Jambalaya

This is a creole jambalaya, not a cajun one - if you ask a Cajun friend he won't even call this a jambalaya. He'll say it sounds tasty, but isn't jambalaya. The difference is the tomatoes and spices - essentially we're making a weird pot of paella without the socarrat.

It also makes 8 portions, which reheat well after either fridge or freezer. The only interesting thing is that the rice might turn mushy later. That's from the acid in the tomatoes.

Creole Spice Mix

So, starting with the spices, here's the creole seasoning we're using for this:

• 2.5 tablespoons hot paprika
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon onions powder
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme

I use about a third to a half of a batch of this per recipe of jambalaya, but since the cayenne's the only capsaicin-based heat it really doesn't build up on you - you can sip water and erase the heat, so I've done batches of with the whole thing. Regardless, it'll also keep in an airtight container for about 6 months.

To gather for the jambalaya:

• A big pot
• The creole seasoning
• 1 pound shrimp, peeled - I go medium or large.
• 3 chicken drumsticks and 3 chicken thighs. All bone-in, skin on.
• 1.5 pounds andouille sausage. This batch I used 3/4 pound andouille and 3/4 pound double-smoke, though. I'll do that again.
• 2 cups chopped onion (roughly 1 medium-to-large)
• some garlic. I usually us a whole head, but 4 cloves is fine too. Whatever you wish for, honestly.
• 1 cup celery (about a large stick, or a couple of medium ish ones)
• 1 cup chopped bell pepper (roughly 1)
• 3 bay leaves
• 1.5 tablespoons thyme
• 1 16 ounce can of chopped tomatoes
• 5 cups water or stock (made with shrimp shells and chicken bones if you have them)
• 2 cups rice. I use sushi rice, because it stays a touch more al-dente, and I like the texture. The long-grain stuff just turns to mush. I've also had to boost with some risotto rices before, and that works well too, but does thicken the remaining liquids up too. Not a bad thing.
• 1 cup green onions
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley leaves

Procedure

First, pull the skin off the chicken and put it in the pot over a low heat (a high-simmer setting, if you have it) - render those things down until you just have chicken cracklings in melted chicken fat. Eat the cracklings, but don't tell anyone. Roughly 20 minutes to half an hour.

While the chicken fat is rendering out, separate the chicken thighs from the drumsticks, and dust them all with the creole seasoning. Cut the sausage into slightly too big bite-sized pieces, because they're going to shrink while cooking.  If your shrimp are raw then dust them with the spice mix and sear them on both sides, then set aside. If they're cooked shrimp then dust them with the spice mix and set aside, but not in the fridge - they won't take on flavour if they're too cool. They'll get cooked through in the pot with everything else. Chop all the vegetables. Get a plate or tray to let the chicken rest on once it's been seared and needs to be removed from the pot.

[info] Checkpoint
You should now have a pot with what looks like too much chicken fat in it, and have just eaten some crispy skin. You should have also chopped up everything that's not bite-sized into bite-sized pieces or smaller, with the exception of the chicken legs, which have just been separated into legs and thighs. You should have a tray out with nothing on.

Over a medium-low heat, add half the chicken to the pot, and let it sit until it's well browned on one side, then flip it over to do the same on the other side. When it's browned well on the majority of it, remove it to the tray and repeat with the other half of the chicken, also removing it to the tray when done. I find that it'll burn the spices if there's a lot of them or if the temperature is too high, so low and slow is the winner here. We don't need to cook the chicken through - just get good browning. This takes about 10-15 minutes, depending on how slow you go.

With the chicken out of the way, the chopped sausages go in. Get some browning on those, too, but don't worry too much about browning all the pieces thoroughly - about half of them about half browned is fine. This is about 5-10 minutes.

Add the onion, celery, bell pepper, garlic, thyme and bay leaves and stir. Bring to a boil then simmer until the vegetables wilt by about 1/3 of the volume - roughly 5 minutes.

Add the can of chopped tomatoes and the 5 cups of water, and another tablespoon or so of the spice mix. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. This is where we cook the chicken through, also handily making chicken stock while we're at it.

Add the rice, stir well and return to a simmer for 15 minutes.

Add your cooked shrimp, green onions and parsley, mixing gently so to avoid crushing the rice, and simmer for another 10 minutes. It'll still look a little wet, but that's okay.

Remove from the heat and leave covered, and allow carry-over cooking to finish the cook for 10 minutes.

Now, find the 6 pieces of chicken and pull them out. Find the bay leaves if you can. Pull the meat off chicken and return the meat to the pot, and stir in. Try not to stir too much to avoid mushing the rice.

Serve with garlic bread and/or salad, and a vinegary hot sauce if you wish.