Serves 6-8
2 whole bay leaves
1½ tsp salt
1½ tsp ground red pepper (preferably cayenne)
1½ tsp dried oregano
1¼ tsp white pepper
1 tsp black pepper
¾ dried thyme
2 T chicken fat or lard (butter or vegetable oil could also be used)
2/3 c chopped tasso or other smoked ham (3 oz)
½ c chopped andouille sausage or other good pork sausage (3 oz)
1½ c chopped onions
1 c chopped celery
¾ c chopped green peppers
½ c chicken cut into bite sized pieces (4-6 oz)
1½ tsp chopped garlic (2 cloves)
1 pound chopped tomatoes
¾ c tomato sauce (can omit if using good tomatoes)
2 c seafood or chicken stock
½ c chopped green onions
2 c uncooked rice
¾ lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
¾ lb oysters with liquor
Preheat oven to 350F.
- Melt fat in large dutch oven or straight sided skillet with a lid. Add tasso and sausage and sauté until crisp, about 5-8 minutes.
- Add onions, celery and bell peppers (I chop these by hand to get a more even size and better texture). Saute until tender but still firm, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add chicken. Raise heat to medium high or high and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium. Add seasonings and garlic. Cook about 3 minutes, stirring and scraping pan bottom as needed.
- Add the tomatoes and cook until chicken is tender, about 5-8 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add the tomato sauce (if used); cook while stirring often. Stir in the stock and bring to a boil.
- Add rice, shrimp and oysters; stir well and remove from heat.
- Cover and bake at 350 until rice is tender, about 20-30 minutes.