Cajun Cooking at it's Finest: Part III

    This is a recipe I had been dying to try. During this past summer vacation I even made a batch of Homemade Andouille Sausage, just so I would have all the appropriate ingredients. I made it for the first time about two months ago, but I just didn't have the time to post the recipe. It was so good, I have made it about three times since, and now I am completely out of sausage.
   I figured if I wanted to share it with you, it would have to be now.
This Chicken and Andouille Sausage Jambalaya is delicious. If you get around to trying it, you will not be disappointed.
    In my quest to find this recipe, I came across a few facts that I found interesting about Jambalaya.

     Jambalaya is a meal that is native to Louisiana, and it takes on two forms. The first is the Creole, or “red jambalaya” version. The second is the Cajun version. The main difference is that Creole jambalaya includes the use of tomato and the Cajun does not.
     It’s unclear as to where the word jambalaya comes from. Some say the word derives from the French word for “ham” (jambon), “in the style of” (à la manière de) and ya (which refers to rice in certain West African languages), resulting in jambon à la ya. Others say the word is rooted in Spanish as a combination of “ham” (jamon) and paella. However the dish’s name came about, what is clear is that the dish is a very personal one and renditions of it are made according to how it’s been made at home for generations.
    During Mardi Gras celebrations, a day also known as Fat Tuesday, Shrove Tuesday, or Pancake Day, many New Orlean's natives gather around their table's to eat this dish. Mardi Gras is a tradition created by French settlers and is intended as a day of indulgence before the fasting period of Lent starts. And can you think of a better meal to have before fasting, than a delicious and messy pot of rice, chicken, and sausage?

Chicken and Andouille Sausage Jambalaya:
(Loosely adapted from Emeril Lagasse's Recipe)

A delicious, One Pot Meal!

Ingredients:
1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 cups chopped onions

3 cups of chopped bell peppers (traditionally only green peppers would be used, but I add all sorts)

2 cups of chopped celery

3 teaspoons salt

3 Tbsp's. of Emeril's Creole Seasoning, aka. Bayou Blast (I always end up adding extra. I like spicy food.)

1 lbs. Andouille Sausage (about 6 links) cut into 1/4 inch slices

1 1/2 lbs. chicken breast (about 3 large breasts) cut into 1 inch cubes

3 bay leaves

3 cups medium grain white rice (basmati works really well)

6 cups water

1 cup chopped green onions

Directions:

1) Heat the oil in a large cast iron dutch oven/ or a large heavy bottomed pot over medium heat.
2) Add the onions, peppers and celery along with 2 tsp's of the salt and 1 Tbsp. of the Creole seasoning. Stirring often, brown the vegetables for about 20 minutes, or until they are soft and beginning to caramelize.

3) In a large bowl, add the cubed chicken breast and the remaining Creole seasoning. Stir to combine, and let sit for about 5 minutes to marinade.

5) Add the marinaded chicken to a preheated pan and brown for 8-10 minutes. Set aside.
6) Scrape the bottom and sides of the pot to loosen any browned particles. Add the sausage, chicken and bay leaves. Cook for 5-10 more minutes, stirring often.

7) Add the rice, and stir for 2-3 minutes to coat evenly.

8) Add the water. Stir to combine, and cover.

Before

9) Cook over medium heat for 30-35 minutes, without stirring or removing the lid. After the allotted time, the rice should be tender and the liquid absorbed.
10) Remove the pot from the heat and let stand, covered for 2-3 minutes.

After

11) Remove the bay leaves, and serve.

12) Garnish with the chopped green onion.

* This recipe makes 16 servings.
    There is usually quite a bit of Jambalaya leftover. I often portion out the leftovers into medium sized freezer bags, and put them in the freezer for later. Once the rice has thawed, just fry it in a pan as though it were fried rice. This way there is no wastage and you are left with a convenient meal for a busy week night.

