthur is really close to the LA border) and they lived in PA Texas for the rest of their lives. Like CD said, there is no wrong or right way, but everyone I know used a mix of seafood and land animals in their jambalayas and gumbos. My mom made some creole dishes from time to time (even though she was of Norwegian and English descent) and I loved those as much as i did the Cajun foods. At any rate, I would happly eat this dish! Thank you for sharing

Edited to add that I am not fond of green bell pepper and have no problems with the substitution of red onion. It's not evident after cooking it and I am sure it would taste just as good if not better!

 

[caseydog]

If you want to get technical, red bell pepper isn't traditionally in the trinity either. A traditional trinity is white or yellow onion, celery and green bell pepper. I'm not fond of green bell pepper at all and my dislike has grown along with my birthdays, but we use it in recipes that we've made for years because that's the way we've always made them and we like the way they taste.

However, with that said, I'll more often than not substitute bell peppers other than green in new recipes and if I'm out of onions except for red, then I'll use red and vice versa.

I've been using red bell peppers in my Trinity for a few years. I just don't like the green bells, at least the ones at the grocery store. Since red bells are actually green bells that have fully ripened, if figure that's good enough.

CD