Cookie-I can't comment on the differences between the sausages. I personally use turkey sausage when I make jambalaya. I took a fun afternoon class at the New Orleans School of Cooking several years ago and along with the jambalaya, the chef cooked and served gumbo, bread pudding with whiskey sauce and pralines. Jambalaya has your starch, meat and vegetables in it so when I make it for my family it's an "all in one" type meal and I don't serve sides to go along with it other than unsweetened applesauce which I always put on the table.
Robin

I'm another one that doesn't serve "sides" with Jambalaya since there is so much tasty stuff in it. I will make a green salad but that is it.

As far as the sausages go - I used mild Chorizo in my last batch of Jambalaya and it was definitely too mild for our tastes. There was a lot of hot sauce added after the fact! I would think the spicy chorizo would be fine though.

Good luck!

Alexa

There are two basic types of Chorizo, the dense, sliceable, sausage-like kind, and the kind that is like crumbled burgermeat packed in a casing. Then, it comes spicey or sweet, smoked or not, on and on. The dense sausage like one can be sliced and used as a substitute for Andouille. The crumbly one is best removed from the casing, and fried with Potatoes, Green Peppers and Onions like a hash. Served with a couple fried or poached Eggs and you have a meal! My mouth is watering!!

I agree, no sides with Jambalaya, too much good stuff going on in the bowl as it is. Maybe just a good crusty loaf, or some cornbread.

Steve

I'd buy andouille for the Jambalaya and save the chorizo for sausage, egg and cheese burritos. Yum.
Big salad and crusty french bread to go with the Jambalaya.

Cookie:
I make my own Sausage. I guess it would be like a mild Italian.

Could we have a few recipes for new ideas.
Thanks, Lou

This is the recipe I use. It's from allrecipes (yes, again).
My husband liked it so I make it - once a year, if that and I halve it.
* 1/2 cup butter
* 1 large onion, diced
* 1 large green bell pepper, chopped
* 4 stalks celery, chopped
* 4 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
* 3 bay leaves
* 3 tablespoons Creole Seasoning Blend (listed in allrecipes - I use it a lot - on fries, potatoes, chicken)
* 4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
* 2 (28 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes
* 7 cups chicken stock
* 3 cups chopped cooked ham
* 3 cups cooked andouille sausage, sliced
* 3 cups cooked chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
* 3 cups frozen cooked shrimp
* 4 cups uncooked long-grain white rice

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Melt butter in large stock pot. Saute onion, green pepper, celery and garlic until tender, being careful not to burn the garlic. Add tomato paste and cook to brown slightly, stirring constantly. Stir in bay leaves, Creole seasoning blend and Worcestershire sauce. Pour into a large roasting pan. Squeeze tomatoes to break up into pieces, and add to mixture in pan. Stir in juice from tomatoes, chicken stock, ham, sausage, chicken, shrimp and rice. Mix well. Cover tightly with aluminum foil.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 1 1/2 hours, stirring once halfway through baking time. Remove bay leaves before serving.

I make jambalaya fairly often and I usually use whatever I have on hand. I've used everything from ground turkey sausage to Savoie's smoked sausage that my sister brings me from Louisiana. It does change the flavor somewhat, but it's all good. I think you'll be fine.

Tamara

FWIW--last time I visited my family in La. there was a big catered event; for the jambalaya, the caterer used pasta instead of rice--it's called 'pastalaya'. Nontraditional, but it tasted good. Apparently the pasta doesn't dry out as much as rice does over time. If you google the term 'pastalaya' you'll get lots of hits.

Here is a recipe that I use often for Chicken Jambalya.

Enjoy the history too!

1978 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
CHICKEN JAMBALAYA

Here's an award-winning recipe (along with some tips and some history of the dish) as prepared by: Matthew "Dee" Gautreau, Dee Gautreau's Cajun Catering, Gonzales, Louisiana 70737

This makes damn good jambalaya, and is a brown-style rather than the red tomato-based jambalayas you see in New Orleans (like mine, for instance). This one doesn't use a chicken stock because you make your own as you go along here.

One 3 to 4 pound hen cut into serving pieces
3 cups long grain rice - uncooked
1/4 cup cooking oil
3 medium white onions - chopped fine
6 cups water (but Chuck says use chicken stock if you want it to be really good)
1 tablespoon salt, or to taste
2-1/2 teaspoons granulated garlic (I used fresh)
1 cup green onions - chopped
1/2 cup green peppers
1/2 cup celery - chopped fine
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Red pepper to taste
2 tablespoons Louisiana hot sauce
Fry chicken in cooking oil until golden brown. Remove chicken and oil leaving just enough oil to cover bottom of pot. Add onions, and fry until golden brown. Put chicken back into pot with onions, and add 6 cups of water (note water level). Add remaining seasoning and simmer covered until chicken is tender. If necessary, add enough water to bring back to previous level. Bring back to a rolling boil, and add rice. Simmer uncovered for about 15 minutes - turn rice. Cover with tight fitting lid, let steam for 15 minutes, or until rice is tender. Turn rice once more, and turn fire off. Let stand for 10 minutes and then serve.
Jambalaya is more tasty if highly seasoned, so don't forget the red pepper. When adding salt, water should taste a little too salty, as rice absorbs considerable salt.

Yield: 6 to 8 generous servings.

HELPFUL HINTS FOR
INEXPERIENCED JAMBALAYA COOKS:
Most jambalaya cooks prefer to cook in cast iron pots - whether cast iron or aluminum pot is used, it should be heavy enough to prevent easy burning, and have a tight lid.

