Authentic Jambalaya Recipe

Jambalaya is a classic Southern rice and meat dish. Typically, it's made with the "trinity" of celery, onions and green bell pepper, long-grain rice and some combination of meat.


There are myriad ways to make jambalaya and it varies from region to region and family to family. In the birthplace of the dish, southern Louisiana, there are generally two approaches: Cajun and Creole. There are two main differences between the techniques: (1) tomatoes are present in Cajun jambalaya (and not in Creole varieties) and (2) ingredients are layered and kept in the pot in Cajun style whereas meat is browned, removed and then returned to the pot later in Creole.

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In this recipe, we'll do a little bit of both. Which I think is hardcore creole.

The spice mix in this recipe is perfectly balanced, however you can add in flavors and adjust as you see fit. This recipe will make a spicy hot jambalaya, so if you're sensitive tone down the cayenne pepper (and if you really like heat, there's room to heat it up with more cayenne or by adding in a chili of your choice.)

The additions of sumac and ginger are meant to brighten up a spice mix that wades in the deep flavors of paprika, cinnamon and cumin and can be blinded by the heat of the cayenne. Cinnamon adds a touch of sweetness--though brown sugar can be used as well.

Last bit before we get to the recipe already: use chicken thighs and andouille sausage. If you want really feel strongly about another cut or sausage, do so. But the thighs are a deeper flavored part of the chicken with more connective tissue than the breast and the flavor stands up in the spicy jambalaya. The andouille sausage is basically mandatory--it provides heat and a unique flavor that'll convince you the dish was made for it.

Jambalaya Spice Mix:

• 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/8 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/8 teaspoon ground mustard
• 1/8 teaspoon celery salt
• 1/8 teaspoon sumac
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

Jambalaya:

• 1 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cubed
• 3 andouille sausages, cut in 1/2 inch slices
• 1/2 pound baby shrimp, de-veined and peeled
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon margarine or butter
• 2 yellow onions, diced medium
• 2 green bell peppers, diced medium
• 4 celery stalks, diced to your preference
• 1 green or anaheim chili, chopped fine
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped fine
• 1 12 or 14oz can crushed tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 cups long-grain white rice
• 3 cups chicken stock or broth
• 3 scallions, cut for garnish

Before you begin:
Preheat the oven to 375°F and make sure your oven-safe pot can fit on the rack. Combine the spice mix and set aside in a bowl. Cut and prepare your meats and vegetables.

1. Heat the oil in a sturdy pot or large Dutch oven (at least 7 quarts) over medium-high heat until hot. Brown the chicken in segments, careful to not overcrowd the pot. After all the chicken pieces are browned, place in a bowl and set it aside.

2. Let the oil cook down for a minute. Add the butter or margarine and melt over medium heat. Add the onions, scraping the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon to release any browned bits, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions just begin to brown.

3. Add the sausage and half of the spice mix. Coat everything with the spice mix, continuing to scrape the bottom of the pot occasionally, until the meat is browned and the onions are very tender.
4. Add the bell peppers, celery, anaheim pepper, garlic and remaining spice mix. Cook, scraping the bottom of the pot occasionally, until the bell peppers are soft.

5. Add the reserved chicken and its juices, the crushed tomatoes and the tomato paste. Stir to combine and bring to a boil.

6. Add the rice, stock or broth, and bring to a boil. Cover with its lid, transfer to the oven, and bake until the rice is tender and the liquid has been absorbed. This should take about 30 minutes.

7. With 10 minutes until the Jambalaya can be taken out of the oven, prepare the shrimp. Wash the shrimp, place them in a hot, sprayed skillet and cook for 3-4 minutes, flipping frequently. Shrimp are ready when they lose their translucency on the inside.
8. Remove the pot to a wire rack and let it sit, covered, for 5 minutes. Stir to evenly combine the jambalaya. Dole out servings and sprinkle with the scallions. Serve and enjoy.

