1978 WORLD
CHAMPIONSHIP
CHICKEN JAMBALAYA
Check out the
Gumbo pages - the authority on Cajun Cooking
Here's an award-winning recipe (along with some
tips and some history of the dish) as
prepared by: Matthew "Dee" Gautreau, Dee
Gautreau's Cajun Catering, Gonzales, Louisiana
70737, Telephone - (504) 644-5977 or 644-4405.
This makes damn good jambalaya, and is a
brown-style rather than the red tomato-based
jambalayas you see in New Orleans. This one
doesn't use a chicken stock because you make
your own as you go along here.
- One 3 to 4 pound hen cut into serving
pieces
- 3 cups long grain rice - uncooked
- 1/4 cup cooking oil
- 3 medium white onions - chopped fine
- 6 cups water (but Chuck says use
chicken stock
if you want it to be really good)
- 1 tablespoon salt, or to taste
- 2-1/2 teaspoons granulated garlic
- 1 cup green onions - chopped
- 1/2 cup green peppers
- 1/2 cup celery - chopped fine
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- Red pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons Louisiana hot sauce
Fry chicken in cooking oil until golden brown.
Remove chicken and oil leaving just enough oil
to cover bottom of pot. Add onions, and fry
until golden brown. Put chicken back into pot
with onions, and add 6 cups of water (note water
level). Add remaining seasoning and simmer
covered until chicken is tender. If necessary,
add enough water to bring back to previous
level. Bring back to a rolling boil, and add
rice. Simmer uncovered for about 15 minutes -
turn rice. Cover with tight fitting lid, let
steam for 15 minutes, or until rice is tender.
Turn rice once more, and turn fire off. Let
stand for 10 minutes and then serve.
Jambalaya is
more tasty if highly seasoned, so don't forget
the red pepper. When adding salt, water should
taste a little too salty, as rice absorbs
considerable salt.
Yield: 6 to 8
generous servings.
HELPFUL
HINTS FOR
INEXPERIENCED JAMBALAYA COOKS:
Most jambalaya cooks prefer to cook in cast iron
pots - whether cast iron or aluminum pot is
used, it should be heavy enough to prevent easy
burning, and have a tight lid.
To brown onions:
Onions and shortening are put into the pot,
covered, and cooked over low heat until golden
brown, stirring frequently. A little water added
to the onions will help prevent sticking.
Jambalaya should never be stirred - turn rather
than stir after the rice has been added. This
prevents the grains of rice from breaking up.
Most cooks turn jambalaya only two or three
times after the rice is added, being sure to
scoop from the bottom of the pot to mix rice
evenly with other ingredients.
A LITTLE JAMBALAYA HISTORY
Similar in many ways
to Spanish paella, the term "jambalaya" is derived from the
Spanish jamón for ham. Jambalaya found its way into Creole
cookery in the late 1700's where it soon took on the flavor of added
local ingredients.
It can be made (separately or all together) with ham, chicken,
sausage, fresh pork, shrimp and oysters, to which is added
shortening, rice, onion, garlic, pepper and other seasonings.
Starting with church fairs, which were the largest public gatherings
at the turn of the century, Jambalaya emerged from small quantity
indoor cooking to become the ideal dish for outdoor cooking over
hardwood fire. Big black cast iron pots made preparation so easy and
economical for church use that Jambalaya was rapidly adapted for
political rallies, weddings, family reunions and other affairs. No
fair or political rally around Gonzales is complete without
Jambalaya cooking.
The Jambalaya Festival and World Champion Jambalaya Cooking contest
is held annually at Gonzales and attracts area cooks who have spent
years perfecting the are of cooking and seasoning this Creole
delicacy. Gonzales really is the Jambalaya Capital of The World.
About the creator of the
championship recipe:
"Dee" Gautreau is a
World Champion Jambalaya cook; he won the title in 1978. He has his
own catering business, "Dee Gautreau's Cajun Catering." In the past
nine years he has cooked Jambalaya all over the United States and in
France, too.
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