Cajun Jambalaya 3:1

Method

Mince the onion. Chop the garlic. Slice the green onion into rings. Hack the thighs in half with a cleaver, or - carefully - drive a heavy knife with a hammer through the chicken bones.

Locate a medium size Dutch oven. Heat the pan up over a medium-high flame.

Brown the thighs in hot bacon grease. Remove the thighs. Degrease the pan. Sear the sausage in more bacon grease, then remove sausage. Sweat the onions down with a little salt. Pour in 2 cups of chicken stock. Return the chicken and sausage to the pan. Mark the level of the liquid with a wooden spoon and a rubber band wrapped around it, moving the band up (or down) to the liquid level. Throw in the garlic. Bring the contents of the pan to a boil. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

After par-braising the chicken, check the liquid-level, adjusting it as needed. Add the rice, green onions, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper and dashes of hot sauce. Turn the rice over ("wash it") a few times with a wooden-spoon. (Never stir rice.) Bring the pot to a rolling boil, then reduce the heat to a slow simmer. Cover with foil and a heavy lid. Simmer for 20 minutes. Allow the dish to rest - off heat - for 10 minutes before serving.

note

3:1 refers to the meat to rice (dry measure) ratio. The lack of silly ingredients in this recipe yields an earthy-tasting Jambalaya. More recipes can be found here.