By Scott Heiner
Jubilee Jambalaya
In a previous article, I claimed that I can’t cook. That’s not entirely true. I actually have made some edible things, even
palatable, however I’m not very proficient, and definitely slow as molasses
In fact, there is one dish that I’ve learned to make: Jambalaya. It all started back in 1997 when I had read a
newspaper article about New Orleans cuisine, highlighting Jambalaya. I had heard of this food item before, but I
was unfamiliar with it, so I did some extensive research.
According to Wikipedia, Jambalaya is “is a popular Louisiana-origin
dish of West African, French, and Spanish influence, consisting mainly of meat
and vegetables mixed with rice. Traditionally, the meat always includes smoked andouille
sausage, along with pork, chicken and/or seafood such as crawfish or shrimp.” Now, this dish with all its varied ingredients
really intrigued me.
At about that same time, I was also dabbling with Dutch Oven
cooking. There was to be a Dutch Over
cookoff at the upcoming Salt Lake County Fair—what
better dish to try with my new Dutch Oven but Jambalaya! The newspaper article had a recipe from a
famous New Orleans chef; maybe I could use that, but there was a catch: the
cookoff rules required an original recipe.
Coincidentally, I had a co-worker who boasted an amazing Jambalaya recipe
of his own, so maybe I could combine the two recipes and come up with something
original.
I recruited my son as an assistant and we went to work whipping
up batches of Jambalaya, adding a pinch of this and a dab of that, and after
several tries, came up with something that showed promise. My brother is a chef who had won several
Dutch Oven competitions; with some advice from him, we entered the cookoff. We came up with a thick rice dish with four
kinds of meat, lots of vegetables and just the right level of spicy heat. 1997 was the sesquicentennial of the Mormon
Pioneers with the theme of “Faith in Every Footstep.” We called our concoction “Jubilee Jambalaya”
and our theme was “Faith in Every Spoonful.”
At the cookoff, I observed the other teams with their deep
experience and confidence. The other
outfits really knew what they were doing; and it was mighty intimidating to us
newcomers. We did our best and really
enjoyed the experience, but knew we didn’t have much chance against the
competition.
The judges announced the winners—a fancy crown roast took first place. But what was our surprise when they announced
our Jubilee Jambalaya was the “Reserve Champion,” which I was told is County
Fair jargon for 2nd Place! We
really lucked out—Glory Be!
Afterwards as the crowd sampled the contestants’ dishes, one
or two of the judges came up and whispered that our dish was really the best--we
just didn’t win because it’s such an unusual item in Utah.
Now it’s a family favorite; every so often, they ask me to cook
another batch of Jubilee Jambalaya. It’s
quite labor intensive, but it’s worth the effort. So, I’ve got a one-hit wonder--besides
scrambled eggs and tuna sandwiches, it’s the only thing I can make.
JUBILEE JAMBALAYA
Scott and Brian
Heiner
2nd Place
Winner, Salt Lake County Fair Dutch Oven Cook-off, 15 Aug 1997
¾ cup olive oil
1 cup flour
1½ lbs boneless chicken, cut up
1½ lbs andouille sausage (or kielbasa), sliced
1 lb ham, diced
3 large onions, diced
4 stalks celery, chopped
2 green peppers, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
5 cups chicken stock or 5 cups water and 5 bouillon cubes
4 cups (32 oz pkg.) parboiled rice (Uncle Ben’s Converted
Rice is best)
3 heaping tablespoons Creole Seasoning, or to taste (Recipe
below)
1 bunch green onions, chopped
3 large tomatoes, chopped
12 oz tiny frozen cooked shrimp
Heat olive
oil in a 6-quart Dutch Oven until it gets very hot. Add the flour and make a dark paste, stirring
continuously. Keep cooking until the
mixture looks like thick chocolate syrup.
You actually burn the flour slightly (which is why you use olive oil).
Add chicken
and brown over medium-high heat. Add
sausage and ham to pot and sauté with chicken.
Add chicken
stock and rice and bring to boil.
Add onions,
celery, green pepper, garlic, and Creole Seasoning.
Reduce heat to simmer. Cook for
approximately 25 minutes. After 10
minutes, stir in green onions and tomatoes.
Add shrimp last when rice is cooked.
Yield: 6
quarts; 8-10 servings.
CREOLE SEASONING
4 tablespoons salt (optional)
4 tablespoons onion powder
4 tablespoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons dried oregano leaves
2 tablespoons dried sweet basil
1 tablespoon dried thyme leaves
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon white pepper
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
5 tablespoons paprika
Mix thoroughly in a large bowl. Makes approximately 1 cup
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