Jambalaya, the signature Cajun rice dish, is a highly customizable mélange of meat, vegetables, and seasonings. While chicken and sausage commonly star, shrimp is also a popular addition, lending sweetness and texture. However, nailing the timing of when to add raw shrimp to jambalaya can be tricky. Undercook them, and you risk chewy, lackluster shrimp. Add them too early, and they turn out rubbery. Learn the ideal techniques for seamlessly incorporating tender, flavorful shrimp into your jambalaya.
Why Timing Matters for Shrimp in Jambalaya
Shrimp cook extremely fast. We’re talking just 1-2 minutes per side for smaller shrimp when sauteing. Even when simmered in sauce or soup, they reach doneness within 3-5 minutes. This lightning quick cooking time means timing is everything when adding raw shrimp to a dish like jambalaya, which cooks for 30-45 minutes.
Toss the shrimp in at the start, and they’ll turn unappetizingly tough long before the rice fully absorbs the flavors. Wait until the last few minutes to add them, and you’ll get plump, juicy shrimp nestled perfectly in tender rice and vegetables. Mastering when to add the shrimp prevents over or undercooking them.
The Step-By-Step Method for Shrimp Jambalaya Perfection
Follow these simple steps for flawlessly cooked shrimp in your jambalaya:
1. Prep the main jambalaya ingredients except shrimp – This includes the ‘holy trinity’ of onion, celery and bell pepper plus tomatoes, chicken and sausage. Prep the vegetables and proteins first.
2 Build flavor with aromatic vegetables – Saute the trinity vegetables in the pot first. This adds moisture and flavor
3 Brown meats then simmer – Sear any chicken, sausage or other meats Then add broth, tomatoes and spices and simmer.
4 Add rice once liquid is simmering – After 10-15 minutes of simmering the meat and vegetables, add the rice
5. Partially cover and cook rice undisturbed – Let the rice simmer covered for 12-15 minutes. Resist stirring to allow it to cook evenly.
6. Add raw shrimp when rice is nearly done – Stir in raw shrimp during the last 5 minutes of cooking when rice is close to tender.
7. Cook shrimp just until opaque – Cook for just 2-4 minutes more until shrimp are pink and cooked through.
8. Adjust seasoning and serve – Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Enjoy immediately for perfect texture.
Handy Tips for Nailing Shrimp Jambalaya
Keep these extra pointers in mind for shrimp jambalaya success:
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Use medium or large shrimp for the best texture. Small shrimp overcook quickly.
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Peel, devein and pat shrimp dry before adding to prevent extra moisture.
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Resist the urge to stir or turn heat up once shrimp are added to prevent overcooking.
-If reheating leftovers, only reheat to warm shrimp through or they’ll toughen.
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Pre-cooking the shrimp slightly before adding helps prevent rubbery shrimp.
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Use a timer and thermometer to monitor doneness and catch shrimp at the right moment.
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For extra flavor, marinate or season shrimp before adding to jambalaya.
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Consider cheating by using pre-cooked shrimp and warming them at the very end.
Sample Cook Times for Shrimp Jambalaya
To see the shrimp timing in action, here are two examples of cook times for classic shrimp jambalaya recipes:
Classic Shrimp Jambalaya
- Saute trinity veggies: 5 minutes
- Brown chicken: 5 minutes
- Simmer chicken/veggies: 10 minutes
- Add rice, cover and simmer: 15 minutes
- Add shrimp and simmer: 5 minutes
Spicy Cajun Shrimp Jambalaya
- Saute aromatics: 3 minutes
- Sear sausage: 5 minutes
- Simmer meats/veg: 15 minutes
- Add rice, cover and simmer: 12 minutes
- Uncover, add shrimp and cook: 4 minutes
As you can see, both recipes add the raw shrimp right at the end for just a few minutes once the rice is nearly cooked through. This method guarantees tender rice and perfectly cooked shrimp every time.
