Pork and Sausage Jambalya (for the Instant Pot)

Before I get started with the recipe, I just want to clarify some misconceptions about Cajun food and Cajun cooking. It is a very different style of cooking from the more Creole, Spanish-influenced, New Orleans-style of cooking. Cajun cooking is influenced more by the French Acadians that settled in the area where I was raised and still live. Our food is brown, not red. Cajun cooking relies more on a roux or browning to start, which generally makes our dishes brown. New Orleans Creole-style cooking often calls for adding tomatoes or tomato paste to their dishes, making them red. To a Cajun, gumbo and jambalaya are brown. If a Cajun is making something red, it's a sauce piquante. Or spaghetti sauce. Or red velvet cake. My husband, who hails from the New Orleans area, often reminds me that my version of gumbo or jambalaya is not what he was accustomed to having when he was growing up. Well, he married a Cajun girl and lives in Cajun country, so he has to eat it the way I cook it, and if you're interested in this recipe, then you should be aware that you're making a Cajun jambalaya, not a Creole one--it will be brown, not red.

PREPARATION TIME: 10 minutes
SAUTE TIME: 30 minutes
INSTANT POT MODE: Rice/15 minutes/High Pressure

INGREDIENTS:
1/3 cup olive oil
1 1/2 - 2 pounds boneless country style pork ribs
1 pound smoked mild pork sausage
1 cup of chopped frozen seasoning vegetables OR
1/3 cup each of chopped yellow onion, green pepper, and celery
3 cups medium or long grain white rice
3 3/4 cups water
1 cup of water (for cooking down the meat)
1 teaspoon Kitchen Bouquet browning agent
Cajun seasoning (Tony Chachere's, Slap Yo' Momma, etc.)
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Paprika

PREP:
Cooking happens pretty quickly with an Instant Pot, so I suggest cutting and prepping before starting the cooking process to prevent burning the meat. Rinse and drain the rice and set aside. Cube the pork ribs and slice the sausage links. Fill a cup of water and keep it close by to add to the meat as it is sautéing. Chop the vegetables if you choose to use fresh over frozen. I usually use a frozen, pre-chopped seasoning mix to save time.

SAUTE:
Pour the oil into the stainless steel inner pot and set the IP to saute at medium temperature. Drop in the cubed pork fingers and toss with a wooden spoon to coat. Brown the pork thoroughly then add sausage slices. Mix the meat well then sprinkle with Cajun seasoning, garlic and onion powder, and paprika. Season to your preference, but I find that I need to add a little more when cooking in the IP than I would with traditional methods. The seasoning will cause the meat to brown and form what my grandmother called "gremise" on the bottom of the pot. When the meat starts to stick to the pot, pour in a little water, just enough to fill the bottom, and scrape the meat and scorched, brown "gremise" from the bottom of the pot. Continue to stir and watch the meat because, as the water evaporates, the meat will again begin to stick. Just add more water and keep cooking down the meat until tender or until the 30-minute sautéing cycle is complete.

PRESSURE COOK:
Add the chopped vegetables to the meat and stir to mix. Pour the Kitchen Bouquet browning agent into the 3 3/4 cups of water, stir, then pour into the pot with the meat and vegetables. Add the rice and more seasoning if you think you need to. Stir the entire mixture to evenly disperse the rice, then place and lock the cover on the pot. Set the mode to "RICE" for 15 minutes at the high pressure setting. Once the cycle is done, allow ten minutes of natural pressure release of the steam before pushing the quick release button. Once the pressure is fully released, remove the cover and stir the jambalaya. If there is excess liquid remaining, allow the jambalaya to sit, open for about five minutes. The excess will evaporate or be absorbed by the rice.

I hope this recipe works for you! If you try it, please let me know how it turns out!