Cajun Skillet Surprise
Ingredients
- Lot 1 (Protein):
- 150 g chopped chicken breast (boneless skinless)
- 75 g sliced smoked sausage
- 75 g peeled shrimp
- seasoning (Emeril's, Slap Ya Mama, or other seasoning, as desired)
- Lot 2:
- 5 g butter (unsalted) (1t)
- 1 t oil
- Lot 3 (Vegetables):
- oil (as needed)
- 3/4 c chopped onion
- 1/2 c chopped celery
- 1/3 c chopped red bell pepper
- 1/3 c chopped green bell pepper
- 1 finely chopped green chili
- Lot 4 (Roux):
- 57 g butter (unsalted) (1/4 cup)
- 32 g Flour (Plain) (1/4 cup)
- Lot 5 (Gravy):
- 1/2 t crushed celery seed (to taste)
- 1/2 t smoked sea salt
- 1/2 t salt (to taste)
- 1/4 t ground black pepper (to taste)
- 1 t onion powder (to taste)
- 1/4 t dried thyme
- 1/4 t dried basil
- 2 T finely chopped parsley (fresh, to taste)
- 400 mL beef stock
- Lot 6 (Spice to taste):
- 1/4 t cayenne pepper (to taste)
- 1/4 t crushed red pepper flakes (to taste)
- 1/4 t dried guajillo chilis (to taste)
- To serve:
- cooked rice
Method
Lot 1 (Protein):
Season chicken, sausage, and shrimp with seasoning as desired. Set aside to absorb the flavor.
Prep:
Chop your vegetables; measure out the rest of your ingredients. This is designed as a one-pan meal: if you don't have a large enough skillet, use a pot instead.
Lots 1 & 2:
Heat the oil and butter in a large, heavy skillet over medium high heat. Saute chicken and sausage until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear. Set aside. Saute shrimp until done, 1-2 minutes. Set aside in a separate bowl.
Lot 3 (Vegetables):
Add oil if needed; reduce heat to medium. Saute onion, celery, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, and green chili until the onion is tender. Remove vegetables from skillet, set aside.
Lot 4 (Roux):
Melt butter on medium heat, being careful not to burn. Stir in flour until combined. Cook this (you have a roux!) until golden brown, 3-5 minutes, STIRRING CONSTANTLY. Should your roux happen to burn, clean your pan and start the roux over.
Lot 5 (Gravy):
Stir in seasonings and stock. Increase heat to medium high.
Stir in vegetables. If gravy is too thick, stir in more stock or water. Add meat, and reduce heat to low.
Lot 6 (Spice to taste):
Season with cayenne pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, and guajillo chilis to taste. Adjust seasonings to taste.
Simmer for 30 minutes.
Add shrimp. Heat through.
Serve over rice.
Notes
Notes from source: This is a takeoff of New Orleans Shrimp, and also a variation of a dish called N'awlins Skillet which I had once in a large chain restaurant. Remember, you'll add the cayenne and crush red pepper to taste!
SJ Notes: You can use onion soup mix and water instead of the onion powder, celery seed, parsley, and beef stock. Use the same volume of liquid, and 1/4 oz of onion soup mix; use less onion, and less salt.
SJ Note 18 April 2010: This is really good! I need to be a bit more sparing with the crushed red pepper and cayenne next time - it turned out a tad spicy this time. That's easily fixed, though. There could have been more of it, so I upped everything, by different proportions. Way more vegetables, some more sauce, the same proportion of seasonings, and a bit more meat. Really tasty, and highly recommended.
SJ Note 6 Nov 2010: Really tasty with the modifications. A keeper!
SJ Note 6 May 2012: This was okay - worth eating, but I'm not sure why I wrote "really great" before. Almost mediocre, really.
SJ Note 16 Oct 2012: Added a bunch of seasonings - was good.
SJ Note 17 Jul 2017: Added a bunch of seasonings and actually recorded them above. Have rewritten recipe to hopefully be easier to follow.