So for the best results, resist the urge to toss in shrimp at the start. Follow the steps above and you’ll master the timing needed for plump, juicy shrimp nestled in flavorful rice. Just be ready to fend off requests for seconds! Your flawlessly timed shrimp jambalaya is sure to vanish fast.
Private NotesLeave a Private Note on this recipe and see it here.
Use 3 cups of stock rather than 5 if your are serving over rice. The uncooked rice in the recipe, if used, will absorb 2 cups of stock. Some people thought this was too soupy because there were 5 cups of stock and no uncooked rice.
The lack of flavor is because Paul Prudhomme’s cooking includes a lot of spices, which this recipe, which claims to be based on his, does not. Paul calls for 2 bay leaves, 1. 5 tsp salt, 1. 5 tsp ground cayenne, 1. 5 tsp of oregano, 1. 25 tsp white pepper, 1 tsp black pepper, . 75 tsp thyme. Note: the white pepper is in almost all his jambalayas, it adds heat. Oregano only appears in seafood jambalaya. Dont use pimenton. Use tomatoes and tomato sauce.
Even though I’ve said bad things about people who make changes, I had to say I used sliced up uncured Andouille sausage instead of ham. It was very straight forward and a great meal for a cold night before a blizzard.
Read the label carefully, as San Marzano tomatoes are not necessarily from Italy anymore. They were not ripe enough and were a waste of money. The can I bought was domestic.
(1) Don’t add the rice or shrimp; (2) Simmer the sauce with the rest of the ingredients for 15 minutes as directed in Step 3. This can be frozen if you make these changes. Portion the sauce into small containers, cool, cover and freeze for up to 3 months. Slowly bring the sauce to a low heat, then add the shrimp. Keep cooking for no more than four to five minutes, or until the shrimp are firm. Serve rice on the side. I prefer extra garlic, red pepper flakes and Andouille for more flavor.
Better served immediately or could I prepare 24 hrs. Before serving & refrigerate. would the flavors meld & taste better the next day (. a lot of soups
True San Marzano say D. O. P. or D. O. P. G. on the label and have a seal. Only these may sold in the EU as San Marzano tomatoes. They say that their “Certified” San Marzano tomatoes come from the same Agro Sarnese-Nocerino district as the D O. P. La Bella di San Marzano canned tomatoes are just a brand taking advantage of the San Marzano cache. Ignore them. There is also an heirloom variety of tomato named San Marzano. I generally use the Cento Certified out of season.
As to all of the substitutions people have mentioned, thats the beauty of the dish. It is very flexible and can be adjusted for peoples tastes. Make it with what you have on hand. But if youve never used Andouille sausage, try it once. One mandatory step that was left out is deglazing the pan. Do it after cooking the Trinity and meat. You can use a lil wine or broth. If you dont, youre leaving out a bunch of flavor.
Pescetarian here. Subbed chanterelle mushrooms + old bay seasoning for the ham – it was delicious.
This is hilarious. Why did you even use this recipe? I am from Louisiana. Mr. Paul Prudhomme is one of the most famous Creole chefs in history. He was the executive chef of both Commander’s Palace and Prudhomme’s Creole Kitchen, which are both famous places in New Orleans. As is his Jambalaya. This comment has nothing to do with how good the food you made tasted; I’m sure you enjoyed it. I can promise you that every table that received it would ask for it again as “Jambalaya.” ” Brown Rice? Wine? Charizo? Paprika?.
I didn’t use ham, but chopped pork belly instead. I also added a large jalapeño that was cut into small pieces along with the other vegetables. I also used a liberal splash of tabasco. Even still it was a very mild but delicious jambalaya. All guests added more Tabasco to their servings. The shrimp really only needed to cook for a couple of minutes. Any longer and they would have been tough. I think it is best to indicate that the shrimp should be cooked until they are pink.
I use Andouille instead of ham, and I agree with other posters that it could use a little more spice. Jalapeño or tabasco sauce could do the trick.
