Smoked chicken and homemade Tasso Jambalaya

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WaterRat

Master of the Pit
Original poster
Feb 14, 2018
1,224
966
Somerset, NJ
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 foamheart for this thread: https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/jambalaya-basic-w-q-view.152822/
and indaswamp 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 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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That jambalaya looks delicious!

When I make mine I always smoke the whole chicken thigh because I was concerned about the outside being dry. But it sounds like it's not really a problem. Next time I'll try boneless/skinless.
I like to add file powder to mine as well as okra to give the rice that nice sticky texture. Only I understand down south it's one or the other, not both.

And nice choice of the IPA, another necessary ingredient ;)
 
Great looking Jambalaya. Its the thing about cajun cooking you can do whatever you like. Only one rule. if you put the gravy over the rice its gumbo and if you cook the rice in the gravy its jambalaya. It looks mighty tastee!
 
WaterRat,

Tasso looks good.
The jambalaya looks good too though I prefer the traditional brown jambalaya myself.
I reference to your burnt rice at the bottom of cast iron, I too got way too much burnt rice at the bottom my first time. Next time, just turn down your heat a bit more, enough to boil it but lower than you had it. Should make less burnt rice next time.
 
Oven;350*. Check it after 20 minutes and flip the rice. Then let it go 15 minutes and check it, flip again. After that, let it cook 15 minutes. Take it out, pop open the lid and take a grain of rice and squeeze it. If it has a hard center, 10 more minutes inda oven. Then Pull it, it should be done.
No worry about the grautin (burnt/charred meat and rice) onda bottom of the pot. It's cheatin, but it works great! I only keep it over a fire when I cook one over an open fire camping now.....
 
Looks really good to me. Bet it tasted even better.

Point for sure.
Chris
 
That looks great!! LIKE for sure..... Great article and step x step. Been awhile so I can see one coming .....
 
That jambalaya looks delicious!

When I make mine I always smoke the whole chicken thigh because I was concerned about the outside being dry. But it sounds like it's not really a problem. Next time I'll try boneless/skinless.
I like to add file powder to mine as well as okra to give the rice that nice sticky texture. Only I understand down south it's one or the other, not both.

And nice choice of the IPA, another necessary ingredient ;)

Thanks Steve! I love your ribeye fish, very creative ;)

Which IPA? There's 3 of 'em in the pics! Lol, the store had a deal on a 15 can sampler pack, they were all pretty good, the last in the glass is their "Back in Black" black IPA, quite tasty.

My rice was fairly sticky, I think the hard boil at the start of the rice cooking probably helped get the starch out along with the long veggie cook that made sort of a veggie paste to help hold it together.

WR, Great post and great looking jambalaya! like!

Thanks Crazy! I try to keep it fun ;)

Great looking Jambalaya. Its the thing about cajun cooking you can do whatever you like. Only one rule. if you put the gravy over the rice its gumbo and if you cook the rice in the gravy its jambalaya. It looks mighty tastee!

Thanks Foamy! It is very tastee. My disclaimer was mostly in jest, but there's always a person or 2 that people have their little hangups and I didn't want to start a war :p A friend gave me some gumbo she made a couple weeks ago, mmmm, so good, as it should be, she was a chef in NOLA for ~10years. On my list of things to make in the near future.
 
Hey waterrat, the oven is fool proof for perfect rice.;)
1.5 cups water to 1 cup of rice. 350*.....

Your rice is popped. you can tell because it has split down the middle. That is what a hard boil for the first 2~3 minutes is suppose to do, crack dat rice.
 
WaterRat,

Tasso looks good.
The jambalaya looks good too though I prefer the traditional brown jambalaya myself.
I reference to your burnt rice at the bottom of cast iron, I too got way too much burnt rice at the bottom my first time. Next time, just turn down your heat a bit more, enough to boil it but lower than you had it. Should make less burnt rice next time.

Thanks JB. By brown you mean sans tomato right? I'll give it a try it that way next time. I actually didn't burn the rice this time but have in the past. I believe putting it in the oven instead of leaving it on the burner helped. I just thought it was a little too soft. I did get a few toasted rice grains which is nice.

And thanks for posting that tasso recipe!
 
Hey waterrat, the oven is fool proof for perfect rice.;)
1.5 cups water to 1 cup of rice. 350*.....

Your rice is popped. you can tell because it has split down the middle. That is what a hard boil for the first 2~3 minutes is suppose to do, crack dat rice.

Gotcha. I was actually trying to follow your method for the rice from your post I linked. It turned out well, I just though it was a touch overly soft and finished sooner than expected but not bad at all. The oven certainly prevented burning it.

Thanks for the like!
 
Just take a grain of rice between your fingers and squeeze it. If it has a hard center, it is not done. I put a small pot back in the oven for another 10 minutes, but a big 5 or 10 gallon pot, I just turn the heat off and let it sit. The residual heat will continue cooking the rice.

If you are concerned about the rice being too soft, reduce the water to 1.3 cups water per cup of rice...especially if you are at a higher elevation. When you check the rice after 50 minutes or so, if it is very dry, and still has hard center, add 1/4 cup of hot water and cook 10 more minutes. You will eventually figure out how much water you need to add after cooking the recipe a few more times....
 
BTW, the color of the jambalaya comes from the milliard reaction frying the meat as well as the carmelization of the veggies. You used smoked meat, but the milliard reaction works there too, but it's usually on the skin of the bird. I get the color from boiling the skin and bones to make a smokey stock.

I tend to like my jambalaya on the dark side, but as long as you cook the onions to the point they are translucent, It will taste good.

Kudo's for tackling a jambalaya. Lot's of people get needlessly intimidated....
 
Just take a grain of rice between your fingers and squeeze it. If it has a hard center, it is not done. I put a small pot back in the oven for another 10 minutes, but a big 5 or 10 gallon pot, I just turn the heat off and let it sit. The residual heat will continue cooking the rice.

If you are concerned about the rice being too soft, reduce the water to 1.3 cups water per cup of rice...especially if you are at a higher elevation. When you check the rice after 50 minutes or so, if it is very dry, and still has hard center, add 1/4 cup of hot water and cook 10 more minutes. You will eventually figure out how much water you need to add after cooking the recipe a few more times....

I think perhaps too much liquid. I added 4 cups of stock, and two cups of rice, but the instructions on the bag did read 2:1. There is additional liquid in the pot though too with the tomato and such. I'll cut it back a bit next time around. Thanks for the advice :) Oh, I'm around all of 100' above sea level, just 10 miles from Long Island Sound ;)
 
BTW, the color of the jambalaya comes from the milliard reaction frying the meat as well as the carmelization of the veggies. You used smoked meat, but the milliard reaction works there too, but it's usually on the skin of the bird. I get the color from boiling the skin and bones to make a smokey stock.

I tend to like my jambalaya on the dark side, but as long as you cook the onions to the point they are translucent, It will taste good.

Kudo's for tackling a jambalaya. Lot's of people get needlessly intimidated....

Thanks, and that is a really nice looking cook you did that I linked to. I've been making it occasionally for some time now but wanted to step it up with the smoked chicken and homemade tasso. And agreed, a good long cook on those onions is needed, when I see a "just throw it all in a crockpot recipe" I cring.
 
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