Welcome to The Storied Recipe Podcast, a podcast about food, culture, and love.
This is a companion recipe for Jambalaya for a Crowd came from my podcast guests, John and Rebekah Leekely,. Make sure you listen to their episode Time In The Kitchen: What We Will Always Remember while you make this Jambalaya for a crowd!
This recipe is a little different than what I normally publish. The original post for Chef Paul Prudhomme's Cajun Jambalaya is wonderful, but made with extremely high end or hard to acquire ingredients. I was trying to make the original post work by having both the high end ingredients that are used in Chef Prudhomme's recipe and then a variation that I used with more common ingredients in both in the same post, but many of you mentioned (rightfully so) that this made the recipe confusing and hard to follow. Therefore, I have split this recipe into two separate post, Dutch Oven Jambalaya from Famous Cajun Chef Paul Prudhomme, and this recipe with easier to find ingredients if you don't live in or near the Bayou.
Make sure to check out all of the FAQs in Dutch Oven Jambalaya from Famous Cajun Chef Paul Prudhomme post. Remember, this is MY variation of Jambalaya for a crowd using cheaper and more readily found ingredients. Please make the other recipe from Chef Prudhomme if you want his high-end Jambalaya recipe.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- 2 pounds peeled and deveined shrimp from Costco
- 4 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, grilled
- 1-2 pounds (or more, if you're making for a huge crowd) *cooked* pork shoulder. When making for a big crowd, I generally keep the other proteins amounts the same and simply add more pork. Follow directions below to cook the night before.
- 1 pound smoked sausage
Variations on Recipe
Seafood Substitute
- I use a 2lb bag of Costco shelled and deveined shrimp to save time and money.
- Since you won't have any shrimp shelled to make for the seafood broth flavor, you can use this Bar Harbor Seafood Broth.
Ham Substitute
- Substitute Tasso Ham for pork shoulder, but make sure you season with ⅓ of John's Cajun mixture before cooking
Chicken Substitute
- You don't need to grill the chicken, this is just a personal preference for me.
- Do use chicken thighs not breast!
- I like to grill the thighs over an open flame or charcoal briquettes. I love the grilled flavor in the meat and I like that I can prep in advance.
Sausage Substitute
- Substitute Andouille sausage, with any smoked sausage.
Equipment
Storage
- You can refrigerate it up to a week and freeze it up to 6 months.
- To freeze, I like to place the leftovers in a foil pan and cover tightly with plastic wrap, then foil.
- When ready to eat, defrost in the refrigerator overnight.
- Remove the plastic wrap, add broth, replace the foil, and slowly reheat in the oven at 250 for about an hour.
- If you don't have time to defrost, no problem - just plan to heat gently in the oven for 90-120 minutes.
Food Safety
Food Safety working with Shrimp:
- Thaw frozen shrimp in the refrigerator, not at room temperature.
- Avoid cross-contamination by keeping raw shrimp away from other ingredients and surfaces.
- Wash hands thoroughly after handling raw shrimp.
Food safety when working with Chicken:
- Keep chicken refrigerated at 40°F (4°C) or below until it's time to cook.
- Thoroughly cook chicken to an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C) to ensure it's safe to eat.
- Wash hands and any utensils that come into contact with raw chicken before touching other ingredients.
This is a one-pot meal, so use separate utensils or wash thoroughly between handling different ingredients to avoid cross-contamination.
Cook the Jambalaya to an internal minimum temperature of 165°F (74°C) - Use a food thermometer to check the internal temperature of the Jambalaya.
When freezing/reheating:
- Divide leftovers into smaller portions for even reheating.
- Reheat Jambalaya to a minimum internal temperature of 165°F (74°C)
Listen to John and Rebecca's Episode
Pattern “Listen” PrintRecipe
Jambalaya For A Crowd
Description
A companion recipe to Paul Prudomme's high-end jambalaya using more accessible and cheaper alternatives for a large crowd.
