Jambalaya

[mrkstvns]

Down-home comfort food doesn't have to be complicated. Zesty and adaptable to infinite variations, a great Jambalaya is an easy way to feed a hungry patrol. 

INGREDIENTS

• 2 large boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 pound sausage (I use andoille or another full-flavored variety)
• 3 bell peppers, diced
• 3 stalks celery, diced
• 1 jalapeno or serrano chili, seeded and diced
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 14-ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 4 cups chicken stock (plus some extra on hand, if needed to adjust moisture)
• 1-1/2 cups uncooked rice (long grain is best, or short grain will work)
• 2 tablespoons cajun/creole seasoning (Tony Chachere's or Zatarains)
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 cup okra (sliced)

DIRECTIONS

1. Prepare your ingredients a day or so before leaving. It makes for an easy meal time at camp.  Chop the veggies and chicken and sausage. Put in freezer bags (1 big bag for veggies, 1 for meats, and even a small bag for spice mix --- then it's just dump and mix when you're cooking at camp). 
2. Heat some olive oil in a large pan.  Saute chicken and sausage, then set aside.
3. Saute celery, bell pepper, onion, and any other veggies (including garlic) until soft.
4. Add rice, chicken stock, crushed tomatoes, cajun/creole seasoning, thyme, cayenne, and bay leaf.
5. Cook 30 minutes.  Stifr every few minutes.
6. Add okra (and shrimp, crawfish, if used).
7. Taste and add cajun/creole seasoning, salt, and pepper, to taste.

VARIATIONS

• Bell peppers, onions, and celery are the "holy trinity" of cajun/creole cooking. Never skimp on these 3, but feel free to mix it up a bit. I like to use both green and red bell peppers. Yellow onions are a mainstay in my kitchen, but I also like adding chopped green onion to my Jambalaya (often near the end of cooking). Other veggies could be added to make it your own.
• I use chicken and sausage in this recipe, but it's only the beginning. I love fresh shrimp in my jambalaya and will sometimes add crawfish. I like to vary the sausage too. I often use a venison sausage, garlic jalapeno sausage, or andouille (though that might be hard to find in parts of the country). Smoked ham can be a nice addition, though I prefer tasso (easy to find in Louisiana and east Texas, probably not so easy elsewhere).

[Eagle94-A1]

29 minutes ago, mrkstvns said:

 

• 1 cup okra (sliced)

 

Never, ever heard of okra in Jambalaya. And I lived in the "Jambalaya Capitol of the World" for a while.

 

[Eagledad]

14 minutes ago, Eagle94-A1 said:

Never, ever heard of okra in Jambalaya. And I lived in the "Jambalaya Capitol of the World" for a while.

 

Maybe there are two Jambalaya Capitols (North and South?),  our chef (Mrs. Barry) always includes okra in her Jambalaya.

Barry

[MikeS72]

I put okra in gumbo, not sure I have ever used it in jambalaya.  

[mrkstvns]

2 hours ago, Eagle94-A1 said:

Never, ever heard of okra in Jambalaya. And I lived in the "Jambalaya Capitol of the World" for a while.

 

You piqued my curiosity...

I figured that you must have lived someplace in the swamps of south Louisiana....maybe around Atchafalaya country, maybe in the city of Lafayette,  or maybe with the politicos in Baton Rouge, or just possibly deep in the heart of New Orleans (where America's BEST restaurants are found)...

Nope. 

According to Google, the "Jambalaya Capitol of the World" is the bustling metropolis of Gonzales, Louisiana.  

Never heard of it...

[Eagle94-A1]

1 hour ago, mrkstvns said:

According to Google, the "Jambalaya Capitol of the World" is the bustling metropolis of Gonzales, Louisiana.  

Born in New Orleans. Raised in "Metry" as folks call the suburb Metairie. But I lived in Gonzales for about 3 years. Gonzales makes more Jambalaya than anywhere else.

1 hour ago, mrkstvns said:

 in the heart of New Orleans (where America's BEST restaurants are found)...

Now that we can agree upon. :) Although I can tell you having a chef or 3 in the family, I ate pretty well, especially during the holidays. ;)

 

3 hours ago, Eagledad said:

Maybe there are two Jambalaya Capitols (North and South?),  our chef (Mrs. Barry) always includes okra in her Jambalaya.

Barry

Had this conversation with the chef at work. He was stationed in New Orleans, and knows you don't put okra in Jambalaya. But the recipe he has to use includes it. Probably written by someone who has never been to Louisiana.

Could be worse, I guess. Could be Disney's  Gumbo Recipe. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSbqPzRLPY0

[Eagledad]

Well I'm no Jambalaya expert, and the only reason I've been married for 39 years is I've learned when to not poke the lion. If the Mrs. says add okra, I add okra.

We learned that Okra is a somewhat southern thing. We have served many northern friends their first helping of fried okra. Most have never seen it first hand, much less tasted it. I tell them "where do you think grits come from?".

Barry

[mrkstvns]

4 minutes ago, Eagledad said:

"where do you think grits come from?".

Waffle House.

[Eagle94-A1]

This thread is not only making me hungry, but reminded me of a fundraiser my OA chapter in Gonzales did. We were rebuilding the OA chapter from scratch, and needed funds. So we decided to do an Indian Lore Merit Badge Clinic as a fundraiser.  Were going to make a few dollars to but stuff we need, have the Scouts makes stuff that they could keep, and use when they got in the OA, and really promote the new chapter. Lunch was included. Guy heading up lunch was locally known for his jambalaya, and let me tell you, especially since the Wife isn't around and can't read this post, HE MAKES THE BEST JAMBALAYA!  

However, we had a slight problem. He went over budget of ingredients. His recipe was the one he uses in competitions, and we had way too much We were only going to make about $10-$15 once we reimbursed him. But it was good, we figured out we had enough to send leftover to all the participants and staff. While we wanted to make money, it was more important that folks got pumped up about the OA. Plus did I mention HE MAKES THE BEST JAMBALAYA EVER? 😁

Now the clinic was at the same location as a regional pistol competition, with the winners qualifying for the national competition. Very big deal. Apparently our cook was causing problems with the shooters as they could smell his jambalaya and getting really hungry. When their lunch period started, the shooters made a beeline to him wanting to know how much. So we sold jambalaya plates to them. Not only did we recoup the extra money spent on food, we actually made more money selling jambalaya than we did on the Indian Lore clinic.

 

[DuctTape]

While you all are discussing okra (I never use it) I would suggest boneless thighs, much more flavor.