New Orleans Turkey Stew

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This year for Thanksgiving I wasn’t hosting a party, and wasn’t responsible for any of the major traditional dishes at either of the gatherings I was going to. I had made a large Thanksgiving dinner two weeks before the holiday to post the recipes here, so I had my fix of traditional Turkey Day cooking.

I did want to make something to take to both the parties though. The day before the holiday I went to the grocery store with an open mind. I found ground turkey on sale, which seems logical. If there is any week of the year when ground turkey would have some serious competition from whole turkey I would bet that week would be Thanksgiving. Having a sale on it is probably the only way to move it off the shelves. I bought a three pound package. Just down the isle I found smoked sausage at a bargain price. Check. After finding the two I thought I would make a Thanksgiving jambalaya.

I first browned the turkey then created a vegetable base with the New Orleans holy trinity of green pepper, onion and celery to start the dish. I had purchased red beans to go into the pot and because of that, I decided at the last minute to leave out the rice, I figured the beans would be enough starch. Once I got everything into the pot it was a bit to soupy, so I thickened it with a cornstarch slurry and what I wound up with was a New Orleans inspired Turkey stew. I think I could have still used the rice and made it more like a jambalaya but I’m pleased with the results. I didn’t have hardly any left over so I’m pretty sure it went over well with both sides of the family.

BEHIND THIS BITE

New Orleans Turkey Stew

This dish marked the first time I had ever used a cornstarch slurry to thicken a dish with success. Years ago, I called my Mom in a frenzy while attempting to make a stew and she told me to add cornstarch to a little water then pour it in. Me being as stubborn as I am, decided to skip the dissolve in water part and just threw it into the pot. Obviously, it didn’t work. I just ended up with a lump of cornstarch in my beef soup. After that I had always used a flour based roux to thicken stews.

Acting fast to find a thickener with my Thanksgiving creation, I remembered my cornstarch disaster from yesteryear and decided to go for it. This time I dissolved it in an equal part of water and wala! it worked! Who knew!

I was so impressed with the results that I made traditional beef stew a couple days later and used the same technique to thicken it. What I like about using the cornstarch thickener over the flour thickener is that the cornstarch doesn’t change the color. Flour seems to give the liquid a blond color.

This is why I love cooking, there is always something new to be discovered.

Eat well, cook often ...

THE RECIPE

New Orleans Turkey Stew

Serves 10 to 12; 45 minutes
3 lbs Ground turkey
1 C Onion, diced
1 C Celery, diced
1 C Green pepper, diced
1 Tbs Garlic, minced
6 C Chicken broth
2 lbs Smoked sausage
1 can Diced tomatoes (28 oz)
2 cans Red beans (14 oz each)
2 Tbs Cajun seasoning
2 tsp Mexican oregano
1/4 C Cornstarch
1/4 C Water

Brown turkey
In a dutch oven or large pot over medium high heat brown turkey in a little olive oil, 6 to 8 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Remove to a bowl or plate. Disregard all put 2 tablespoons of drippings.

Create base
In reserved drippings, sauté onion, green pepper and celery until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Add garlic, cook 1 minute more or until fragrant.

Make stew
Return turkey to pot and stir in broth, sausage, red beans, tomatoes, Cajun seasoning and oregano. Bring to a simmer and let cook 20 minutes. Whisk together water and cornstarch is a small bowl until cornstarch is completely dissolved. Stir into pot, simmer 10 minutes more or until liquid thickens. Remove from heat and serve.

Creole Jambalaya

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This is the second time I have made Jambalaya for for my print column "Busco Bites." The first time I made a “dry” or “brown” version, this time I’m making the “wet” or “red” version.

The difference between the two is in the tomatoes. The dry version features diced tomatoes, while the wet version features tomato sauce. I recently asked John Maxwell, New Orleans native and owner of the Ragin’ Cajun food truck about the different versions of jambalaya. He said the dry version was the Cajun version made in the rural areas surrounding New Orleans. The wet version is Creole, or the fancy style found in the city.

Jambalaya is traditionally a leftover type of dish, or what I like to call a “throw it in the pot before it rots” meal. Not here though. I went to the store with jambalaya on my mind.

For this recipe, I use andouille sausage, which provides most of the spice, smoked sausage and chicken thighs. All tossed together with rice, tomato sauce and the Creole holy trinity: celery, onion and bell pepper.

BEHIND THIS BITE
When I went out to buy the ingredients for this dish I went to a specialty meat shop in Fort Wayne to get andouille sausage. Most major retailers have andouille but it’s not really authentic - the spices are boulder and different but it’s just like all the other sausages in the meat case. I found the real deal andouille at Jamison Meats for $3.89 a pound and I couldn’t have been happier.

When I was ready to make the jambalaya I opened the package and the andouille had a peculiar smell - sweet and sulfury. The aroma was slight and it wasn’t a bad smell, but at the same time it wasn’t good. After the jambalaya was finished and ready to eat there was no hint of the smell, and the andouille was delicious and fragrant, the meat was just there to deliver a spicy and bold flavor. The next day I was researching jambalaya for the print column when I stumbled upon a description of real andouille sausage. I discovered it is traditional made of pig entrails!

