The Jambalaya and Gumbo thread

[KFhunter]

Who makes a mean Jambalaya?

I made some sausage Jambalaya today - and dang it was good,  I didn't follow any recipe though.

This isn't a recipe, just some stuff I tossed in a pot for a quick something to eat. 
I'd hesitate to even call it jambalaya
Basically cut up sausage chunks, Andoulie sort of stuff cooked in a skillet beforehand, drained and tossed in the pot.
Saute 3 onions in the left over sausage goo (skillet drained first) deglaze and cook onions in the butter.  All I had were the walla walla sweets
toss that in the pot

next was a quart jar of canned tomatoes we canned last summer

Creole season - liberal 2-3 tsp
ancho pepper powder 1tsp
chipolte pepper powder 1tsp
garlic - 1 tbsp or so
2 cups brown rice - make sure  to add enough water for the rice to soak up when it cooks, I kept adding some more here and there as it cooked to desired consistancy.


Next I'm going to do some shrimp

Anyone got some killer recipes?

[Fl0und3rz]

I use the Zatarain's jambalaya mix and add chicken and shrimp and a few extra cups of cooked rice. Sometimes I add andouille.  It's pretty good for simple.

[Blacklab]

I use the Zatarain's jambalaya mix and add chicken and shrimp and a few extra cups of cooked rice. Sometimes I add andouille.  It's pretty good for simple.

I do the same thing for a package it's pretty good.

[HUNTINCOUPLE]

Zaterains is the best of the best for boxed, packaged and seasonigs for your Cajun eats! Add a crawfish pie and its all good!

[sneakyjake]

I lived down south for a bit and picked up a fever for the cooking. You would be hard pressed to find a recipe without the trilogy-celery, onion and green pepper.  All recipes has some quick and dirty ones.  http://allrecipes.com/recipes/soups-stews-and-chili/jambalaya/top.aspx

[KFhunter]

ya

I was hesistant to call my little concoction Jambalaya without green peppers and celery but what the heck


I'll be cooking more of it for sure, not that stuff I did above but I'd like to perfect some recipes

[NRA4LIFE]

Another Zatarains fan here.  I do jazz it up a little bit with some diced onion, jalapeno and garlic.  And whatever meat we're in the mood for, shrimp, chicken or sliced homemade smoked kielbasa.

[sneakyjake]

Hey, I'm a firm believer of cooking with what you got on hand sometimes.  It's all gonna taste great with some hot sauce, jalapeño cornbread and a nice cold beer.

[duramax]

I also use Zatarans. I brown up seasoned chicken, buck board bacon, sausage, onions and peppers. When it is about finished I add shredded cheddar cheese to bind it all together. It is one of my favorites.

[TheHunt]

This is the reciepe that I use
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chef-johns-sausage--shrimp-jambalaya/detail.aspx

I typically adjust this but it is pretty much what I use.  I add more chicken broth then what it says.  And add more shrimp and sausage as well.

Good eats and very good eats in a Dutch oven.

[HUNTINCOUPLE]

Bumps are free of charge!

[Wolfdog2314]

Another for Zatarans! We season the shrimp in the creole seasoning too.

It’s been a while. Going to have to cook some up this week!

[biggfish]

I stopped making jambalaya, it took three days to make. I made it all from scratch including the chicken stock. Now I just open a box of Zaterain's and add cooked meat, its not the same but it's edible.

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[merkaba93]

Jambalaya and Gumbo are staples for Cajun food, but don't forget étouffée. Duck Gumbo is a meal I make pretty frequently during the winter months. And it doesn't have to be the best tasting ducks, I usually braise the duck for a few hours until fork tender, then add it to Gumbo. Also something fun to do is to make homemade venison/pork andouille sausage to amp up your gumbo or your crab/crawfish boils.

Here is one of my recipes, I think I posted it on on of the fishing threads.

