Jambalaya

How to cook great tasting Jambalaya

So . . . . What makes a great Jambalaya?

Quickly browning out all the items before you add them to the pot. (If you cook jambalaya, you probably would also cook red beans. For that, the same idea applies.)

For example:

• When I add sausage, I slice it and then brown both sides lightly in a cast iron skillet.
• Onions, too, are browned: I slice them in 1/4 inch rounds, nicked once radially to the center; a small amount of oil and turned when the flat browns; heat high enough to brown the flats and not cook down the onion, but not so high as to burn the onion.

The browning will:

• make the food an order of magnitude more tasty
• make the food look more interesting

Much of the improved taste comes from these two reactions, promoted by heating:

• the Maillard reaction in the meats, a reaction between amino acids in the meats and sugars
• caramelization of sugars in the onions, the meats, and whatever else has sugars, whether natural to the food, or added by a processor.

  Don't overcook or excessively brown these items, as the sugar will burn, and add a scorched taste to the end-product).

This takes time, but it's worth it.

One T.V. Chef, in a no-fat frenzy, browns out piles of spice with no oil. I've done this, and it works, though I've never done it for jambalaya or red beans.

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