Serves 6.
3 Tbsp butter
1/2 lb hot smoked sausage (andouille, spicy chicken, or beef hot links), sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
2 onions, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pieces
4-6 cloves garlic, minced
1 handful dried oregano (approx 1-1/2 Tbsp)
1/2 handful dried thyme leaf (approx 3/4 Tbsp)
4 large dried bay leaves
1 Tbsp fresh ground black pepper
Hot sauce, to taste (from 4 drops to 4 oz. I use a mix of Tabasco and something stronger.)
8 oz canned tomato sauce
1 lb chopped or diced canned tomatoes
2 cups chicken stock (homemade or low-sodium store-bought), or water
2 cups long grain white rice
1 lb peeled, deveined large shrimp (or a few more, to taste), 26-30 size
Preheat oven to 350°F.
In a 6-quart or 8-quart stock pot, melt butter over low-medium heat. Add sausage, and cook, stirring occasionally, until quite brown and sticking to the bottom of the pot, up to 10 minutes. Add onion, green pepper and celery, and cook, stirring, 5 minutes or until onion is translucent.
Turn heat to high, and add chicken. Stir frequently, 2-3 minutes, until chicken is “seized” (no longer pink on the outside). Reduce heat to low, stir in garlic, oregano, thyme, bay leaves and black pepper, and stir 1-2 minutes. Add hot sauce, and cook for 1 minute. Add tomato sauce and tomatoes. Stir to combine, cover, and reduce heat to low. Cook 8-10 minutes, stirring once.
Uncover, add chicken stock, and bring to the boil. Turn off heat, and stir in the rice. Cover the pot and bake for 50 minutes. Stir shrimp into the rice, cover, and continue to bake for 10 minutes. Turn the oven off, and let the pot sit in it for at least 5 minutes before serving.