Chicken, Shrimp and Smoked Sausage Jambalaya
CHICKEN, SHRIMP AND SMOKED SAUSAGE JAMBALAYA
If you’ve been looking for a hearty Cajun jambalaya recipe all these years, look no further. I myself have been trying to perfect “the” most amazing jambalaya because growing up in Louisiana, I’ve had some extremely disappointing ones, and too many mediocre ones.
The difference maker in this too is the sausage. A standard sausage for jambalaya and gumbos is smoked. We inhaled this. Also for a seafood flavor is to add shrimp. You don’t have to add shrimp if you don’t like seafood. It’s just a nice addition.
We love having a hearty, brown beer paired with it, and in the actual recipe! I typically for for an amber ale.
CAJUN CHICKEN AND ADOUILLE SAUSAGE JAMBALAYA
Ingredients
8 strips bacon, chopped
2 cups yellow onion, diced
2 cups celery, diced
1 cup green bell pepper, diced
1 cup red bell pepper, diced
3 tablespoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon fresh chopped rosemary
12oz or 1 package smoked sausage, sliced
12-15 large cooked shrimp
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1” thick pieces
1 cup dark harvest lager style beer
1 cup tomatoes, chopped
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, quartered
1 can (10oz) diced tomatoes with green chilis, drained
1 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 cup green onion tops, chopped
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon hot sauce, preferably Tabasco
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
3 1/4 cups long grain white rice
4 cups chicken stock
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375°F.
In a large cast iron dutch oven ( I use at least a 9 qt) over medium high heat, fry the bacon. Remove from pot and leave the bacon grease in for sautéing the onions, celery and bell peppers for 5 minutes.
After the 5 minutes, add in garlic, rosemary, sausage and chicken until the meat begins to brown.
Deglaze the pot by adding the beer and skimming the pot with a flattened wooden edge spoon. Add the bacon from the first step back in, and toss in the canned and chopped tomatoes, parsley and green onions.
Add in the cayenne, salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce and red wine vinegar to pot and stir.
Drop in the shrimp, fold in well.
Pour in the rice and mix into the pot to distribute evenly. Add in the chicken stock carton (4 cups) and stir again. Cover the pot and bake for 1 hour. DON’T lift that lid to even check it, or stir or look at it. Let it do it’s thing and cook.
After that hour, turn off the oven, remove lid to check if rice is cooked, and put back in oven covered to sit and steam a bit for 20 minutes. Remove the chicken and break apart, then fold back in the jambalaya. Then serve with more parsley and green onions if necessary!
