Hey All! It was jambalaya time this week for me with our main actors being smoked boneless skinless chicken thighs, some store bought kielbasa and andouille, and some tasso I made last week.
I've been making jambalaya for years but I had some inspiration lately to take it to another level so I'd like to give a shout out to
foamheart
for this thread: https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/jambalaya-basic-w-q-view.152822/
and
indaswamp
for this https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t...-jambalaya-with-white-beans-and-tasso.273393/
So lets get to it starting with the tasso. I followed the recipe posted by
jbellard
here :https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/ref-pork-butt-ham-tasso.279636/ (post #12)
I didn't have quite enough cayenne so I added a TBSP of smoked serrano to make up the difference.
Started with 3.5lbs pork butt cut into 1/2" thick slabs, seasoned and thrown in the reefer o/n. I set the pellet pooper to the "smoke" setting and it settled in at 140°-150°F. I gently blotted excess liquid off the meat and seasoned again then onto the smoker for 2hrs after which I bumped the temp to the 200°F setting which ran 190°-210°F for 2:15 at which the IT of the meat slabs were ~150°F. Let cool loosely covered in the reefer o/n then vac packed in ~6oz packages.
Ready for the smoker:
Finished product, I think the color is great, very tasty too!:
A little disclaimer: While the town I grew up in is on the banks of the Mississippi, it is at the North not South end of the river so I make no claims to authenticity or traditionalism of anything that here follows ;)
OK, onto the main event.
Starting with about 2 TBSPs of bacon grease I browned up my sausage and tasso, removed and threw in about 2 cups of onion and a few pieces of the tasso to get that flavor going from the beginning with a little salt. I cooked the onion down for about 15min then threw in about a cup each green bell pepper and celery and a portion of my spice mix and proceed to cook for another 20min or so. I wanted this first batch of veggies to essentially disintegrate. The second batch with have some texture left when the dish is finished.
Next threw in another 2 cups onion and 1 cup each pepper and celery, more spice and cooked another 20min or so. Meanwhile I was cutting up the chicken thighs that had finished smoking. Pretty simple for the chicken: 3lbs of thighs, a 2 hr brine, followed by 1:20 on the smoker at 225-250 until 160°F IT. The outside was a little tough/dry right off the smoker but the flavor was good and the toughness of the outside went away once it was incorporated into the pot with everything else.
We're getting there! Tossed in my garlic - about 5 big cloves - and two finely diced jalapenos (yes I know some of you just cringed, ready my earlier disclaimer, you can leave them out).
Oh, it smells so good when the garlic gets cooking - not too long, just a few minutes and not too hot - don't want to burn it!
This pic is a bit off center but just look at that cooked down goodness! Then tossed in the sausage, tasso, andouille, and the rest of the spice mix, gave it a good stir and stared bringing up the temp.
Tossed in 2 TBSP of tomato paste (read the disclaimer again) ;) and cooked down for just about a minute, you'll smell the acidity cooking off, stirred it up well for another minute then added ~2cups of chicken stock to lift all those tasty brown bits off the bottom and into the dish. A 14oz can of diced tomatoes (read it again!) was added and finally the chicken. Got everything simmering, and gradually added another 2 cups of stock.
Finally got a good good boil and added the rice, threw on the lid and let it go a couple minutes then into a 350° oven for 20min. Turned everything over and back in for 10min. I think I actually overcooked the rice a bit. Rice and I do not have the best relationship: undercooked, overcooked, burned - yeah I admit I have trouble cooking rice of all things :oops: EDIT: I shared some with a buddy of mine who was a bartender in NOLA for ~18years, he said the rice was just fine! And really liked the rest of it too :)
Oh it smells so good!
The best part, thanks for looking!
I've been making jambalaya for years but I had some inspiration lately to take it to another level so I'd like to give a shout out to
foamheart
for this thread: https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/jambalaya-basic-w-q-view.152822/and
indaswamp
for this https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t...-jambalaya-with-white-beans-and-tasso.273393/So lets get to it starting with the tasso. I followed the recipe posted by
jbellard
here :https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/ref-pork-butt-ham-tasso.279636/ (post #12)I didn't have quite enough cayenne so I added a TBSP of smoked serrano to make up the difference.
Started with 3.5lbs pork butt cut into 1/2" thick slabs, seasoned and thrown in the reefer o/n. I set the pellet pooper to the "smoke" setting and it settled in at 140°-150°F. I gently blotted excess liquid off the meat and seasoned again then onto the smoker for 2hrs after which I bumped the temp to the 200°F setting which ran 190°-210°F for 2:15 at which the IT of the meat slabs were ~150°F. Let cool loosely covered in the reefer o/n then vac packed in ~6oz packages.
Ready for the smoker:
Finished product, I think the color is great, very tasty too!:
A little disclaimer: While the town I grew up in is on the banks of the Mississippi, it is at the North not South end of the river so I make no claims to authenticity or traditionalism of anything that here follows ;)
OK, onto the main event.
Starting with about 2 TBSPs of bacon grease I browned up my sausage and tasso, removed and threw in about 2 cups of onion and a few pieces of the tasso to get that flavor going from the beginning with a little salt. I cooked the onion down for about 15min then threw in about a cup each green bell pepper and celery and a portion of my spice mix and proceed to cook for another 20min or so. I wanted this first batch of veggies to essentially disintegrate. The second batch with have some texture left when the dish is finished.
Next threw in another 2 cups onion and 1 cup each pepper and celery, more spice and cooked another 20min or so. Meanwhile I was cutting up the chicken thighs that had finished smoking. Pretty simple for the chicken: 3lbs of thighs, a 2 hr brine, followed by 1:20 on the smoker at 225-250 until 160°F IT. The outside was a little tough/dry right off the smoker but the flavor was good and the toughness of the outside went away once it was incorporated into the pot with everything else.
We're getting there! Tossed in my garlic - about 5 big cloves - and two finely diced jalapenos (yes I know some of you just cringed, ready my earlier disclaimer, you can leave them out).
Oh, it smells so good when the garlic gets cooking - not too long, just a few minutes and not too hot - don't want to burn it!
This pic is a bit off center but just look at that cooked down goodness! Then tossed in the sausage, tasso, andouille, and the rest of the spice mix, gave it a good stir and stared bringing up the temp.
Tossed in 2 TBSP of tomato paste (read the disclaimer again) ;) and cooked down for just about a minute, you'll smell the acidity cooking off, stirred it up well for another minute then added ~2cups of chicken stock to lift all those tasty brown bits off the bottom and into the dish. A 14oz can of diced tomatoes (read it again!) was added and finally the chicken. Got everything simmering, and gradually added another 2 cups of stock.
Finally got a good good boil and added the rice, threw on the lid and let it go a couple minutes then into a 350° oven for 20min. Turned everything over and back in for 10min. I think I actually overcooked the rice a bit. Rice and I do not have the best relationship: undercooked, overcooked, burned - yeah I admit I have trouble cooking rice of all things :oops: EDIT: I shared some with a buddy of mine who was a bartender in NOLA for ~18years, he said the rice was just fine! And really liked the rest of it too :)
Oh it smells so good!
The best part, thanks for looking!
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