Ham, Andouille, Shrimp and Chicken Jambalaya Recipe

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Ham, Andouille, Shrimp and Chicken Jambalaya Recipe

A chicken jambalaya recipe is whole big thing. It's this and that, with a touch of the other. It's a big gurgling hot cauldron of anything from alligator and rabbit to ham, shrimp and tomatoes. It's got its roots in the Caribbean, Africa, Spain, France and/or The Southern United States, etc. depending who you ask ... There is literally no end to the way this can be made. No set combination of ingredients is defined as "Jambalaya". It's more a concept ... and a delicious one, at that!

Mine is a rice-free Creole tilting taste sensation. It's really quite simple to prepare and mostly just involves waiting for it to cook and for the flavors to meld together into a mind blowing, spicy, hot and wonderful mélange of French Quarter goodness!

Note: Because Jambalaya normally has the rice mixed into it, it's a thicker meal. This version is more like a stew, which can be served with rice, or a rice substitute (I know people that love it on pasta, too!). Because of this, you can add a little guar and xanthan gums, which will thicken it, slightly. This is totally optional, but a nice way to throw a little more viscosity at it. I usually add it, but would understand why someone might not.

In the photos, it is served atop Cauli-Rice.

Prep Time30 mins

Cook Time1 hr

Total Time1 hr 30 mins

Servings: Servings

Calories: 416.41625kcal

Author: DJ Foodie

Ingredients

2 tbsp unsalted butter or ghee
1 medium onion diced
4 each garlic clove peeled
1 each celery rib diced
1 small green bell pepper diced
2 cups chicken stock or broth
2 each large ripe tomatoes coursely chopped
1 lb ham diced
3 each bay leaves
4 each andouille links (or other creole/cajon smoked sausage (I often use Spanish Chorizo)) sliced into thick rings
1 1/2 lb whole boneless chicken breasts (or equivalent thigh meat skin optional)
1 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp fresh thyme chopped
16 each large shrimp peel and deveined
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

In a large soup pot, over medium heat, add the butter to melt.
Add the onions and garlic. Stir until onions and garlic are translucent, about 3 minutes.
Add celery and bell pepper and stir for a further 3 minutes.
Add chicken stock, tomatoes, ham and bay leaves.
Place a large sauté pan on high heat on the stove, to begin heating.
While the pan heats, in a mixing bowl, mix together the chili powder, thyme, some salt and pepper. Dredge your chicken breasts in this mixture and coat evenly. Set aside.
Add your slices of sausage to the pan, so that they evenly cover the bottom of the pan, and that the cut surfaces are face down and cleanly touching the bottom of the pan. This will add a nice color and flavor to the face of the sausage and will also pull some of the fat out of it, for the pan.
When the edges of the sausage start to look nice and browned, flip each slice and brown the other side of each sausage ring.
When the sausages are cooked, remove the sausages and add them to the soup pot.
Immediately (don't let the empty sauté pan with the sausage fat burn!) add the chicken breasts to the hot sauté pan and cook them in the fat left behind by the sausages.
Brown both sides of the chicken and then add the seared, but mostly raw, chicken to the soup pot.
Adjust the temperature of the soup pot, to maintain a low and slow simmer. Cover the soup pot and allow to simmer for about 45 minutes.
Check the chicken breasts with a fork. You will know the chicken is done when it tears easily with a fork.
When the chicken is ready, add the shrimp to the hot mixture. Stir them in.
With a fork, break the chicken into large chunks, within the soup pot.
Cover, and let simmer for 5 more minutes.
Adjust seasoning, check that the shrimp has been cooked through, then serve!

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