Shortly after starting medical school in New Orleans I had the opportunity to try this quintessential Louisiana dish when a fellow student (of Cajun ancestry) invited several of us to dinner at her parents’ place one evening. We were treated to 3 different variations of jambalaya: sausage, shrimp, and chicken. Each was delicious. It was my introduction to Cajun-Creole cooking, and it was love at first bite. I favor the sausage one as I rely on the drippings from the sausage to make the roux AND it's the one that keeps best in the freezer, but I would encourage you to try all variations of this marvelous dish.
ALEX' SMOKED SAUSAGE JAMBALAYA
Serves 6-8
Ingredients
1-1/2 pounds of sausage sliced into 1/4" rounds (slicing on the bias adds a nice touch)
3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
2 medium yellow onions, finely chopped
1 bunch of green onions, chopped
2 tablespoons of parsley, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups of rice
2 1/2 cups of broth or water
3/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons salt
Hot pepper sauce e.g. Trappey's, etc. if desired
Method
In a large, heavy pot, brown sausage slices and remove. Save sausage drippings. Add flour and brown to a dark roux. Add onions, parsley, and garlic. Stir to coat them thoroughly with the roux and cook until soft. This step creates the most heavenly aroma and tells you you’ve gotten it right. Add rice and coat thoroughly. Add broth/water, salt, cayenne, and sausage. When it comes to a boil, reduce heat to lowest point and cook for about 1 hour, covered tightly. When rice is done, remove lid and let cook for a few minutes until rice dries a little.
HELPFUL HINTS
This dish is deceptively simple, but there are several subtleties in its preparation. After YEARS of experimentation, I've arrived at some conclusions. You may take these to heart or use them as a point of departure in creating your own signature version of this venerable dish.
1) The Roux
Family feuds have started over differing methods and interpretations of roux. My own preference is for making as dark a roux as possible (think about 70% dark chocolate). This requires constant and I mean CONSTANT stirring, and an almost pathological attention to the color changes occurring in the roux mixture. It also takes knowing when to quit. If you overdo the roux it'll burn and you must start all over again. Remember: "the enemy of good is better."
Disclaimer: And yes, the use of roux in jambalaya has gotten me hate mail from outraged traditionalists who would no sooner use a roux than use hot dogs in place of the smoked sausage. This recipe is from the venerable River Road Cookbook. It's how I learned to prepare it, and I've never tried any other way. I can tell you that this recipe works nicely and will get you a very tasty result.
-Hint: beginners are well advised to set the burner on medium. As you become more adept you can do this over a higher heat and consequently make the roux in a fraction of the time it takes at lower (read: safer) temperatures.
-Hint: use only a HEAVY cast iron or cast aluminum pot in which to make the roux. You're asking for needless frustration if you use anything else.
-Hint: I have learned the
hard way that the yellow onions and parsley need to be fully coated with the
roux and allowed to soften until the onions become translucent.
2) The Sausage
You must use only the
finest, most flavorful sausage you can obtain in your area. The closest thing to quality smoked sausage
you can get in most places outside of Louisiana is Linguica - a Portuguese
sausage. We on the West Coast are
fortunate in that this sausage seems to be readily available. Although some rather flavorful
"andouille" sausages are cropping up in specialty stores and
supermarkets, they tend to lack one crucial characteristic - they're lean and don't give up
much fat. It's the rendered fat from a
good sausage that makes the roux and imparts to the dish the wonderful mélange
of spices. (The 1-1/2 pounds of sausage
alluded to in the recipe should give up the 3 tablespoons of fat required for
the roux.) I've made this dish with only half the fat, hence half the roux. It makes for a lighter dish and you haven't sacrificed that much flavor in the process.
This dish can be made with several variations to include chicken, beef, or seafood. However, if you use a non-fatty sausage, or substitute beef, chicken, or seafood as the protein base, you'll have to add oil, lard or bacon fat, and concoct a mixture of spices to imitate those rendered from the sausage. Chef Paul Prudhomme’s Magic Seasoning Blends, or Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasonings work well. NOT an easy task but do-able.
NOTE: if you elect a different protein source or combination thereof, the total should still add up to no more than 1.5 lbs. altogether
3) The Rice
Use ONLY Uncle Ben's Converted Rice (not their new minute version for god's sake!!). I've tried many different types of rice. Nothing else works as well. If you MUST tempt fate, reduce the volume of the water by 1/4 to 1/2 cup. You're on your own if you go down this path
4) Salt and Cayenne
These will vary according to
how salty and spicy your sausage is. The
recipe quantities produce a relatively moderate degree of salt in a fairly bland
sausage. The cayenne quantity is
moderate by Cajun standards but even so it is QUITE incendiary.
5) Stir the Pot
Unlike a lot of rice dishes, this one can tolerate being messed around with while cooking. In fact, it is NECESSARY in the later stages. If you don't periodically stir up the charring bits from the bottom, all the wonderful spices will settle and form a delicious pilaf-like crust rather than distribute evenly throughout the dish. Use a heavy long metal spoon to do this-one of those long 14" metal numbers works well.
Serve with LIGHT French bread, hot sauce and cold beer.
This recipe makes for a drier, fluffier Jambalaya, which I much prefer to the wetter (come might say soggy) variations. While still delicious, those versions don’t do it for me. No less an expert than Chef Paul Prudhomme himself prepares a pretty wet version in his restaurant and it’s glorious. In my sincerely humble opinion, if you’re going to make it that wet just go ahead and make a gumbo instead. Opinions are my own. Take them or leave them.
Alex
and to put you in the mood: 'Tit galop pour mamou = Un petit galop pour mon amour
Comments
Post a Comment