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Wild Duck and Tasso Jambalaya

Source of Recipe

From "Besh Big Easy" by John Besh


Recipe Introduction

"The genius of jambalaya is that you can make it with just about any ingredients you have on hand, just as our ancestors did. If you're lucky enough to have some wild ducks from a good hunt, by all means use them. But any other small birds will work fine, too. I love our peppery, smoked pork shoulder butt called tasso, but any smoked pork will be great here."

List of Ingredients

â—¦  ½ cup bacon fat or oil
â—¦  1 pound tasso, chopped
â—¦  1 pound fresh pork sausage, removed from casings
â—¦  4 wild ducks (about 2 pounds each), quartered
â—¦  Salt and pepper
â—¦  2 large onions, chopped
â—¦  1 bell pepper, seeded and chopped
â—¦  1 stalk celery, with leaves, chopped
â—¦  4 cloves garlic, minced
â—¦  4 cups white rice
â—¦  1 teaspoon dried thyme
â—¦  1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
â—¦  2 bay leaves
â—¦  1 cup canned crushed tomatoes
â—¦  6 cups chicken stock
â—¦  4 green onions, chopped


Recipe

Heat a very big, heavy-bottomed pot over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium. (This lets the pot heat uniformly, preventing hot spots which are likely to burn.) Add the bacon fat, tasso, and sausage and brown well, stirring slowly with a long wooden spoon to build color.

While the sausage is browning, season the ducks with salt and black pepper. Add the ducks to the pot, stirring, and cook until they become golden brown, about 5 minutes. Once the ducks have browned, add the onions and let them caramelize for about 15 minutes to build more flavor. I add the bell peppers late, to save as much of the color as I can. Add the celery (I always use the leaves, too) and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally so that everything cooks evenly.

Next, add the rice, thyme, cayenne, and bay leaves to the pot and cook, stirring often, for about 3 minutes. Increase the heat to high and add the tomatoes and stock. Bring the liquid to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes.

After the rice has simmered for 15 minutes, fold in the green onions. Cover again, turn off the heat, and let the rice continue to steam in the hot pot for another 10 minutes.

Fluff the jambalaya with a fork and serve!

Serves 8 to 10