It dawned on me after I purchased 3 pounds of salty pork and 2.5 pounds of dark chicken that I would be getting in touch with my inner Geico Caveman on Saturday night. Target painted; gut bomb drop confirmed.
The recipe comes from a Throwdown with Bobby Flay episode and had fantastic reviews on www.foodnetwork.com. It started well, as I browned the sausage in a my dutch oven. But then came the chicken. At one point I thought my 5.5 quart dutch oven was going to barf from meat overload. Just kidding.
I threw in the onions and garlic (standard) and then the spices. When all the browned goodness had taken on the flavor of the sausage (that’s what it’s supposed to do, right???), it was time to add the rice and chicken stock. I covered it for 45 minutes, and Bob’s your uncle.
In all seriousness, I hope my sarcasm doesn’t steer you away from this recipe. It holds a lot of promise. But unfortunately, when you cook 5.5 pounds of meat, it does feel slightly like goldfish shots. So the meal didn’t sit entirely well with me (literally and figuratively). So here’s what I’d tweak to make it better:
1. Cut the portions of meat down. 1 pound of sausage and 1 pound of chicken would be plenty for a 4 or 5 people.
2. Replace the tasso with some basic cajun seasoning.
2. Less chicken stock and more rice. Mine was pretty soupy.
3. If you’re inclined, since you’ve removed the tasso, throw in some shrimp at the last minute if you want a more gumbo (that isn’t shorthand for gut bomb) type meal.
Normally, I cook sausages on my grill. Tonight, it was freezing out. Time for a new recipe.
