Chicken and Smoked Sausage Etouffee
This recipe creates a classic Southern-style etouffee featuring rich chicken and flavorful smoked andouille sausage simmered in a deep brown roux-based sauce with aromatic vegetables. It's a hearty and comforting dish, perfect served over rice.
Equipment
- 1 Dutch Oven Heavy-bottomed pot for searing, browning, and simmering
- 1 Food Processor For roughly chopping vegetables
- 1 Wooden Spoon For stirring the roux and vegetables
- 1 Whisk For incorporating flour into the fat for the roux
- 1 Cutting Board For preparing ingredients and shredding chicken
Ingredients
Main
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 pound andouille sausage links
- 4 leg-thigh chicken pieces
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 medium onion roughly chopped
- 2 ribs celery roughly chopped
- 1 green bell pepper roughly chopped
- 4 cloves garlic
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons paprika
- Pinch cayenne pepper
- 1 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 2 scallions diced
Instructions
- Set a Dutch oven over medium heat and add a 2-count of olive oil. Add the sausage links and brown slightly as you render some of the fat. Remove and set aside on a paper towel. Season chicken with plenty of salt and pepper and add skin side down to the pan. Cook over medium heat to render fat for 7 to 10 minutes, then turn to brown both sides of the chicken. Remove and set aside on a paper towels.
- With the pot still over medium heat add 2 tablespoons butter to melt with the fat then add flour and whisk to incorporate, and then swap to a wooden spoon. Cook until it is nice and brown (you want a nice deep rich colored roux), about 10 to 12 minutes.
- In a food processor add the onion, celery, bell pepper, and garlic, and pulse to roughly chop. Add the vegetable pulp to the pot with the roux and stir with a wooden spoon. Cook over medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes to sweat out some of the moisture. Add the stock, paprika and cayenne. Return the chicken pieces to the pot and simmer until the chicken is tender, about 1 hour. Remove the chicken pieces from pot to a cutting board and shred the meat. Discard the bones and return the meat to the pot. Cut the andouille sausage into chunks and nestle back into the pot amongst chicken to heat through.
- Give it all a final taste and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Transfer to a serving platter and garnish with plenty of parsley and scallions.
Notes
Achieving a deep, rich brown roux is crucial for the flavor and color of the etouffee. Stir constantly to prevent burning. The vegetable pulp adds depth but ensure you sweat it adequately to remove excess moisture before adding stock. Shredding the chicken allows the meat to absorb more of the sauce's flavor as it finishes cooking. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper at the end; the sausage can be salty.