Jimmy John's Boulder

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1125 13th Street               3310 Arapahoe Ave.

Boulder, CO 80302          Boulder, CO 80303

(303) 447-3200                (303) 447-3332

Perception informs the decisions we make. That is, we often judge books by their covers. That’s not always bad. If you don’t like romance novels, don’t buy a Harlequin; if you don’t like, you know, butterfly people, don’t go to Burning Man. (I don’t know what goes on there.)

It’s a natural human defense. And perhaps it is amplified by our living in the society of consumerism that we do. To distrust what our experience tells us will likely be bad.

Boulder Jimmy John's

I was at Jimmy John’s eating a sub. I sat at a window bar and there was a man with his back to me seated outside eating a sandwich listening to music with over-the-head headphones circa ’99ish? From across the parking lot, a cat steadily approaches. The outside man feeds the cat and the cat sits beside him, lapping up the meat scraps the man occasionally drops.

I saw the whole thing and I think, hey, nice guy that guy is. But then another guy—a collegian, I gather—walks out the door, takes one look at the man feeding a very comfortable cat and upturns his nostrils in what certainly looked a lot like “What the…?”. Because to him, that’s a grown man with a Walkman who took his pet cat to Jimmy John’s for lunch.

So, perception. The perception of Jimmy John’s is that it’s a chain sandwich shop catering mostly to college students and the fast food crowd. The average internet review is 3 out of 5 stars. For reference, only Quizno’s has a lower ranking out of the 27 delis and sandwich shops in Boulder. Subway, mind you, has 3 stars as well.

There’s truth to the perception. It does sell sandwiches, it does cater to college students and it is fast. But it’s a notch above the bottom-feeders of the sandwich game. The meat is fresh, the bread is crispy, and it comes out quick.

The menu has almost two dozen sandwich options—though each option appears to be just some combination of one large hoagie with the works. For those with dietary restrictions, there is a lettuce wrap option as well as a veggie sandwich.

Hunter's Club from the Boulder Jimmy John's menu

The sandwiches lack the meat-girth that a respectable deli could provide (although, the esteemed Salvaggio’s succumbs to this as well). However, the proportion of meat, veggies, dressing and bread is rock solid. It’s a thin sandwich and so each bit gets time on your taste buds.
I had the “Hunter’s Club” sandwich on this occasion. Roast beef, provolone, lettuce, tomato and mayo. Towards the end of the sandwich, it becomes a bit laboring to eat–the product of the combination of chewy bread, few wet dressings on the sandwich and the fact that it’s an 8″ sub.

However, Jimmy John’s is at its best twice a day: lunch and late night. It’s late night appeal certainly adds to its sub-par perception. But what happens, chemically, after a few dozen beers and some liquor is simply magic.

The Jimmy John’s sandwich transforms at about 11pm. When I was 18, I visited my friend at his college. After a night of drinking he told me we had to leave the party we were at to get some Jimmy John’s. On the way, we passed a pretty girl just standing on the sidewalk. As my friend kept walking, I stopped to talk to the girl who was drunk but also calm, which is sort of terrifying if you’ve ever encountered that.

Anyway, at that age I had a sort of Oh-my-Goodness stupidity—equal parts ignorance and condescension—and so when her boyfriend came to pick her up (I thought girls at this school just stood on the sidewalk for your convenience, sort of like water fountains) I told him she was coming with us to Jimmy John’s.

Nonplussed, he got out of the car and I ran with my friend 1.7 miles straight to Jimmy John’s.
Adrenalin, confidence, hunger, booze all combined with the salty, sweet crunch of bread, lettuce and meat at that Jimmy John’s on a warm, buggy Spring night in the South and I was hooked.

If, to you, Jimmy John’s is a neon sign you see from your car as you drive by, if it’s a sandwich shop in a strip mall—that’s fine. Because that’s what it is. But to many others—and there are dozens of places just like this—it’s magic.

And that’s perception.

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