Looking for the ultimate comfort food that's both easy to make and full of flavor? In this video, Nicole shows you how to make her mouthwatering Cajun Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya, a classic one-pot dish that's perfect for any occasion – from weeknight dinners to Mardi Gras celebrations!
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00:00Today I'm combining two of my favorite things,
00:02one pot cooking with Cajun food
00:03to bring you the most delicious dinner tonight, jambalaya.
00:06A good old classic chicken and sausage jambalaya
00:09is just one of the greatest gifts
00:11known to our culinary world.
00:13And let's take a minute to appreciate
00:15the pot I'm gonna make it in.
00:16Like a replica of the original Magna Light.
00:19This is what all the folks from New Orleans used
00:22to make their gumbo and jambalaya and really everything.
00:24And I've always wanted one,
00:25so I really wanted to make jambalaya today
00:27so that I could buy me one.
00:28Whenever anyone asks me like,
00:29what's your favorite meal to cook?
00:31I never can really come up with an answer
00:32except I always say,
00:33it's something that can be made in one pot.
00:36So this is your one pot meal.
00:38It can feed an army, it can feed your family.
00:40You can make this as big or as small
00:42and it's really kind of cooking on a budget
00:44because none of these meats individually
00:46are really expensive.
00:47So one batch is gonna feed a lot of people.
00:49I'm gonna go ahead and prep all my ingredients
00:51because once we get over to the stove,
00:53you don't have to do anything else.
00:54So I'm using boneless, skinless chicken thighs.
00:57They hold up the best to a longer cook time.
01:00They're cheap, they're flavorful,
01:03and this is what you should be doing.
01:04So I'm going to just kind of chop it up.
01:06It'll kind of shred up a little bit.
01:08I'm gonna take off some of the little fat.
01:09We don't need it.
01:10You can customize this dish to your liking.
01:13Some people put shrimp in it.
01:14You might put tomato in it.
01:16The Creole Cajuns usually add tomato
01:19to their jambalaya and their gumbo.
01:21I'm gonna do just the Cajun Cajun with no tomato,
01:24but it has so much flavor.
01:26I think every culture has a version of this dish.
01:30You know, like people in the low country,
01:32it's called chicken perlo.
01:34In Spain, it's called paella,
01:35but it's the same concept, just different flavors.
01:38For the sausage, I'm using two different kinds.
01:40One has more of that classic andouille flavor,
01:43and then one has more of just like a southern smoky flavor.
01:47Andouille sometimes can be different spice levels.
01:50A lot of times it can be a little too spicy for my kids,
01:53so that's why I usually will add
01:55a milder smoked sausage version in there.
01:58This is what is going to start the jambalaya,
02:01because this is the same way I start my gumbo.
02:03It creates the flavor
02:05that's gonna carry through the whole dish.
02:07All right, the third meat I'm using is ground pork.
02:09Sometimes people will use a cut-up pork shoulder.
02:12It just requires a little longer cooking
02:14to the whole process,
02:15so this is kind of a good little shortcut.
02:18Plus, it gives you another texture of meatiness
02:21similar to that of dirty rice.
02:24My friend over there, slash work helper,
02:26who happens to be from Louisiana,
02:28says she always puts ground pork in hers,
02:31so I'm gonna do that too.
02:32Like any good Cajun recipe,
02:34it starts with the Holy Trinity,
02:37which is a combination of onion, celery, and peppers.
02:42Bell peppers, classically, classically green.
02:45I'm gonna twist that up just a little bit.
02:48This is the best combination.
02:49The French have a mirepoix to start all their recipes,
02:54which is carrots, onions, and celery.
02:55The bell pepper, instead of the carrots,
02:57turns it into the Trinity.
02:59And then garlic, you gotta have garlic.
03:01The celery, I like to include some with the leaves in it,
03:05because the leaves have so much flavor.
03:06Usually, one-pot cooking lends itself
03:09to more affordable meals,
03:10and this is the definition of that.
03:12This is one of those dishes
03:13that just keeps growing and growing.