Entrails = Guts

After the pig has been butchered and cleaned of all the good meat there is a pile of stuff left, that is what gets made into andouille. The meat doesn’t mater, it’s doused with spice, they could put anything in there.

That was the sweet and sulfery smell.

I’m not adventurous when it comes to trying organs and guts of animals, the thought grosses me out. There is a big batch of leftover jambalaya with real andouille sausage in my fridge, it will probably get thrown out. I don’t have what it takes eat more of it. I will say this though, it was really good sausage, I just wish I would have discovered that it was made from pig guts after I had eaten it all.

I'll stick the Kroger andouille from now on, it's not traditional but it's good.

Eat well, cook often ...

THE RECIPE
Serves 6 to 8; 1 hour
1 lb Andouille sausage,sliced
1 lb Chicken thighs, boneless, sliced
1 lb Smoked sausage, sliced
1 C Green pepper, diced
1 C Onion, diced
1 C Celery, diced
1 Tbs Garlic, minced
3 C Tomato sauce
2 C Rice
4 C Chicken broth

Start rice, Brown meats
For rice, see below. In a large pot over medium heat brown andouille and chicken separately in a little olive oil. Season chicken with salt and pepper to taste. Sauté until both are cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes each. Remove and set aside.

Sauté vegetables, add meats, sauce
Cook onion, celery and bell pepper until soft, 5 to 6 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Stir in garlic and cook another 2 minutes. Return browned meats to pan, smoked sausage, and tomato sauce, bring to a simmer and cook, 18 to 20 minutes, stir often. Mix in rice just before serving.

The rice
In a large sauce pan over medium-high heat toast rice in a little olive oil for 2 minutes. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil, cover and remove from heat. Let sit at least 25 minutes. Remove lid and fluff rice with fork.  

Cajun Green Beans

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Green beans are nearing the end of their seasonal cycle in the Midwest. Since I can remember, most of the people in my family with gardens have a large portion dedicated to the little green pods – which means an almost never-ending supply for the entire family. I used to think the Jolly Green Giant was like the Tooth Fairy or Santa Claus, only he would sneak into our basement while we slept on Labor Day to stock the pantry with jars of canned green beans.

With an abundance around, I like to cook them fresh before they go bad or get canned. My favorite way to cook green beans is to blanch then, which means to boil until cooked through, then plunge them into ice water to stop the cooking process. They can then be reheated with other ingredients in the final dish.

For this recipe, after blanching the beans they are added to a mix containing Cajun seasoning and a New Orleans staple – Andouille sausage. It is served over rice for what I call Cajun Style Green Beans.

BEHIND THE BITES
I have mentioned Big John Maxwell, the Ragin’ Cajun, in several posts over the last few months and recreated some of the dishes I have cooked with him while catering weddings at the Shiloh. This dish is my first “Cajun” recipe I have attempted using John’s knowledge of cooking. It is my own creation, just inspired by some of the tid-bits I have picked up working with the Ragin' Cajun.

I basically create a stir fry with Cajun seasoning and andouille sausage. I use McCormick’s Gourmet Collection Cajun Seasoning in this dish and it does what good Cajun seasoning is supposed to do. John taught me that using a variety of different peppers like cayenne, black pepper and chilli pepper helps distribute the heat to different parts of the mouth. Individual peppers affect different areas. A great way to test this theory is to sample a jalapeno first and a habeñero second. I wouldn’t recommend eating them raw, but in sauces based with the peppers. You’ll find that the jalepeño hits right away in the front of the mouth while the habeñero take a few seconds and hits toward the back of mouth and throat. The habeñero will pack considerable more heat so beware. Good Cajun seasoning utilizes this concept and the McCormick seasoning does that well.

The Johnsonville Andouille sausage I picked up at Meijer was disappointing.  The overall recipe is really good - I will make it again for sure. I will use different andouille though, what I bought at Meijer was picked out of a meat case with hundreds of different sausages and it shows. It tasted more like a spicy smoky link, which is not bad, but I have had good andouille and I was expecting that. I’m disappointed but learned a great lesson when purchasing andouille in Fort Wayne: Go to a specialty meats retailer! Every so often it’s totally worth spending a little extra for great flavor.

This dish isn’t quite the soft shelled crab from the menu of John’s food truck, but it’s a nice start in experimenting with the flavors of New Orleans and the Bayou.

Eat well, cook often ...

THE RECIPE
Serves 4; 40 minutes  
1 lb Green beans, fresh, cleaned
1 Tbs Garlic, minced
1 C Red onion, diced
1 C Red pepper, diced
1 Tbs Cajun seasoning
1 lb Andouille Sausage, fully cooked, diced
2 C Rice
4 C Chicken, broth

Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot. Add green beans and salt to taste. Cook beans 7 to 8 minutes or until cooked through, remove and place in a large bowl of ice water for at least 5 minutes, then drain.

In a saute pan over medium heat with a little olive oil sauté onion, garlic, peppers and Cajun seasoning until soft, 5 to 6 minutes. Mix in beans and andouille. Cook until mixture is heated through, 6 to 8 minutes more. Divide mixture among plates and serve over rice.

THE RICE
In a pot, over medium high heat toss rice in a little olive oil until well coated and slightly toasted. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Cover and remove from heat. After 20 minutes, remove cover and fluff rice with a fork.