Crawfish Étouffée

Remove the tail meat from each crawfish and reserve the meat. Place all the shells of the crawfish in a large stockpot. (If you are using shrimp in addition to the crawfish or solely shrimp, deshell the shrimp and place the shells in the stockpot, reserving the shrimp meat for later).
Add to the stockpot two onions quartered (don’t waste your time removing the skin), one bulb garlic cut across the widest part (also don’t waste your time removing the skin), 3 stocks of celery chopped, 3 carrots chopped, 2 bay leaves, 5 whole black peppercorns and a few sprigs of thyme, parsley and dill (feel free to tie them up with some butcher twine making a boque garni). Then add 8 cups water and simmer uncovered for about 1-2 hours until you only have 4 cups left. Strain and reserve the seafood stock.

In the same stockpot (after it’s been quickly rinsed) melt 1 tbs butter over med heat and sauté 3 stocks celery diced cook for 2 min. Then add 1 yellow onion diced and 2 bell peppers diced and continue to cook for 8 min. After the vegetables are cooked to your liking set them aside in another bowl. Increase to med high heat and melt ½ cup butter and then whisk in ½ cup flour making a roux. Constantly stir the roux until it’s just beyond a golden brown, about 5 min.  Carefully add back 4 cups of seafood stock, this will be a steaming, bubbling affair so stand back a bit and let the initial steam die down for a few seconds. Then whisk to combine and add back the cooked vegetables. Add 1.5 teaspoon sea salt, 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or more if you like it spicy), ½ teaspoon paprika, and ½ teaspoon ground black pepper.  Bring to a simmer and add the crawfish (and/or shrimp meat). Simmer for about 5 min.
To serve place a few scoops of the etouffee into a bowl and add a scoop of cooked white rice to the center. Garnish with some chives, green onion or parsley dealer’s choice (and maybe a whole crawfish if you feel like being fancy).

[KFhunter]

thanks for the bump, I haven't made this stuff...since...well since I made this thread!


but wife has been making something close, it's an italian meat ball soup I've modified by adding couscous.   It's good, the couscous makes it last a bit longer even though it's an odd ingredient it works   (I didn't have wheat germs)

[merkaba93]

So funny thing, I had to google what Bump meant. You'd think given my age I'd be more in tune with the terminology. Oh well.

Here is my other cajun recipe I use most. It's odd how it doesn't need to use spices. If you take your time and make the roux right it has a lot of depth of flavor on its own.


Duck Gumbo
Take 4 breasts of duck (think divers or wigeon) and dice. Heat 1 tbs vegetable oil and sear the duck breast until browned and then add a mixture of red wine and chicken stock until the meat is almost covered. Bring to a summer and braise for 2 hours or until fork tender.
While the duck is braising. Heat 1 cup veg oil over med heat and add 2 cups flour. Whisk constantly the roux until you get a dark chocolate color. About 20 min, be sure to not stop whisking for very long or you will scorch the flour. Then add 4 diced onions, 1 cup diced celery, 2 diced green bell peppers,  2 tbs fresh thyme, 2 tbs fresh oregano leaves cook for 4 min. Then add 3 quarts chicken stock (or homemade duck/wild bird stock). Simmer on low for 2 hrs.
Remove duck meat from braising liquid and discard liquid. Add duck meat to gumbo and serve with some rice and green onions.

[Calvin Rayborn]

I lived down south for a bit and picked up a fever for the cooking. You would be hard pressed to find a recipe without the trilogy-celery, onion and green pepper.  All recipes has some quick and dirty ones.  http://allrecipes.com/recipes/soups-stews-and-chili/jambalaya/top.aspx

Cool site! 

[Dtray332]

Bringing an old thread back. Merkaba93 is 100% correct about Roux. The roux will make or break your gumbo. The golden rules to making a good roux is that you never leave it unattended and never stop stirring or whisking. Roux will burn in a heart beat. Once it is warm and starts to cook, you need to constantly stir it. In the event you over cook it or even a hint of burning it, throw it out and start over. Once your roux has reached that nice dark chocolate color, get you hot liquid (water, broth or stock) into the roux to stop the cooking process. You want to make sure your liquid is hot. I usually have mine at a simmer. If the liquid is cold, you roux will turn to a gel and lump up. If you are looking for a good Cajun Cook book, check out "Talk About Good". It is a collection of recipes from the people down in the bayou. Funny thing is, a few of the recipes are from my Uncle and a few other family members. I grew up just south of Houma Louisiana. Was there for the first 18 years of my life until I joined the Army, now I'm retired and living up here in the PNW.