03:15The bad news about this is that it's hard to cook this
03:18for just a couple people,
03:19so if you're gonna make a pot
03:21and you don't have that many people,
03:24invite your friends over,
03:25or be prepared to have leftover, leftover, leftover.
03:28It freezes beautifully and reheats beautifully.
03:31Green bell pepper is classic in the Trinity.
03:34I'm gonna do one green bell pepper
03:37and half of a red bell pepper,
03:39just for some contrast.
03:41And though I don't have the chance
03:42to go to Mardi Gras all the time,
03:43I like to always cook this type of food during Mardi Gras.
03:48It makes me feel like I'm there and celebrating,
03:51and it gives me another excuse to cook this.
03:54Cajun food is maybe my favorite food next to Italian.
03:58I just think that's where the best food is,
04:00down in New Orleans.
04:02Okay, not traditional,
04:04but I'm adding in a jalapeno without the seeds,
04:07because I want to.
04:08I mean, when you have any kind of Cajun food,
04:10you know it's gonna be just packed with flavor,
04:12oftentimes with a little kick,
04:14and I like a little kick.
04:16And then garlic.
04:17Garlic is 100% essential in this dish.
04:20Garlic gets added in later than all the veggies,
04:22so it doesn't burn.
04:24That's pretty much all the prep.
04:26Now we cook, come on now.
04:28Wish I had that Cajun voice.
04:29Let's break in the new pot, shall we?
04:31At my house, I have my container with bacon grease in it.
04:36I don't have that here, but I did find some bacon grease.
04:39It'll make its own grease in there,
04:41so I'm just gonna add a little bit
04:43to just kind of help get it going.
04:44And it draws out fat,
04:46and we can help brown the other meat.
04:48Once your sausage is well-browned,
04:50I'm gonna take it out and add in the other meat to brown.
04:52I wanna be sure and leave all that fat back in the pot.
04:57P.S., I'm loving this pot.
04:58Okay, now I'm gonna add in the chicken.
05:01I'm gonna season the chicken
05:02with a little bit of salt and pepper.
05:03Once that gets going, I'll add in the pork.
05:06It's gonna get a little more color on that,
05:08and then I'll take that out and add the veggies in.
05:09Oh, forgot about something.
05:11Look what else I got.
05:12It's like a roux paddle or spatula.
05:14I don't know what they actually call it
05:16when people make big pots of things down in New Orleans.
05:19They have a giant paddle.
05:20This is a smaller version for a smaller setup.
05:24This is what helps get the flavor off the bottom.
05:27In with the trim.
05:30Trim it.
05:31Okay, the veggies are gonna help lift up some of that color,
05:33and then we're gonna cook them down
05:34until they are golden brown.
05:36This has gotta be the most crucial part
05:38of the jambalaya process,
05:40is cooking this step long enough.
05:42If you've ever had real good, authentic jambalaya,
05:45it's got that dark color to it.
05:47That happens at this stage,
05:49not just the browning of the meat stage.
05:51So you're gonna cook these veggies down
05:52until they are rich golden brown.
05:54It can take half an hour.
05:57This is when I like to have a cold cocktail on hand.
06:01Good things are starting to happen.
06:04Chopping up a little bit of fresh thyme.
06:06Thyme goes in most of my Cajun cooking.
06:10However, I do not like dried thyme,
06:12so I always add fresh, but you can do whatever you want.
06:15You can see how brown the veggies are,
06:17and they're super soft,
06:18and we've created another layer of flavor on the bottom.
06:20At this point, we're almost done,
06:22so I'm going to add in the garlic now,
06:24along with some Cajun seasoning.
06:28And the thyme.
06:30I'm gonna add that in and cook it for just a minute or two.
06:33And now in goes the chicken stock.
06:35So I'm just gonna add in about a cup first
06:38to deglaze all that, and then we'll add in the rest.
06:41That's how you clean the pot.
06:43Okay, we have cleaned the pot.
06:46You see all that flavor?
06:47You can't rush that step of sauteing the veggies.
06:50All right, add in the rest of your chicken stock.
06:52Stock or broth, I usually use stock,
06:54but this is what I had today.
