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We're making Cajun Rice this week! For anyone that knows Cajun food, you know it's a highly subjective food with recipes being very subjective. We've tried to make our recipe a bit more standardized, but you can still add or take away as you see fit. This week's recipe is for feeding a crowd. So grab your largest pot and get ready to make some food that will have everyone asking "hey, when are you going to make that again?"
Ingredients:
2 Large Green Bell Peppers
2 Large Red Bell Peppers
1 Large Yellow or Orange Bell Pepper
1 Medium Yellow Onion
2 Stalks of Celery
4 Roma Tomatoes
2 Tbsp Salted Butter
2 cups Long Grain Rice *
4 Cups of Chicken Broth *
2 cups of black beans ( cooked, or canned and drained)
2 Links of Smoked Sausage
3 Large Chicken Breasts
1 lb of De-veined shrimp
Spices: +
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground thyme
1 teaspoon ground paprika
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 bay leaf
*1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
Tools: LARGE pot, cutting board, chef's knife, measuring bowls, large bowl for holding foods during prep, long handled spoon.
*Since this recipe is (in theory) sized for feeding 4-5 people, if you want to buff it up, it's going to be the rice and the stock that are the easiest to add to. For every 1/2 cup of dry rice that you add, add a full cup of stock for the recipe.
+ Spices, much like the recipe as a whole, are very subjective. So, if you want to add things in, go for it. Just remember to always go with a little bit at first before adding more.
Recipe
Start by grabbing your cutting board, and laying your veggies out. You'll want to be careful about cleaning out the peppers as the seeds are horrible when cooked. Cut the tops of your peppers off, cut them into either quarters or thirds, depending on the number of bumps on the bottom of the pepper. Remove the pith and the seeds, and set them aside for your favorite gardener. Now cut them into strips, about a 1/4 wide, and cut each strip into chunks. Do this with all of your peppers and toss them into a bowl for the time being.
Grab your yellow onion and dice that up into a consistent dice. Next up grab your celery and slice it up into consistent slices. Add both of those into the bowl and give everything a quick toss.
Chop up your tomatoes and set them aside in a separate bowl for the time being, we'll come back for those later.
Now, grab your bowl of peppers and onions and head over to your stove. Turn on the heat to high and toss 2 tablespoons of butter in, letting that melt down. Once it's melted, add in your vegetables and grab your spoon to start turning. You want to sauté the veggies until the onion is transparent.
Now, scoop out your veggies and set them to the side. Give your cutting board and knife a quick wash and grab your various meats. If you haven't cooked your sausage and chicken already, grab a separate pan and do that now. Make sure to wash the pan after every round to ensure food safety. Check the bottom of the page for temperatures for both meats.
If you've already got your meats all cooked to the appropriate temperatures, it's time to chop them up.
For your sausage, slice it into 1/4 slices, and then chop those in half.
For your chicken, go ahead and slice the chicken breasts in half width wise, and then cut them into chunks about an inch in size. (So, essentially, you'll butterfly your chicken at first.)
Once that's taken care of, add your broth and spices to the pot and give everything a quick stir. Turn the heat to high and wait until your pot begins to boil. At that point, grab a spoon and give it a quick taste. Does it taste good? Do you need to adjust the spices? Do that now.
Now, add in your rice give it another stir, and let the pot come back up to a boil. Once it's boiling again, turn the heat down to low, add in your sausage, chicken, beans, tomatoes and shrimp and put the lid on. Keep it on low for 25 minutes, giving it a stir every 5 minutes or so, or until all of the liquid has been absorbed into the rice.
Once the time is up, push everything to the outer edges and see if you can find any additional broth on the bottom. If you can, then you need to keep cooking for 5 more minutes, making sure to keep the lid on. If not, tell everyone to come to the table, because the meal is ready.
Let us know in the comments below or over on our Facebook if you decide to give this a try! We’d love to hear how it goes and anything you add to it.
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