Chicken and shrimp jambalaya with andouille sausage is a Cajun household staple. While the traditional dish calls for white rice and is cooked on the stove top, brown rice is a much healthier option. Baking produces the best results for this dish and provides a one-pot solution to dinner.
Cajun Baked Brown Rice Jambalaya with Chicken, Shrimp, and Andouille Sausage
Ingredients:
- salt
- garlic powder
- cayenne pepper
- dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/4 cup fresh minced parsley
- 4 bone-in chicken thighs (skin removed)
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3/4 cup minced onion
- 1/2 cup minced celery
- 3/4 cup minced green or red bell pepper
- 5 garlic cloves
- 8 ounces andouille sausage chopped in bite-sized pieces (substitute chorizo, kielbasa, or tasso ham if unavailable)
- 2 cups brown rice (Basmati provides best results)
- 1 can diced tomatoes, strained and liquid reserved
- 1 cup shrimp stock (see below) or clam juice
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 1/2 - 1 pound uncooked large shrimp, shelled and chopped into bite-sized pieces
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Sprinkle salt, cayenne pepper, and garlic powder on both sides of chicken thighs and let sit for 20-30 minutes while prepping other ingredients. Peel shrimp, reserving the shells, and set aside.
- Place shrimp shells in sauce pan and cover with approximately 1 1/2 cups of water. Add a pinch of salt and bring mixture to simmer for 10-15 minutes until liquid has reduced to about 1 cup. Strain and reserve stock, discard shrimp shells. If you do not want to make your own stock, you can substitute bottled clam juice for this step.
- Combine 1/2 cup flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon garlic power, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne in a medium-sized bowl. Dredge chicken in flour mixture, shaking off excess. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in the bottom of a large dutch oven over medium to medium-high heat. Place chicken meaty side down in pan and cook until dark golden brown, about 5 minutes. Flip chicken and cook for another 3-4 minutes until underside is golden. Remove chicken and set aside. Render the andouille sausage in the pan, about 3-5 minutes. Remove sausage with slotted spoon and set aside.
- Reduce heat to medium and add the onion, celery, and bell pepper. Saute vegetables until they have softened and most of their liquid has been released and evaporated, about 10-12 minutes. Add rice, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, 5 cloves of garlic, and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne. Stir for 2-3 minutes until fragrant.
- Add tomatoes, shrimp stock, chicken broth, and reserved tomato juice (for a total of 3 cups of liquid) and bay leaves along with the browned andouille sausage. Stir to combine and bring to a boil. Place chicken thighs on top of the rice mixture (meaty side up) and cover dutch oven. Place in oven and cook for 1 hour and 20 minutes.
- Carefully remove dutch oven from the oven and check rice. All of the cooking liquid should be absorbed at this point and the chicken will fall off the bone. Stir in chopped shrimp and parsley. The residual heat will cook the shrimp in about 5 minutes.
While it may be tempting to dig right in, it is best to let the jambalaya rest for about 15-20 minutes before eating. This will give the rice time to set and will also ensure that it is cool enough to eat without burning your mouth. Serve chicken and rice on individual plates with a side salad or vegetable. Once cooled, remove remaining chicken from the bone and stir into rice. Jambalaya is even better the next day!
Erin Brasell - Erin holds a Master of Arts in American Studies from George Washington University. She relocated to Washington, D.C. seven years ago after ...