06:55And I kind of try to like wash the sides of the pot with it.
06:58Okay.
07:10That is gonna be good.
07:11The meat is going back in now,
07:13and we're gonna bring this whole mixture up to a boil,
07:15and then we'll add in our rice.
07:17Oh, I forgot the bay leaves.
07:18Those also go in.
07:20This will be the best pot of jambalaya I've ever made.
07:23I'm just already gonna call it.
07:24Once it's up to a boil, you add in the rice.
07:26I've given this a little rinse
07:27to get some of the starch out
07:28so it doesn't get like really gluey or sticky in here.
07:31Going in with about three cups of rice.
07:34At this point, you could put it in the oven to finish it.
07:37Of course, we're just gonna finish it right here.
07:39So I'll bring that back up to a simmer,
07:41and then I'm gonna lower the heat and cover it.
07:44And then once it's absorbed, we're having jambalaya.
07:48I gotta turn on that music, that Cajun music.
07:50Now that we've come to a simmer, reduce the heat.
07:53I think we're just about 20 minutes away from heaven.
07:57It takes about 25 minutes, give or take,
07:59for the liquid to be absorbed into the rice
08:01and the rice to be tender.
08:02You don't wanna stir during that time.
08:04We're not trying to create like a sticky, mushy situation.
08:09Oh, look at what it look like.
08:11I do wanna check without stirring it
08:14to make sure it's all done.
08:18Oh, that's good.
08:19It's not quite as tender as it needs to be,
08:21so I'm gonna keep going a little bit.
08:23You can always just add in a little extra broth
08:26and let it go a little longer.
08:32So I'm gonna go another five to 10 minutes,
08:35so total time, about half an hour.
08:40Our masterpiece is ready.
08:42Once you've got it how you want it and it's completely done,
08:45I like to just turn off the heat
08:46and let it sit for about five minutes,
08:48and then you're ready to eat.
08:49You ready?
08:50Come in here, look at this.
08:51Look at this.
08:53All right, you wanna take out the bay leaves
08:55and then just give it a little fluff.
08:58Good color.
08:58The rice has absorbed the liquid,
09:00but it's not dried out, and that's what you want.
09:03That meat is tender.
09:05Just so proud of it.
09:10Little bits of chicken, bits of sausage,
09:12and then that little ground pork in there is a nice touch.
09:16I like to finish mine with some fresh green onion
09:19and a little hot sauce.
09:20I didn't make it so spicy
09:22that it's gonna burn your mouth
09:23because my kids like a little heat, but not too much.
09:26So I always serve things like this with hot sauce
09:29because then you can add as much heat as you want.
09:32For me, the hot sauce is more about the little vinegar
09:34to add, to kind of cut some of that richness.
09:36There's just a lot of flavor in this bowl right now.
09:39All right, oh yeah, this is the perfect bite.
09:46I don't even know what to say.
09:48Like, it's just perfect.
09:49I mean, I think I already said everything.
09:51There's just so much flavor,
09:52but that meat, that chicken is cooked so perfectly.
09:55I mean, it almost melts in your mouth.
09:57It is so tender.
09:58The little bits of ground pork in there
10:00just add that perfect little contrast of flavor and texture.
10:04And then, of course, the sausage is its own flavor bomb
10:06in and of itself.
10:10Remember how dark that broth was before we added the rice?
10:15You know, color equals flavor,
10:16and all that flavor has been absorbed
10:18into each grain of rice.
10:20I'm serious, like, you just need to make it
10:22and let the good times roll.
10:24That's what they say.
10:25Should've gotten a cold beer.
10:26Okay, well, hold on.
10:27I don't know if we have any.
10:36Sorry, I don't know what I was thinking.
10:38Can we also take a moment to appreciate
10:40the volume of food that this recipe created?
10:44I mean, you could easily give 10 people a serving like this
10:48and feed them all for about two bucks, maybe even less.
10:54I think they're enough.
10:55Maybe it was the pot.
10:56I don't know, but it's the best I've ever made.
11:01Laissez les bons temps rouler.
11:02Let the good times roll.