Polo’s Jambalaya
| Submitted by: Melissa Polovich, User Experience & Information Desk Services Manager, University Libraries |
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My husband, Eric, grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana. He loves sharing the tradition of “lagniappe”…or a little something extra…with friends and family, especially during Mardi Gras. This is his famous Jambalaya recipe, a crowd favorite at every Fat Tuesday celebration! Laissez les bons temps rouler! (Let the good times roll!)
| Servings: 8 | Cultural Connection: New Orleans, Louisiana |
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Ingredients
| 1 lb chicken, shredded | 1 lb smoked sausage, sliced | 1 lb ham, diced (½ inch pieces) |
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| 2-3 bell peppers, diced | 2-3 stalks celery, diced | 1 large onion, diced (I usually use a sweet onion, like a Vidalia) |
| 3 cloves garlic, minced, or 3 tbsp crushed garlic | 1-2 cups chicken stock | 1-3 tbsp vegetable oil or butter |
| 2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes | 1 (6 oz) can tomato paste | ½ tbsp chili powder |
| ½ tsp hot sauce (I prefer Crystal, but Frank’s works just as well) | ½ tsp ground cayenne pepper | ½ tbsp cajun seasoning (If the seasoning is low sodium, add a little salt to taste, but if you’re using something like Tony Chachere’s, you don’t need the salt) |
| 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce | 3 bay leaves | 2 cups uncooked white rice |
| Optional: 1 pound shrimp (either pre-cooked, or raw and deveined) |
Instructions
- Note: Okay, first off, he usually does jambalaya as a meal to get rid of leftovers, either whenever we do a ham, or when we roast a whole chicken. He prefers using the chicken left over from a chicken carcass, but if you don’t have one laying around, you can just cook and shred a few boneless chicken breasts. You’re going to be using one pot for this whole meal, so make sure it’s a big one… stock pot size works best.
- In a large pot over medium heat, cook your bell pepper, onion, celery and garlic with the oil or butter until the onion starts to become translucent. You can add 1/2 cup of the chicken broth at this point, if you need to.
- Add everything else to the pot, except for the stock, meat and rice. Reduce to low heat and simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add 1/2 cup of the broth, the chicken, the sausage and the ham to the pot. (If you’re using raw shrimp, you can add them at this point, or you can wait 20 minutes. They only need about 15-20 minutes to cook).
- Continue to simmer it for about 15-20 minutes. Add the chicken stock as you need to thin it out.
- Cook off your rice, in a rice cooker. You can add it to the pot uncooked, but that drastically increases your cook time! I usually partially cook mine, then toss it directly from the rice cooker to the pot.
- Stir in the rice. Simmer until the rice is tender (about 30-45 minutes). (If you’re using pre-cooked shrimp instead of raw, add them about 15 minutes before you serve.)
- At this point you can serve it or continue to simmer. The longer you simmer it the more the rice will soften. (Some folks like their jambalaya to have a pasty consistency.)
