Sunday, April 15, 2012

Mini Pot Jambalaya 101

MINI POT JAMBALAYA 101

In  Crawfish 101 you learned where crawfish come from and how to cook them,
Today let me teach you a little something about 
 Mini Pot Jambalaya.

Its only right that I share what my hometown of Gonzales,Louisiana  is famous for,
Click above to read more about the festival.



Jambalaya, pronounced Jum-buh-lie-uh,  is a Cajun/Creole dish that is made from a mixture of meats, rice and seasoning.  On any given weekend it is not hard to find a church or neighborhood party cooking up this concoction.
Jambalaya is usually cooked in much larger black iron pots, but this weekend my family decided try out cooking in the mini pots. 

Ok...I completely understand that meat and rice does not sound like that big a deal.
 I'm gonna let you in on a secret from the South.
 The Southern men can usually cook better than the women and they take it very seriously! 
Many cooking secrets are passed down from a paw paw to father then to the son.
 The big deal is not really the food, its all about the prep work and being with family and friends while it cooks and boy did we pass a good time this weekend! 


Camo man brought everyone a mini pot and stand. They are available at most local grocery or hardware stores.  Once you get your little pot, it must be cured or "blackened".
One of our friends let us borrow his little stands that hold the fire. This way the fire is not directly on the ground.



 A closer look at the mini pot and stand.



We gathered little branches.  We had to make sure that we had enough wood to keep  fire going.



Another friend donated scraps of wood from his cabinet shop. 
I believe these are oak.


Everyone had a little bowl of pork and green onion sausage. 



Onions, green onions and bell pepper.


Seasons...everything we had in the cabinet. 
Everyone just added what they wanted.



  These mini pots only take one cup of rice.




Here Britt is getting prepped for her fire.



 They have the fire going.
 (This is not an activity for unsupervised children or men who have been drinking all day)
They  added a little grease to the pot.  When it was hot they added the pork and after a minute or two the sausage.  They cooked it until it was nice and browned.



As the meat fries they would spoon out the grease and pour it on the fire to keep it going.
(We are talking a SMALL amount of grease at a time. 
I can assure you, no one lost their eyebrows .)


 Keep adding wood to keep the fire hot.


Everyone was stirring their little mini pots...


 When the meat is all browned, they added
 onions, green onions and bell pepper.
(My picky child did not add any "green stuff" to his
 Guess what ~ that is fine. 
That's why it's so fun for everyone to have their very own pot)



 Brown the onions down.


Add in one water bottle of water...bring to a boil...maintain the heat...add seasoning at this point.
Then add one cup of rice. 

Don't you love that fancy smancy tool they used to take
the lid on and off?
Cover the pot and remove all the wood from under it ....
Just the coals and  heat of the pot will cook the rice.



I know rice with meat does not sound that great...
but with the added seasonings...YUM



 OK...Like we say here, either someone was starvin
or it was really good!




Could not have a post of the weekend without sharing what Max was doing while we were cooking.
He sat there patiently waiting for someone to take him for a ride.


Is there a special dish that all your family loves to get together and help make?  Do share.

Join me today over at Three Mango Seeds for a really great linky party.


13 comments:

Lori said...

How fun is that now. I have never seen those pots or stands. Next time I'm in Louisiana I have to be on the look out.

Blondie's Journal said...

This looks like SO much fun...the mini pots are a great idea! I had this in New Orleans and loved it! Neat post!

XO,
Jane

Mrs. H said...

It looks like ya'll had a great time! Those little pots are so cute.

Debilou ~ Mississippi Mama said...

I love jambalaya,, but not being from Louisiana the only kind I know how to make is Zatarans box mix.. I will deifinitely be trying this. Sure wish I had those little mini pots. Sounds like a fun time.

Anonymous said...

Yum!! I had some Friday from the jam shop before we left for the fishing camp. I think I could eat this stuff everyday. We must do this again together :)

NanaDiana said...

What a fun idea...and a bit of work, too! You do that much like they do chicken booyah here in Wisconsin. It is a dish that is unique to our area....like yours is unique to your area. Have a great day...now that you have me drooling- xo Diana

Tina@WhatWeKeep said...

Now you're talkin' Melissa! I love jambalaya. This mini pot thing you have going looks like tons of fun.
And it looks delicious- I'll have to make some this week in my big pot. ;)
What a fun family day!

Leigh said...

Oh my goodness, I love jambalaya! And file gumbo. And okra gumbo. And shrimp etouffee. And dirty rice. And greens and corn bread. And red beans and rice. And boiled crabs, crawfish, and shrimp. (Can you tell I lived in Louisiana a good long while?)

Those little pots are absolutely adorable.

Anonymous said...

I wanted to tell you that I just loved this post. I am stuck in Pennsylvania and and am truly homesick for Lafayette right know. I'd do anything for some boudin from Broussard's right now.

Sue said...

Now this really DOES sound good to me! I love rice and spicy food, in general, so I'd definitely be making this hot . I think having the personal pots are a wonderful way for everyone to have part in the cooking procedure. There would be more than a few people in my extended family that would need some supervision, though! I would have to restrict the alcohol consumption until AFTER the cooking was done!!! LOL. I think the name of that hot sauce is a hoot. The husband and I are always checking out different sauces. :-).

PAINTORDIG.blogspot.com said...

For some reason the ogs I follow are not dating for mew,so I haven't visitd in a while. This made me so hungry, I mayhave to make a pot of this today!Wish I had a few crawfish to throw in!

Unknown said...

I love those little pots. This looks like such a fun thing to do with our kiddos but I've never seen one of those around here! I'm on the hunt now...LOL {HUGS}

Unknown said...

Just got my pot and stand this weekend ready to try it out. Wish me luck.