There are many myths about the origin of the name "jambalaya." One commonly repeated folk tale suggests that the word derives from the combination of the French "jambon" meaning "ham," the French article "à la", a contraction of "à la manière de" meaning "in the style of", and "ya," thought to be of West African origin meaning "rice." Hence, the dish was named jamb à la ya. European jambalaya, or red jambalaya as it is called by Acadian-Creoles (mistakenly known as Cajuns), is found primarily in and around New Orleans, where it is simply known as "jambalaya." City Creole jambalaya includes tomatoes, whereas rural jambalaya does not.
The 1878 edition od 'The Gulf City Cook Book,' by the Ladies of the St. Francis Street Methodist Episcopal Church, South Mobile, Alabama has a recipe for “JAM BOLAYA.” The first recipe in a cookbook discovered to date.
The Oxford English Dictionary indicates that "jambalaya" comes from the Provençal word "jambalaia," meaning a mish mash, or mix-up, and also meaning a pilau (pilaf) of rice. This is supported by the fact that the first printed appearance of the word is in a Provençal poem published in 1837.
Buckeye Mountain Jambalaya
- 12 oz. each- raw peeled shrimp, ham, chicken, smoked sausage
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 4 large celery ribs, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 1/2 cups rice
- 5 cups chicken stock (or water)
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 teaspoon dried oregano
- Tony Chacere's Creole seasoning
- 6 oz tomato paste
- cracked black pepper
- salt
- 1 T sugar
- Tabasco hot sauce
Smoke a chicken then remove and shred the meat.
Marinate the shrimp in some Italian dressing with some hot sauce and garlic added for an hour.
Add the stock and rice to a stock pot. Bring it to a boil. Put the lid on and turn off the heat. Your rice will be done in 15 minutes.
Slice your sausage. Sprinkle with Tony Chacere's Creole seasoning. Get a frying pan as hot as you can. Toss in two tablespoons of oil and add the sausage. Fry until well browned. Set aside.
Dry off your shrimp. Sprinkle with Tony Chacere's Creole seasoning. Fry just like you did the sausage and set aside.
Cube the ham. Sprinkle with Tony Chacere's Creole seasoning. Fry just like you did the sausage and set aside.
Add more oil to the pan. Add the bell pepper and celery, sprinkle heavily with Tony Chacere's Creole seasoning. Sauté for ten minutes. Set aside.
Add the onion to the pan, hit it with Tony’s seasoning and fry for ten minutes. Toss in the chopped garlic and cook for another minute.
Seasoning and searing separately is how we get the maximum flavor out of each ingredient. Be sure you scrape the bottom of the pan as you fry; there’s a lot of caramelized flavor down there. Don’t try to sear all the ingredients at the same time. They all give up water as they fry and you will just end up steaming instead of browning. Browning intensifies the flavors by a factor of three.
Now you are ready to make the Jambalaya. Add the tomato paste, Worcestershire, bay leaves, oregano, and the sugar to the rice and stir it up. Toss in the sausage and ham. Add more stock if needed. Simmer for 20 minutes.
Toss in the shrimp and chicken. Stir it up. Turn the heat to low. Adjust the taste to your liking. At this point I add pepper, salt, more Tony’s, Tabasco, whatever you feel it needs. Simmer for 10 minutes.
Just before serving, cut up a stick of butter and stir it in the Jambalaya for texture and flavor.
If your store doesn’t carry Tony’s, here is a copycat recipe:
Combine all ingredients in a reseal able container-- 1/4 cup fine sea salt, 1 teaspoon cornstarch, 5 teaspoons cayenne pepper, 5 teaspoons garlic salt, 4 teaspoons ground black pepper, 1 tablespoon seasoned chili powder, 2 1/2 teaspoons celery salt, 2 teaspoons ground mustard, 1 1/2 teaspoons ground basil, 1 1/2 teaspoons ground sage, 1 teaspoon onion salt, 1/2 teaspoon ground oregano, 1/2 teaspoon ground thyme.
