Tag: Louisiana
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 Omelette
Tasso Omelette
Here’s another great use for tasso ham that I came up with on this Fat Tuesday, 2021. This omelette has the holy trinity of Cajun cuisine, onion, celery, and bell pepper, and some spicy homemade tasso ham as the base. Sauté them with green onions on a griddle, then pour in 3 beaten eggs. Let it set for a minute. Sprinkle cheese down the middle. Fold over the sides to the center and flip onto your plate. I also cooked up some sweet potato hash browns to accompany the omelette.
Servings: 1
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/4 lb tasso ham finely diced
- 3 tbsp onion finely chopped
- 3 tbsp celery finely chopped
- 3 tbsp bell pepper finely chopped
- 2 green onions finely chopped
- 3 large eggs beaten
- 1/4 cup Monterey Jack cheese
Instructions
- Heat up cooking oil on a griddle over medium high heat. Sauté the tasso ham for 2-3 minutes until fat has rendered out.
- Add the onion, celery, bell pepper, and green onion to the griddle. Sauté for 2 minutes.
- Turn the heat to medium. Pour in the beaten eggs. Let set for a minute.
- Push the sides of the eggs to the center to form a circular shape. Put the cheese down the middle.
- Flip the right third of the omelette to the center, then the left third on top of that.
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.
