Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya

6-8 to eight strips of bacon, cut into pieces.
1 1/2 pounds smoked sausage, such as andouille or kielbasa, cut into 1/2-inch slices
3 cups chopped yellow onions
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped green bell peppers
8 cloves garlic, minced
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped
8 chicken drumsticks
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled
2 bay leaves

1 Tbl. Worcestershire Sauce
1 tsp. Cayenne Pepper
½ tsp. Tabasco Sauce
½ tsp. black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
4 cups chicken stock.  (Low salt kind in  a box)
1 cup water
15 ounce can of diced tomatoes
3 cups long-grain rice  (converted)

In a large, heavy Dutch oven, cook Bacon until crisp. (10 minutes)

Remove Bacon and set aside.

Brown the chicken and sausage, then set aside. Using a spoon, remove any excess oil that the sausage has rendered and discard, leave about one cooking spoon of oil in the pot.  Add the onions, celery, bell pepper, and jalapeno peppers and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, 6 to 10 minutes (add the garlic in the last two minutes so it doesn’t burn).  Scrape all of the brown parts of the bacon and meat from the bottom of the pot so it can be part of the mixture.  This is very important as the brown color of jambalaya is derived from the “graton” (color of the meat).

Add the drumsticks, bacon, tomato paste, thyme, bay leaf, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, Tabasco, Worcestershire sauce, cayenne pepper, chicken stock, water and tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and cook until the turkey is falling from the bones and the broth is very flavorful, 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

Remove the pot from the heat and remove the drumsticks. Carefully remove the meat from the bones and tear into bite size pieces. Return the meat to the Dutch oven and discard the chicken bones. Return the pot to the stovetop and heat over high heat until the liquid returns to a boil. Stir in the rice and return to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, undisturbed, until the rice has absorbed the liquid and is tender, about 25 minutes. DO NOT lift cover while rice is steaming or it won’t cook right.

Remove from the heat and remove the bay leaves. Let stand for15 minutes, serve.