Andy's Tailgate Test Kitchen: Making the perfect jambalaya

In the second episode of Andy's Tailgate Test Kitchen, Andy creates jambalaya using a recipe from @bdclary. It's the perfect dish to prepare before Florida's Week 3 SEC showdown with Kentucky—or any of this Saturday's best action.

The recipe is listed in its entirety below. Have ideas for what Andy should create next? Let him know on Twitter.

Ingredients:

2 lbs. Andouille or smoked sausage, sliced, and/or Tasso— cajun spiced ham—or smoked ham, cubed
1-2 lbs. chicken, diced or julienned (thighs are preferable to breast for this)
1-2 lbs. shrimp and/or crawfish
1 lb. yellow onions, chopped
2 large bell peppers, chopped (preferably one red and one green)
6 stalks celery, chopped
4-6 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups uncooked rice
2 ½ cups chicken or shrimp stock
3 tbsp. creole seasoning blend
Several dashes cayenne pepper hot sauce
1 lemon, halved
3 bay leaves
12 green onions, sliced
½ cup fresh parsley, chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300°F . Place the chicken in a baking dish or zip-top bag and add just enough hot sauce to barely coat the chicken. Add one tablespoon of the creole seasoning and the juice of half a lemon. Mix and let marinate.

2. In an eight-quart dutch oven, brown the sausage and/or ham in a single layer over medium heat. (You may need to do this in multiple batches if it all won't fit in a single layer.) Remove sausage and/or ham to a bowl.

3. Add the chicken and cook until done. Remove to the bowl with the sausage and/or ham.*

*Brian's original recipe called for the chicken to be only browned and the sausage to go back in the pot during step five. I cooked the chicken all the way and added them back in as step seven. This is really a matter of personal preference.

4. Add the yellow onions, celery and bell pepper. Cook until the vegetables begin to soften, then add the garlic. When the garlic becomes fragrant, add the rice. Stir until all of the rice is moist and coated, about four to five minutes.

5. Add the chicken stock, one tablespoon of the creole seasoning blend and the bay leaves. Bring to a boil, cover with a tight-fitting lid and bake in the oven at 300°F for 40 minutes. Don't remove the lid while cooking; you'll release the steam needed to cook the rice.

6. While it's baking, peel the shrimp and put in a large bowl. Add just enough hot sauce to barely coat the shrimp, the remaining tablespoon of creole seasoning and the juice of half of a lemon. Mix together and let marinate.

When the 40 minutes are up, stir in the green onions, shrimp and parsley, and put back in the oven for another five minutes or until the shrimp is pink. (Don't overcook!) If the shrimp aren't done when the five minutes are up, put the lid back on and let sit for another few minutes. The heat of the pot should finish cooking them.

7. Put the cooked chicken and browned sausage back into the pot and stir until thoroughly mixed.

8. EAT!