KLEMENT’S STYLE JAMBALAYA

Ingredients

• 2 (14 oz) Klement’s Andouille Sausages, coin cut
• 1 (28 oz) can of peeled whole tomatoes, packed in juice
• About 3 cups of chicken stock (plus more as needed)
• 3 - boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 1 to 2 Tbsp of vegetable oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 2 large bell peppers (green, yellow or red) stemmed, seeded and diced
• 4-6 celery ribs, diced
• 1 ½ Tbsp of minced garlic
• 1 Tbsp of tomato paste
• 2 tsp of oregano and minced thyme
• 1 Tbsp of Cajun or Creole seasoning
• 1/2 tsp of garlic powder, onion powder and paprika and salt and pepper to taste
• 3 splashes of Worcestershire sauce
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 cups of long-grain rice (rinsed until water runs clear)
• 3/4 pound of peeled and deveined shrimp (optional)
• 6 green onions, thinly sliced (separate greens from whites and save both and set aside)
• 1 Tbsp of hot sauce if desired

Steps

1. Strain tomatoes and add juice to a measuring cup. Place tomatoes in a medium bowl. Carefully tear each tomato open to release the liquid inside its seed compartments. Strain all this liquid into the same measuring cup. Crush tomatoes well with your hands. Add chicken stock to the juice from the tomatoes to total 4 cups. Set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 325°F. Dice chicken into 1" pieces. In a Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat until simmering. Add the sliced Klement’s Smoked Sausage or Klement’s Andouille Sausage and brown for about 10 minutes until a fond (caramelized bits left over from the sausage) appears in the bottom of the pot. Remove the sausage from the pot and set aside in a bowl. Add the chicken and cook until browned on all sides. If the fond should start to darken or stick, add a splash of tomato juice to loosen. Remove the chicken and set aside with the sausage.
3. Add onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic to the pot and cook, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pot to loosen the fond and vegetables begin to turn lightly golden.
4. Stir in tomato paste, thyme, oregano, Cajun/creole seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika and a very generous dose of black pepper, as well as three splashes of Worcestershire sauce and salt to taste. Add crushed tomatoes, the tomato juice and stock mixture, diced chicken, sausage and bay leaves. Bring to a simmer.
5. Stir in rice and return to a simmer. Cover with a lid and transfer to the oven. Bake until liquid is fully absorbed and rice is tender (about 40 minutes).
6. Gently stir in shrimp (optional) and whites of green onions and return the pot to the oven until shrimp are cooked through (approx. 15 minutes). Cover pot and let rest for 15 additional minutes outside of the oven. Remove bay leaves, if desired.
7. Garnish with greens of the green onion and serve! Recipe created by Ryan Jasper