Ingredients
Cajun Seasoning
(Multiply the seasoning by 1.5 for roasting the pork shoulder. Multiply the season generously for a larger crowd and more proteins and rice. Don't skimp!)
- 2 teaspoons Gumbo filé powder
- 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper (optional)
- 1 teaspoon smoked hot Spanish paprika (or chili powder)
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves
- 2 teaspoons salt (only 1 if you are using smoked meats)
- 2 teaspoons black pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons dry mustard powder
- 2 teaspoons ground white pepper
Proteins
- 2 pounds peeled and deveined shrimp from Costco
- 4 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, grilled
- 1-2 pounds (or more, if you're making for a huge crowd) *cooked* pork shoulder. When making for a big crowd, I generally keep the other proteins amounts the same and simply add more pork. Follow directions below to cook the night before.
- 1 pound smoked sausage
Broth
- 2 cups chicken broth
Vegetable Mixture
- 1 large sweet onion, diced
- 1 large red bell pepper, diced
- 5 stalks of celery, sliced thick
- 5 large cloves of garlic, crushed, DIVIDED
- 1 large can of Cento-certified San Marzano tomatoes, including the juices
- ½ cup olive oil (you can also use ¼ cup olive oil and ¼ cup duck fat), DIVIDED
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 cups long-grain white rice (*See Note 1 about multiplying for a bigger crowd)
- 5 -6 bay leaves
Instructions
Make The Recipe
Make Cajun Spice Mix
- You'll be using this mix throughout the cooking process, so prepare it first
Preparing Pork the Night Before or in Advance
- Use ⅓ of the Cajun seasoning to cover the pork. Place in Dutch oven or large roasting pan. Cover with lid or foil.
- Do not add any liquid.
- Roast at 250°F for 8-12 hours until completely fork tender.
- Once cool, discard of large fatty sections.
Make broth
- Combine broth and water in a large pot.
- Boil for 2 hours
Chop Vegetables For Vegetable Mixture
- Shop into similar sized pieces.
If Grilling Chicken Thighs
- Salt and pepper the boneless chicken thighs. Let sit until room temperature.
- Grill until just barely pink. Do not overcook.
- Let sit until the juices reabsorb.
- Cut them into 1 ½ inch chunks and save juices.
Make the Jambalaya in the Dutch Oven
- Cut chicken thighs into 1 ½ inch chunks and salt and pepper.
- Over medium heat, warm up half of the olive oil (and duck fat, if using).
- Crush in half the garlic, add the chicken.
- Sprinkle on ⅓ of the Cajun seasoning and fry the chicken until seared.
- Add the sausage and fry until the chicken is ⅔ cooked.
- Remove the meats, cover, and set aside.
- In a big bowl, using your hands, combine all of the shrimp/shellfish. Sprinkle on ⅓ of the Cajun seasoning, mixing well.
- In the same pan as before, gently fry the shellfish on low heat until the shrimp just starts to plump and absorb all of the seasonings. Remove, cover, and put aside.
- In the same Dutch Oven, warm up the rest of the olive oil and duck fat and crush the remaining garlic into the warm oils and heat until the garlic melts in.
- Increasing the heat to medium-high, sauté the uncooked, rinsed rice, stirring constantly until slightly browned and coated with seasoned oils. This will take about five minutes.
- Remove the rice and set aside. In the same big pan, sauté the onions in the same oils until opaque. Add the bell peppers, celery, and the rest of the Cajun seasoning and fry until just softened, about 10 minutes.
- Add back the rice and meats, stir in all the broth, Worcestershire sauce, and bay leaves. Be sure to scrape all the crust off the bottom of the pan, that's where the deep flavors and patina are.
- Simmer with the lid off until the rice has absorbed the broth but it is still slightly crunch, about 15 minutes.
- IF making a double batch for a crowd, mix them all together in a large roasting pan. Cover well and place in 350°F / 175°C oven for 30+ minutes.
- Now add the shellfish and tomatoes and simmer for 5 minutes until they are married.
- If rice is not cooking through, add more broth.
Would love to hear from you!