John Besh’s Jambalaya….divine!

Jan 8, 2012 by sharphilldesigns

My husband made New Orlean’s chef John Besh’s recipe for jambalaya last night for dinner…it was fabulous!  The recipe serves 12-15, but he cut it in half, so we have lots of leftovers.  Can’t wait to have it again tonight…  The recipe calls for the rice to be cooked with all other ingredients, but Pat cooked the rice separately, so I could control how much rice I had.  I’ve cut the recipe in half, so it will serve 6-7.  Up to you whether to cook the rice separately.  This picture does not do the dish justice.  The rich, multiple layers of flavor will blow you away!

Shrimp, Chicken and Andouille Jambalaya

1 pound thick cut bacon, diced
1 1/2 pounds andouille sausage, diced
1/4 cup shortening (you may not need this…just use bacon/sausage fat)
4 1/2 cups converted Louisiana white rice
1 t. dried thyme
1 dried bay leaf
1 pound fresh pork sausage, removed from casings
4 skinless, boneless chicken thighs (we used breasts), roughly cut into 1 inch cubes
salt
3 large onions, diced
2 bell peppers, seeded and diced
5 stalks celery, diced
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 T. smoked paprika
1 t. cayenne pepper
1/2 t. celery salt
3 cups canned crushed tomatoes
3 cups chicken broth
2 1/2 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 bunch green onions, chopped

Heat a large pot over high heat until it is hot, then reduce heat to medium.  Render bacon with sausage and shortening in hot pot, stirring slowly with wooden spoon.  Season chicken with salt and pepper.  Add chicken to pot, stirring, and cook until chicken is golden brown, about 5 minutes.  Add onions to pot and allow them to caramelize, about 15 minutes.  Add bell peppers, celery and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes.  Stir from time to time.

Add rice (or not), thyme, bay leaf, paprika, cayenne, 1 T. salt, black pepper to taste, and celery salt to pot and cook, stirring often, for 3 minutes.  Increase the heat to high and add tomatoes and chicken stock to pot.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

Season shrimp with salt and pepper and save, along with green onion, to be added at last minute.  After mixture has simmered 15 minutes, add shrimp and green onions (you may want to save some green onions for garnish).  Turn off heat and let everything continue to cook for 10 minutes.  Remove the lid, fluff and serve.