Try this simple, tasty southern rice dish that can be cooked outside in a cast iron Dutch oven.
Guest Article Submitted by John A. Heatherly
(APN's Leon Patenburg's note: I find that many survival types are also good campfire cooks! It makes sense - whatever food you have available during an emergency should be tasty, or food monotony could set in. For those of you unfamiliar with jambalaya, the dish originated in the deep south, in Louisiana. Jambalaya is considered by most Louisianans to be a filling, but simple-to-prepare rice dish. The recipe is a suggested guideline - I've had jambalaya made with just about anything you could imagine. Talk about a comfort food!!)
Cast iron camp ovens can sometimes be stacked to maximize the heat from the coals. (John A. Heatherly photos)
This simple jambalaya recipe is always a hit, John writes, especially when cast iron cookware is employed to add to the fun.
Heatherly's Jambalaya
Ingredients
1 lb. Hot Smoked Sausage
1lb. chicken (cubed)
2 jalapeno peppers, diced (or 1 green bell pepper for less “heat”)
1 white onion, diced
1 can light red beans
2 cans diced tomatoes
3 gloves garlic, diced
white rice (enough for at least 1 serving per person)
Weber Grill Creations Cajun Seasoning Mix
½ lb. shrimp (added separately as one in our party had a shellfish allergy – normally shrimp is stirred into the jambalaya for the last 3 minutes of cook time)
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For rice, I use a scientific formula in a one-quart dutch oven. I add “one-knuckle deep” of rice and “two-knuckles deep” of water. Generally the rice cooks faster than
the jambalaya, though in this last instance I placed the one-quart dutch oven over coals first to start heating the water. Once the water boils, leave the lid in place
and remove from direct heat. The rice will be sticky and cooked in just a few minutes with no further effort (for those new to cast iron cooking – I made sure to
oil up all of the cast iron with olive oil before and after heating. This maintains the seasoning.)
John A. Heatherly
Submitted by:
John A. Heatherly is an experienced writer and photographer, as well as an experienced outdoorsman and survivalist. He is the author of The Survival Template and The Cave and The Sea. Heatherly's biography states that he is a 17-year student of survival, starting at Tom Brown Jr's Tracker School and that he has graduated from multiple military Survival Courses. Heatherly has practiced survival in the forests of Alaska, Washington (state), waters of the Pacific Ocean and Gulf of Mexico, coast, rivers and forests of Oregon, mountains of Georgia and Tennessee. He claims a Bachelor of Arts in English from Carson-Newman College, in Jefferson City, TN; with a Master of IT Management from Webster University, St. Louis, MO.