You may also like:
Chicken, Chorizo and Shrimp Paella
Chicken, Shrimp and Andouille Gumbo

Cajun Cooking at it's Finest: Part I

    For sometime now, I have been wanting to dabble in Cajun cooking. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Cajun influenced food, it is a style of cooking created by the French immigrants of Louisiana (or Cajun People). Such dishes from this region are jambalaya, red beans and rice, étouffée, and perhaps the most commonly known, gumbo.
   Now, like most regions of the world, the flavor profile of the food that they eat usually comes from local ingredients. Most, but not all recipes from this particular region, contain a specific ingredient that was impossible to find here in Canada (or at least in the multitude of places I searched anyway). This super special ingredient was Andouille Sausage.
    Andouille Sausage is a heavily smoked pork sausage. It is made with either the butt or shank of the pig along with a fair amount of the fat, and flavored mainly with salt, cracked black pepper, garlic, onion, and smoked with either pecan or hickory wood chips. The sausage is super spicy and is sometimes referred to as "hot links".
    I couldn't make my own at home because I currently do not possess the equipment to make sausages, so my desire to make Cajun food was on hold until I could either find, or make some Andouille somewhere else. My wait is finally over. I am currently visiting my parents in Newfoundland, and lucky for me, they happen to have all the necessities for sausage making.
    So I rounded up all (except for two) ingredients. (The super small grocery store that they have here didn't carry a couple of the spices, but I made do without them. I figure when I get home I will find the ingredients there. When the time comes to make a dish with the sausages, I will add the two ingredients then). And then I set out on a mission to make my very own, homemade Andouille Sausage.
    Since I had been obsessed with this idea for a while now, I had already chosen the perfect sausage recipe. I chose to use an "authentic" Andouille Sausage recipe by none other than the King of Cajun Cooking himself, Emeril Lagasse. I am super impressed with the end product. They are so juicy and have so much flavor.


Andouille Sausage Recipe
(I doubled the original recipe. The recipe below will create 28 x 6" links)

After creating my sausage links, they are ready to
be smoked with the delicious flavor of hickory.

Ingredients:
5 lbs. boneless pork butt

1 lb. pound pork fat, cut into pieces

1 recipe Emeril's Creole Seasoning (aka. Bayou Blast)

4 Tbsp. paprika

2 Tbsp. minced garlic

3 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tsp. file powder (This is a powder made from ground sassafras leaves, with a mild root beer flavor. It is traditionally used as a winter thickener for gumbo. It was impossible to find, so I ended up leaving it out.)

1 1/2 tsp. chili powder

1 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper

1 tsp. ground cumin

Directions:

(1) Dice pork into 1/2 inch cubes.

                                                  

(2) Combine the pork, pork fat, Creole Seasoning, paprika, garlic, black pepper, salt, file, chili powder, red pepper, and cumin and minced garlic in a large bowl and using your hands, mix well.

(3) Pass through a meat grinder fitted with a coarse die. (Alternately, transfer in 2 batches to a food processor and process until finely ground.)

The KichenAid Mixer, once fitted with a
meat grinder attachment becomes top heavy.
If using this attachment you will need to brace
the base of the mixer to keep it from tipping
into the bowl ground meat.

(4) Transfer to a large bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.

(5) To test the seasoning, heat 1 teaspoon oil in a small skillet, and cook about 2 tspfulls of the meat mixture. Adjust seasoning, to taste.

(6) Using a sausage stuffer, stuff the meat into the casings, if you choose to use them. Twist and tie off to make 6 inch sausages. (Emeril suggests if you can't find casings, or just don't wish to use them, shape the meat into patties. However, I do not recommend skipping this step. The end result will turn out dry, and you will loose most of the flavor and juices during the smoking process. The casings will retain all of the juices and redistribute them back into the meat.)

Once you have a 6 inch link, twist the casing
6 or 7 times and start on another link. I made
for links and then tied the ends together. I think
any more than four links would have been to
 heavy to hang in the smoker.

(7) Preheat a home smoker to 250 degrees F. Smoke the sausages for 1 1/2 hours. Remove from the smoker and use as desired. (I smoked my sausages at 180 degrees F, for the allotted time and the came out perfectly cooked. I think 250 degrees F may be a little high, but you can be the judge of that.)

Hickory Wood Chips.
Soak your wood chips in water for about
20-25 minutes before adding them to the
smoker. This will create a smouldering
smoke, instead of burning the wood chips.

My parents awesome, and well used smoker.

The wood chips are begining to smoke...

The sausage links are hung, and ready for
smoking.

    These sausages turned out so well. Now to figure out how to get them home to Ontario, lol. Don't worry, I have it all figured out. I can't wait to start cooking with these baby's. I stored them into freezer safe bags (double bagged, so they are extra safe from freezer burn), and placed them into the freezer awaiting use. 

All smoked and delicious.