| 1 | Contributed to the echo by: stephen brown this recipe for jambalaya comes from my father-in-law, who won the oak alley jambalaya cooking contest with it twice. |
| 2 | Even this transplanted yankee has had good luck with it. |
| 3 | Sausage & pork jambalaya brown the pork in a large pot with a small amount of water on the bottom to prevent sticking. |
| 4 | Cover, stir occasionally. |
| 5 | Add onions, and continue to saute. |
| 6 | When onions are transparent, add sausage, and continue to saute. |
| 7 | When the meats are cooked, add the brown gravy and cook a few more minutes. |
| 8 | Add the water -- you need to add an *equal* amount of water as you are using rice. |
| 9 | 5 cups, in this case. |
| 10 | (usually the rice is measured by the pound, in which case you would pour into a bowl and add that amount of water). |
| 11 | Allow the water to heat, then turn off the heat and cover. |
| 12 | Allow the grease to rise to the top. |
| 13 | Skim off the grease with a large spoon. |
| 14 | Conserve the grease. |
| 15 | After skimming the grease, add an amount of water equal to the amount of grease to replace the liquid lost. |
| 16 | Bring to almost boiling, and add your seasonings. |
| 17 | You can use whatever seasonings you want, but the key is that it should be saltier and hotter now than you want the finished product. |
| 18 | Heat the spices a few minutes, and taste. |
| 19 | Add more spices until you are happy with the outcome. |
| 20 | At this point you can add the shallots. |
| 21 | (we save the greens until now, since they float, and they would be in the way of tasting the spices). |
| 22 | One optional step is to add a small amount of kitchen bouquet to give the jambalaya a rich brown color. |
| 23 | Bring to a rolling boil. |
| 24 | Add the rice all at once and stir. |
| 25 | Continue with high heat and stirring often until the mixture becomes milky with the rice. |
| 26 | Reduce the heat slightly, and cover. |
| 27 | Now you only want to open and stir the rice occasionally, as the rice is steaming. |
| 28 | When removing the cover, do not allow the water to drip back into the pot. |
| 29 | Wipe the lid before returning the lid to the pot. |
| 30 | Stir quickly, but be sure to scrape the bottom to prevent sticking. |
| 31 | This is really the tricky part... |
| 32 | As the liquid drys up, you need to reduce the heat even further and allow the rice to finish steaming. |
| 33 | Stir every few minutes, scraping bottom. |
| 34 | The jambalaya is finished when the rice is tender and "done." this recipe can be increased or reduced proportionally. |
| 35 | The first time i made it i used 2 pounds of rice. |
| 36 | The second time used 35 pounds! |