To brown onions:

Onions and shortening are put into the pot, covered, and cooked over low heat until golden brown, stirring frequently. A little water added to the onions will help prevent sticking.

Jambalaya should never be stirred - turn rather than stir after the rice has been added. This prevents the grains of rice from breaking up. Most cooks turn jambalaya only two or three times after the rice is added, being sure to scoop from the bottom of the pot to mix rice evenly with other ingredients.

A LITTLE JAMBALAYA HISTORY
Similar in many ways to Spanish paella, the term "jambalaya" is derived from the Spanish jam for ham. Jambalaya found its way into Creole cookery in the late 1700's where it soon took on the flavor of added local ingredients.

It can be made (separately or all together) with ham, chicken, sausage, fresh pork, shrimp and oysters, to which is added shortening, rice, onion, garlic, pepper and other seasonings.

Starting with church fairs, which were the largest public gatherings at the turn of the century, Jambalaya emerged from small quantity indoor cooking to become the ideal dish for outdoor cooking over hardwood fire. Big black cast iron pots made preparation so easy and economical for church use that Jambalaya was rapidly adapted for political rallies, weddings, family reunions and other affairs. No fair or political rally around Gonzales is complete without Jambalaya cooking.

The Jambalaya Festival and World Champion Jambalaya Cooking contest is held annually at Gonzales and attracts area cooks who have spent years perfecting the are of cooking and seasoning this Creole delicacy. Gonzales really is the Jambalaya Capital of The World.

About the creator of the championship recipe:
"Dee" Gautreau is a World Champion Jambalaya cook; he won the title in 1978. He has his own catering business, "Dee Gautreau's Cajun Catering." In the past nine years he has cooked Jambalaya all over the United States and in France, too.

This thread is fascinating as in europe, you couldn't compare a french andouille with a spanish chorizo. Andouille is made from tripe and is not at all spicy whereas chorizo is very spicy and made from pork meat. I googled what you call andouille and I see that although the website said it originated in France, the pic of it didn't look at all like an andouille! Jambalaya sounds really delicious, though!

Here is a link that might be useful: andouille

Andouille, as made in Louisiana, is a rich spicy pork sausage, made with good stuff. Andouillette, made in France, is indeed made from chopped up intestines (chitterlings, or 'chitlins'). They ain't the same.

I once was in France and saw andouillette on a menu. I thought that was the same as Cajun andouille so I ordered some. Boy, was I wrong. That was the single nastiest thing I've ever voluntarily put in my mouth. Hoo, that was vile.

The recipe at the link appears to be representative of what most Louisianians would recognize as andouille.

Here is a link that might be useful: andouille recipe

Islay, if you want to try to make jambalaya, you certainly don't want to use a sausage made with tripe or intestines.

A good French Garlic sausage would probably work well, as would a good Polish Kielbasa.

Trivia: Louisiana cuisine was influenced by the French and the Spanish, along with other influences. Some people think that the word 'jambalaya' is a corruption of the French word for ham and the Spanish word for their famous meat and rice dish--'jambon paella', if you say it quickly, sounds like the word 'jambalaya'.

The chef that taught the class I attended, said that jambalaya means "gift with rice". It sure is a hearty, tasty dish. He also stated that if it doesn't turn out the way you expected, rename it. I've since used that bit of advice a lot in my kitchen. :-)
Robin

Thanks for all the recipes.
Lou

At a family gathering back in December I made a Jambalaya that turned out good enough that my BIL (who's a fantastic cook) wanted me to write down so he could add it to his cooking blog. Its a fairly large recipe since we were about 20 some people.

Also rather than mixing the rice in with the dish as most of the recipes here call for, I make the rice separately and server the Jambalaya atop it. Additionally to avoid overcooking the shrimp, I only add the shrimp at the very end after removing the pot from the heat, and simply use the residual heat of the dish to cook the shrimp.

Lastly given that several members of the group didn't want it too spicy, the amount of red pepper, cayenne pepper and tobasco were much less than I would otherwise have used, but adding tobasco after it is served works very well.

JAMBALAYA

2 lb Chicken Breast (3/4" cubes)
1 lb Honey Ham (1/2" dice)
1 lb Hot-Italian Sausage (de-skinned and broken into pieces)
2/3 lb Andouille-style smoked sausage
2 lb uncooked shrimp (cleaned, de-shelled, and de-tailed, cut into thirds)
2 large sweet yellow onions chopped into 3/4" square pieces
2 red bell peppers (remove stems, seeds and membranes and cut into 1" by 1" pieces)
2 yellow bell peppers
4 cups of rice
2 large cans diced tomatoes
1 15 oz can tomato paste
Olive oil
10 cloves garlic
2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp black pepper blend (ground)
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
4 shakes Tobasco sauce
1 tsp thyme
1 tbsp chopped parsley

In one large pan, cook onion in olive oil, add thyme and 3 cloves of garlic (chopped) until onion starts to turn translucent, then add bell peppers and cook another 10 minutes or so.

In a different large pan, cook chicken and hot Italian sausage until both are lightly browned and mostly cooked.
Empty both pans into large pot. Stir in tomatoes (including water from tomato cans) and the tomato paste. Bring to a low boil and reduce heat to a simmer and stir well.

In the chicken pan, cook Andouille and ham over medium heat for 10 minutes, then add to large pot. Crush remaining garlic and other spices except parsley into large pot to suit taste.

Cook rice separately while continuing to simmer large pot. When rice is done, remove large pot from heat and add shrimp stirring until it is cooked.

Serve over rice, adding tobasco to taste, top with a pinch of parsley.