Tag: cajun
Gumbo Ya-Ya
Gumbo Ya-Ya
Gumbo ya-ya was introduced to the world by the famous Cajun chef, Paul Prudhomme. This rich chicken and andouille stew is considered to be the state dish, epitomizing the cultural heritage of southern Louisiana. To make this gumbo requires a lot of time and patience. This isn’t something you can prepare in a hurry. The stock will take time. The roux will take time and constant whisking. There are numerous steps that need to be performed in a specific order. This is somewhat of a complicated dish to make, overall, honestly. But after all the intense, laborious cooking, you will become so internally happy eating gumbo ya-ya. It is very spicy and ever so addicting. Serve the gumbo over steamed rice.
Ingredients
- 9 cups water
- 2 1/2 lbs chicken thighs
- 1 lb andouille sausage sliced
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup flour
- 1 large onion diced
- 2 stalks celery chopped
- 1 large green bell pepper chopped
- 2 bunches green onions
- 8 garlic gloves
Spice Blend
- 2 tbsp dried basil
- 2 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp creole seasoning
- 1 tbsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp white pepper
- 1 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 bay leaves
Garnish
- green onions chopped
To Serve
- steamed rice
Instructions
- Mix together the spice blend ingredients. Set aside.
- Add the water and chicken thighs to a large pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for 1 hour. Remove the chicken from the pot. Take the chicken off the bone, chop, and season with creole seasoning. Keep the stock warm.
- Brown the andouille in a large Dutch oven over medium high heat for 6 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Pour the oil in the pot. Once sizzling, whisk in the flour.
- Continue whisking for 10 minutes until a dark roux has formed.
- Add in the onions, celery, and bell pepper. Cook for 15 minutes, scraping up the brown bits on the bottom.
- Stir in the garlic and green onions. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Add in the andouille, half of the spice blend, and the bay leaves. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Pour in the stock. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Stir in half of the remaining seasoning. Cover. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for an hour.
- Add the chicken and the rest of the spice blend. Simmer for 30 more minutes.
Tasso Ham and Chicken Jambalaya
Tasso Ham and Chicken Jambalaya
This recipe is something special. Not only is it the best jambalaya you will ever eat, the recipe was created by the great chef, Paul Prudhomme, who popularized and introduced Cajun and Creole cuisine to the mainstream culinary world. If you don’t like spicy food, then this jambalaya might not be for you. It is fairly spicy. But you will have a hard time trying to stop eating it. Jambalaya itself is a Creole rice dish with West African, French, and Spanish influences. Jambalaya will always have some type of smoked sausage or ham, such as andouille or tasso, chicken, and sometimes shrimp or crawfish tails. The base of rice dish starts with the holy trinity: onion, celery, and bell pepper; the Cajun equivalent of the French mirepoix. All of that is sautéed, then mixed with rice and stock. The jambalaya is then baked in the oven, much like jollof rice, hence the West African influence.
Servings: 4
Equipment
- 6 quart oven-safe saucepan or baking dish
Ingredients
Spice Mix
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp white pepper
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tsp thyme
- 1/4 tsp ground sage
- 2 bay leaves
Jambalaya
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1/2 lb tasso ham diced into small cubes
- 4 boneless skinless chicken thighs cubed
- 1 cup onion diced
- 1 cup celery diced
- 1 cup bell pepper red or green; diced
- 1 tbsp garlic minced
- 1/2 cup tomato sauce
- 14 oz canned diced tomatoes
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 1 1/2 cups basmati rice
Instructions
- Mix together the spice blend. Set aside.
- Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Sauté the tasso ham for 3 minutes.
- Add in the chicken. Sauté for 5 minutes.
- Add the spice mix and half of the onion, celery, and bell pepper. Continue to sauté for 5 minutes.
- Stir in the garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add in the tomatoes, tomato sauce, and the remaining onion, celery, and bell peppers.
- Mix in the rice. Pour in the chicken stock. Place the pan in a preheated 350 degree oven, uncovered. If your saucepan isn’t oven safe, transfer to a 6 quart baking dish.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes.
Tasso Ham
Tasso ham is a Louisiana specialty. Instead of using a pork leg, pork shoulder is cured, dry rubbed with what is pretty much andouille sausage seasoning, and smoked. The result is a spicy, fatty, ham shoulder that is used in numerous cajun recipes such as jambalaya, gumbo, etouffee, beans and rice, and many more.
Equipment
- Electric Smoker
Ingredients
- 5 lbs boneless pork shoulder cut into 1” thick steaks
- 8 oz sea salt
- 4 oz sugar
- 2 tbsp pink curing salt
- 1/4 cup white pepper
- 1/4 cup cayenne pepper
- 2 tbsp marjoram
- 2 tbsp allspice
- 2 tbsp garlic powder
- 2 tbsp thyme
Wood Chips
- hickory wood chips
Instructions
- Mix together the salt, sugar, and curing salt.
- Dredge each of the pork steaks in the curing mixture.
- Place the pork steaks on a baking pan. Wrap in foil and let cure in the refrigerator for 4 hours.
- After 4 hours, rinse off the cure on each of the pork steaks. Pat dry with paper towels.
- Mix together the white pepper, cayenne, thyme, garlic powder, allspice, and marjoram.
- Season both sides of the pork steaks.
- Preheat your smoker to 225 degrees. Place the pork steaks into the smoker. Smoke for 2 hours until the internal temp reaches 150 degrees.
- Let the tasso cool completely before use.
