SHRIMP JAMBALAYA

Shrimp and Sausage Jambalaya

Ingredients

·         1 tablespoon olive oil

·         1 pound sausage, such as kielbasa or andouille, sliced 

·         1 pound smoked ham, cubed

·         1 tablespoon butter

·         1 medium onion, diced

·         1 cup diced celery

·         1 green bell pepper, cored and diced

·         1 red bell pepper, cored and diced

·         1 cup seeded and diced tomato

·         3 garlic cloves, minced

·         1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced OR 1/2 teaspoon cayenne

  2 teaspoons diced fresh oregano

 1 teaspoon diced fresh thyme

  2 tablespoons tomato paste

 6 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade

 3 cups long-grain rice, rinsed

 3 bay leaves

 2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

 6 to 8 dashes hot sauce, optional (recommended: Tabasco)

1/2 cup chopped scallions, divided

 3/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, divided

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 pound medium shrimp, divined (20 to 24 count)

Directions

Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven or black iron pot over medium heat, add the kielbasa and saute for 8 to 10 minutes, until browned. Remove the kielbasa to a bowl, and set aside. Add the ham to the same pot and cook 8 to 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove to the bowl with the kielbasa, and set aside. Add the butter, onion, celery and peppers to the same pot and saute for 8 to 10 minutes, until the onion is translucent. Add the tomato, garlic, jalapeno or cayenne, oregano, thyme, and tomato paste and cook until all the vegetables and herbs are blended well. Add the stock and bring to a rolling boil. Stir in the rice, and add the sausage, ham, bay leaves, salt, pepper and hot sauce. Return to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. Add 1/4 cup of the scallions, 1/4 cup of the parsley, the lemon juice and the shrimp, and stir well. Cover the pot, remove it from the heat and allow the jambalaya steam, for 15 minutes, before serving.

Garnish with the remaining 1/4 cup scallions and 1/2 cup parsley, and a dash of hot sauce, if desired

MAGIC DUST/RUB for BRBQ or Smoking and Mopping Sauce

Ingredients for My Magic Dust Dry Rub:   

·         1/2 cup Paprika

·         1/4 cup Kosher Salt

·         1/4 cup Sugar Brown

·         2 Tbls Mustard Powder

·         1/4 cup Chile powder

·         1/4 cup Ground Cumin

·         1 Tbls  Black Pepper

·         1/4 cup Granulated Garlic

·         1 Tbls Cayenne

·         2 Tbls Onion Powder

·         2 tsp All Spice Powder 

Combine ingredients in a container and mix thoroughly. Keep on the shelf for BRBQ, Smoking or a General House Seasoning.

Rub Paste

1/4 Cup Brown Mustard

2 Tbls Molasses

To begin, mix up the Rub Paste,  and rub it onto the meat with your hands. Sprinkle generously with magic dust and spread it around into the Paste Rub pretty liberally all over the meat. Cover the meat loosely and refrigerate  for a few hours at least, overnight would be super.  The Rub Paste will help your Dry Rub stick to the meat and develop a great flavor.

This is generally a first step in flavoring the meat.  You may also be adding other methods of flavor and moisturizing like using a Mop Recipe (recipe follows) during the cooking or a Glaze for finishing off.

Brisket Mopping Sauce

This recipe starts out with one 12 ounce bottle of beer. You can substitute 3/4 cup of wine, apple juice or apple cider for the beer, but it needs to be combined with an equal amount of water.

12 oz beer

 2 tablespoons  up to ½ cup as desired , Malt vinegar or Red Vinegar

 2 tsp  Magic Dust (any paprika, chili powder style rub of your choice )

2 crushed cloves of garlic

1/2 medium onion processed to fine

2 Serrano or Jalapeno Peppers or only  1 Habanero (processed with no seeds )

 1/4 – 1/3 cup of light vegetable oil  -  this gets added later, right before this basting liquid is used.

Mix this up at least a couple of hours ahead of time so the flavors have a chance to blend. An overnight rest in the refrigerator is even better. It takes time for the onion and garlic to flavor the liquid. 

ush the brisket mopping sauce< onto the meat every hour or so after the first four hours of smoking. For a big brisket, make up two recipes of the sauce.

Did you know that brisket mopping sauce is not a type of barbecue sauce? It's a basting liquid, made thin, flavorful, and without a lot of sugar or tomato that could burn, ruining your brisket. You can adjust the ingredients a little to get the flavor just the way you like. I've substituted chopped Jalapeno/Serrano peppers for half of the chopped onion...and it was good!

The following recipe is a little on the spicy side, so you might want to cut back on the cayenne pepper if you're feeding a gaggle of young'uns. The alcohol in the beer or wine will evaporate off quickly, but if you're concerned, you can substitute apple juice or cider.

Theory Behind Brisket Mopping Sauce

The acidic vinegar in the mopping sauce has a tenderizing effect, and it also pushes the other flavors deeper into the meat. The beer and wine add flavor and moisture, while the oil coats the surface of the brisket, helping to seal in the moisture. That's brisket mopping sauce for ya!