Jambalaya is the one pot that feeds a whole tent: chicken thighs, andouille, the trinity and long-grain rice, cooked together and left alone under the lid for 25 minutes. At LSU it's practically the official food of Saturday night, and Tiger Stadium is one of the few lots that lets you cook it on site: grills, smokers and fryers are fine if they're contained, attended and 10 feet from buildings with an extinguisher nearby. A propane burner on its own stand keeps the flame contained.
At the lot: Chop at home, then cook the whole pot on a propane burner on its stand, lid on and hands off for 25 minutes. Homegating: Cook it on the stove in a heavy Dutch oven and ladle it out straight from the pot.
Home gear: zip bags and containers for the prepped trinity and meat
30 MIN
At home, chopping
1 HR 15 MIN
At the lot
12–15
Serves
Ingredients
Meat
- 3 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 lb andouille sausage, sliced into ¼-inch rounds
- 2 tbsp neutral oil
Trinity
- 2 large yellow onions, diced
- 2 green bell peppers, diced
- 4 celery ribs, diced
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
Pot
- 4 cups long-grain white rice
- 8 cups chicken stock
- 2 tbsp Cajun seasoning (check the label: most contain salt)
- 2 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper
- 3 bay leaves
- Kosher salt, to taste
Serve
- 1 bunch green onions, sliced
- Hot sauce
- Bowls and spoons
Steps
At home
- Dice the onions, peppers and celery and bag them together. Mince the garlic into a small container.
- Slice the andouille and bag it. Cut the chicken into 1-inch pieces, toss it with 1 tbsp of the Cajun seasoning, and seal it in its own bag.
- Mix the remaining Cajun seasoning with the paprika, thyme, black pepper and cayenne in a small jar. Pack the raw chicken at the bottom of the cooler, away from everything ready to eat, at 40°F or below.
At the lot
- Set the burner on level pavement at least 10 feet from buildings, with the extinguisher within reach, and keep someone on the pot the whole time. Heat the oil in the pot over medium-high and brown the andouille, stirring, for 5 to 7 minutes. Lift it out with a slotted spoon.
- Brown the chicken in the same pot in 2 batches, about 4 minutes a batch. It doesn't need to cook through yet. Lift it out.
- Add the trinity to the fat and cook, scraping up the brown bits, until soft, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic for 1 minute.
- Return the andouille and chicken, add the stock, spice mix and bay leaves and bring it to a boil. Taste the liquid and add salt if it needs it. It should taste a little salty, because the rice soaks it up.
- Stir in the rice and bring it back to a boil. Turn the burner as low as it goes, put the lid on and cook for 15 minutes without lifting it.
- Lift the lid, fold the rice from the bottom up once so it cooks evenly, then cover and cook 10 to 15 minutes more, until the rice is tender and the liquid is gone. Check that the chicken reads 165°F.
- Shut the burner off and let the pot sit covered for 10 minutes. Fish out the bay leaves, top with green onions and serve with hot sauce.
Pack for the lot
Pack it in
Lot notes
- Andouille: most andouille you'll find is a precooked smoked sausage, so it only needs browning here. If yours is labeled fresh or uncooked, cook it to 160°F.
- Holding the pot: keep the lid on and the burner on its lowest setting, and stir up from the bottom every 15 minutes so the rice doesn't scorch. The rules for holding it hot are in how to keep food hot at a tailgate.
- Fuel: a high-output burner goes through propane fast. Bring a full 20 lb tank, and a spare if you're cooking more than one pot over a long weekend.
Can you make jambalaya ahead for a tailgate?
Yes. Cook it at home, spread it in shallow pans to cool fast and refrigerate it, then reheat it in the pot with a splash of stock, stirring often, until it reaches 165°F. The chopping can also be done a day ahead.
Cajun or Creole jambalaya?
This is the brown, Cajun-style pot common around Baton Rouge, with no tomatoes. For a red, Creole-style pot, add a 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes with the stock and cut the stock by 1 cup.
Why is my jambalaya mushy?
Too much stirring, too much liquid or the wrong rice. Use long-grain white rice, keep the ratio at about 2 cups of stock per cup of rice, and keep the lid on until the rice is tender.
Can you add shrimp to jambalaya?
Yes. Stir about 2 lb of peeled shrimp in for the last 5 minutes, put the lid back on and cook until they turn pink and opaque. Added at the start, they turn rubbery by the time the rice is done.
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