Crawfish and Tasso Jambalaya

Crawfish and Tasso Jambalaya

Whip up a new dish for your family with the Herald-Guide’s Recipe of the Week.

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp. bacon drippings, lard or butter
• 1/2 cup tasso, diced
• 1/2 cup onion, diced
• 1/4 cup celery, diced
• 1/4 cup green bell pepper, diced
• 2 tbsp. garlic minced
• 1/2 cup fresh tomatoes, diced
• 1 cup of converted white rice
• 1 1/4 cup seafood stock or chicken stock
• 8 oz. crawfish tails
• 1 bay leaf
• A bundle of fresh thyme, tied together with butcher’s twine
• 1 tbsp. creole seasoning
• 1/2 cup creole sauce
• 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• Hot sauce, to taste
• Kosher salt and black Pepper, to taste
• Green onions and parsley

Directions:

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F.

Heat your fat of choice over medium high heat in a cast iron dutch oven. Add the tasso and saute for about two minutes. Add the “holy trinity” and the garlic. Cook over medium heat until the onions are translucent.

Add the tomatoes and a pinch of salt, cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the rice.

When the rice has absorbed some of the fat and liquid, add the stock, bay leaf, thyme, creole seasoning, creole sauce, and the Worcestershire. Add kosher salt and black pepper to the liquid – it should be well seasoned to make the finished rice taste as such.

Add the crawfish tail meat.

Place in the oven, with a tight fitting lid, for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Plate with a 1/2 cup of Creole sauce, if desired. Top with sliced green onions, and minced parsley.

Serves 2 to 3.