Jambalaya Recipe!

Wonderful Creole or Cajun Food

Restaurant Casserole Recipe

Famous Jambalaya Recipe and famous country song!

When I make this Jambalaya Recipe I think and often play the country song written by Moon Mullican and Hank Williams documenting this Cajun food or Creole food, depending on the cooking method you use.

The song reached # 1 on the U.S. Country Music Charts and remains one of Hank's most popular songs today. I love that song, but I also love to prepare, serve and eat this Louisiana specialty.

That song actually increased the rest of the nation's interest in Cajun and Creole cooking and in this dish specifically.

Just for fun, here is a wonderful "take" on the song by Hank Jr. and 4 year old Hunter Hayes.

Sing it Hank and Hunter!

It seems we are almost guaranteed a good time whenever we have this wonderful "clean out the ice box" kind of dish. There are probably hundreds of variations on this dish. Jambalaya may be made with beef, pork, chicken, duck, shrimp, oysters, crayfish, sausage, or any combination of those ingredients.

But most every Jambalaya recipe does call for onion, celery and green peppers and every recipe I have seen has cayenne pepper and / or Cajun seasoning. And serving it with rice is "mandatory."

Jambalaya is traditionally a "one pot meal," and there are two main methods for making it.

The first, and most common in Southeast Louisiana, is Creole Jambalaya, also called red Jambalaya because it contains tomatoes.

This recipe is characteristic of the second style (Cajun) and is more what you find in the southwestern and south-central parts of Louisiana. It does not contain tomatoes.

The meat is browned in a cast-iron pan or a heavy stainless steel pan and the bits of meat that stick to the bottom of the pan are what give it a brownish color.

The dish is finished when the rice has cooked (which is frequently long grain white rice - a major product in the American South).

Cajun-Style Jambalaya Recipe

Preparation time: 45 minutes. 4 servings (2 cups per serving)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 tablespoon of vegetable oil and 1 1/4 tablespoons of butter
• 8 ounces Kielbasa sausage (or Andouille or your favorite smoked sausage), sliced about 1/4 inch thick
• 4 ounces shrimp (optional) (I do not use crayfish or crawfish)
• 1 1/2 cups diced onion
• 2 cups diced celery
• 1 1/2 cups diced green peppers
• 1 tablespoons Cajun seasonings (or to taste)
• 1 1/2 - 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 2 1/2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning
• 1 pound chicken breasts, diced
• 1 1/2 cups uncooked converted white rice
• 4 cups of chicken stock

Instructions:

• In a large heavy skillet, add the vegetable oil and butter over medium heat
• Add the sausage and cook until crisp (about 5 minutes), stirring constantly
• Add onion, celery, peppers and seasonings to the pan
• Stir well and cook until browned (about 10 minutes) scraping the pan bottom as needed
• Add the chicken (and shrimp if using) and raise the heat to high and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly
• Stir in the rice and garlic and cook 5 minutes, stirring and scaping the pan bottom occasionally
• Add the chicken stock, stirring well
• Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the rice is tender but still has a little bite to it (about 20 minutes), stirring occasionally toward the end of the cooking time (See Option below)
• Add salt if desired
• Serve on heated plates, about two cups per serving

Serve your delicious Jambalaya with a crisp green salad with a vinaigrette dressing and some crispy French bread.

Enjoy your Jambalaya Recipe and the company of those you share it with!

Donna

Did you know? Filé powder is used in Louisiana Creole cuisine in the making of some types of gumbo, a thick Creole soup or stew often served over rice.

"Filé gumbo" is famously mentioned in the classic country song by Hank Williams Sr., “Jambalaya (On The Bayou)”, which reached number one on the U.S. country charts for fourteen non-consecutive weeks.