Chicken and Smoked Sausage Jambalaya

Ingredients

• 6-8 chicken thighs
• 1 lb smoked sausage
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• ½ bunch green onions, chopped
• 1 tbs parsley
• 2 C + 2 tbs rice
• 3 C chicken broth, vegetable stock, or water
• 2 tbs butter
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp thyme
• 2 tsp Cajun seasoning
• ¼ tsp sage
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 tbs rice wine
• 1 tsp Louisiana hot sauce
• 1 tsp soy sauce

Directions

1. Prep Chicken: Bone and skin chicken thighs, reserving skin, bones, and scraps.
2. Marinate Chicken: Cube thighs and season with salt, Cajun seasoning, lemon pepper, and garlic powder. Add rice wine, soy sauce, and hot sauce. Cover and refrigerate 1-12 hours.
3. Make Stock: Place reserved skin, bones, and scraps in a stockpot. Cover with water and add 1 celery stalk, 1 quartered carrot, and 1 green onion. Bring to a boil and simmer 1½-2 hours to make stock.
4. Brown Chicken: Melt butter in a black iron pot over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken thoroughly, 10-15 minutes. Remove and set aside.
5. Brown Sausage: Brown sausage in the same pot, 7-12 minutes. Remove and set aside.
6. Sauté Vegetables: Add vegetables to the pot and sauté ~5 minutes, stirring often, until softened and browned, deglazing the pot.
7. Build Flavor: Return chicken and sausage to the pot. Add thyme, sage, and bay leaf; simmer 2-3 minutes until fragrant.
8. Add Rice: Stir in rice, parsley, and green onions until well coated with oil.
9. Add Stock: Add chicken broth, adjust seasoning, and bring to a boil.
10. Simmer: Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook 30-35 minutes, until rice is tender. Stir only once about 15 minutes into cooking.

Chef's Notes

• 1½ C liquid for each cup of rice is a good rule of thumb
• You may also choose to discard the scraps and use chicken or vegetable broth made from bouillon cubes, for which I recommend Better Than Bouillon.
• Converted or parboiled rice (like Uncle Ben) is a standard ingredient, but this recipe can be made with Thai jasmine rice
• My preference is vegetable broth instead of chicken stock
• I add 1½ tsp salt and 1½ tsp Cajun seasoning with the herbs

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