Jumbalaya in a Cast Iron Pot

I had authentic Jumbalaya a few months back when I was on a business trip to New Orleans. It was fantastic! Along the way, I picked up some Gumbo spice from a spice shop in New Orleans, which proved wonderful in this dish!

So far, I have made this dish three separate ways: First, in a slow cooker, next in a pressure cooker and lastly in a cast iron pot. I varied the recipes a little depending on the method of cooking. I think the winner is the old fashioned way with a cast iron pot. I will post the cast iron pot method today, and the other two methods in my next two posts! This way, Shokubi readers, you can try all three and see what works best for you!

The basis for this Jumbalaya were three key ingredients: my leftover Chicken Gumbo from last night, leftover sauce from Lamb Barbacoa (frozen in convenient cubes), rich dark chicken stock and leftover rice. That being said, this was the easiest of the three Jumbalayas to make, as I had already labored over my Chicken Gumbo and it had a good day to absorb and deepen its unique flavor.


Ingredients
Leftover Chicken Gumbo
Leftover sauce from Lamb Barbacoa (frozen in convenient cubes, about 1/4 of a cup) 
Rich dark chicken stock or Lamb stock
Rice, either leftover or freshly cooked (I used leftover rice)
Sausage (if you dont have any left from the Chicken Gumbo)
Okra, sliced (optional)

Directions
Thaw or melt the barbacoa sauce in a small saucepan. Only use about 1/4 of a cup, because it is really really spicy. Once it melts and is hot, slowly pour it over the chicken gumbo in another pot. Stir. The gumbo will be really sticky because it has been sitting in the refrigerator for a day and all the starch of the roux is hard. Slowly stir the barbacoa sauce in.













Start to add the chicken or lamb stock to the saucepan. Again, slowly stir in the stock until it incorporates.

Add the rice to the pot and continue to stir. The rice will absorb some of the liquid from the pot. Add more chicken stock as needed. Jumbalaya is not soupy like Gumbo, so the liquid should absorb into the rice.






Serve when the rice has heated up! 

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