Jambalaya while camping

Basic Jambalaya

When I go camping, one dish I like to make for dinner at least once every trip is jambalaya and this trip was no exception. On Sunday night during the Memorial Day weekend, I made a batch of jambalaya for my son and I to have with our grilled smoked pork chops. My son is very fond of cajun style cooking.

Jambalaya on the stove

It is kind of funny. I’ve been making jambalaya for about ten years before I ever set foot in Louisiana and I have several different versions of it. Once I started making annual trips to the bayous of South Louisiana I started enjoying the variety of food found in the Atchafalaya spillway area. 

I was exposed to all kinds of Cajun food, from Turtle Sauce Piquant to Crawfish Étouffée, and I fell in love with all of it. The thing that is funny is that none of these rural restaurants served jambalaya. I know it is big in New Orleans, but out in the country I never saw it. Now I was just in the area north of Morgan City, and maybe in other parts of bayou country it is more common, but it strikes me odd when I think back on it.

Be that as it may, I do love jambalaya. This version is more geared to ingredients commonly found in the Chicago area. If you can find it, substitute andouille sausage for the Polish. Also feel free to add in some shrimp, or better yet, crawfish if you can find it.

When you make this, don’t get goofy and spend a lot of time exactly measuring all the seasonings. I never do. I just add big or little palmfuls of the various ingredients. 

If you want to see people really sweat, add in a few chopped habanero peppers with the bell peppers. I had a neighbor who (with all due respect) had to have a towel to mop up his face as he ate my ‘kicked up’ jambalaya. This version has a small bite, and you should be ok. Aw, go ahead and throw in the habaneros. Make em sweat! 

Olive oil
1 lb. Polish Sausage - cubed

1 cup of ham - cubed
2 bell peppers - chopped
2 large onions - chopped
4 stalks of celery - chopped
3 cloves of garlic - smashed and minced 2 bay leaves
2 tsp. fresh ground white pepper
1/2 tsp. ground cayenne
1 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. cajun seasoning
1/2 tsp. file gumbo powder
1  can of diced tomatoes
2 cups rice - uncooked
4 cups of beer or chicken stock

Preparation

Heat a large dutch oven medium high. Add enough olive oil to coat the bottom. Add the sausage and ham and brown them on all sides. Donʼt worry if stuff sticks to the bottom of the pot.

Add the celery and bell pepper (if you are in a really foul mood, you can also add those chopped habanero peppers I talked about). After a couple of minutes, add the onion and garlic. Stir and scrape up any stuff that stuck to the bottom. Add the bay leaves and all the rest of the seasonings. Stir to mix and add the chopped tomato.

Add the uncooked rice and about 4 cups of beer or stock. You want the liquid to cover the mixture. If you are in a bad mood, add another tsp. of ground cayenne. Stir the jambalaya and bring it to a boil. Let the pot simmer gently, covered until all the liquid is absorbed.

Let it simmer gently by the fire.

Serving

Serve jambalaya with smoked pork chops that were grilled over charcoal. If you have time to make it, and a nice bowl of seafood file gumbo. Add in a large bowl of potato salad and a crisp tossed salad. A frosty cold dark beer will will top things off nicely.