Great base recipe. I used two kinds of linguica: white wine and tomato achaar. I also added more garlic to the sauce to give it more flavor because the simmering time is short on weeknights. Served over red beans and rice.
Do people think this could be frozen? Or would the shrimp get too mushy after thawing? This recipe is too big for two people, and I’m not sure if I should cut it in half.
Pierre Franey died nearly twenty years ago, well before all this foodie taste-testing was the norm. When this recipe first came out in 1983, it wasn’t “over the top” to say that you wanted to use imported ingredients to get the best results.
Made this for my mom on Mother’s Day, but she’s not a shrimp lover. Recipe was a hit and easily adapted for andouille sausage with chopped chicken breast. Chicken broth instead of shrimp.
Brown rice, 3/4 teaspoon of cayenne, 1 pound of shrimp, and 1/2 jalapeño. Use 1 cup of andouille sausage instead of ham to make two cuffs.
Made this as written (including the shrimp shell stock) and thought it was over the top delicious. It’s pretty healthy for how rich it tastes! I used wild shrimp that had been frozen before, some crushed dry farmed tomatoes that I frozen at the height of summer (though I’m sure canned would work just fine), and some leftover ham that I had on hand. Easy and company worthy.
Used 3 cups of broth from Pierre Franeys Shrimp Broth recipe. Substituted andouille sausage for the ham. Used 2 bay leaves, 1. 5 tsp salt, 1. 5 tsp ground cayenne, 1. 5 tsp of oregano, 1. 25 tsp white pepper, 1 tsp black pepper, . 75 tsp thyme. I don’t think the cayenne goes well with andouille sausage; it makes it way too spicy! This is a lovely, flavorful dish if the cayenne doesn’t make it too spicy.
It was great! I used twice as much thyme and oregano, and the rice was cooked separately so it would keep better because it made a lot.
Really good with a kielbasa. I used turkey. A little more color is what I like in the roux. Also adjusted as follows based on an earlier comment — – 2 bay leaves – 1. 5 tsp salt, pepper. adjust to taste – 1 tsp thyme – 1. 5 tsp cayenne (7/10 on my heat scale, which was just right; some would need to be tamed) – 1 5 tsp oregano – . 25 tsp white pepper.
Agree with Jeff on reducing the broth and I substituted sausage. So delicious!
Jambalaya is not a soup nor is it a stew. It is a pilaf, or more accurately, a version of paella made in the New World with ingredients from Native America. It was created by Spanish and French people living in New Orleans, which is a melting pot. I’m not sure how it made its way up to the north as a soup or stew. Was it the Seinfeld episode? If you go to Louisiana, you will get a rice dish instead of a soup or stew.
Delicious jambalaya! That said, I added oil, then cooked bacon and diced salami. Before cooking the vegetables, I took the meat out of the pan and deglazed it with a little beef broth. I then added 1 tablespoon of oil. I didn’t have shrimp broth and thought water would be too bland so I used beef broth instead. Really delicious!.
My partner made this and it was amazing. 1 cup of Malbec instead of shrimp broth. 2 c of water and 2 c of white wine instead of broth. I love him :).
The nice thing about Prudhommes recipe is that the result is not a paste.
People in New York may have liked this when Pierre Franey wrote it, but this Texan from Houston (not far from New Orleans) doesn’t. Totally lacking in depth. Rather than to try to save it, next time I’ll us Paul Prudhomme’s or Leon Soniat’s version. In the meantime, we have leftovers which I will figure out how to jazz up.
Solid, easy dish, hardest part was cleaning the shrimp. will make again. Based on what other people said, I made a few changes: I used about 4 tablespoons of cajun seasoning blend, a mix of fire-roasted chopped tomatoes and a regular can of tomatoes, brown rice, and I cooked it for 40 minutes instead of 35. Used store bought fish broth instead of water. My guests loved it.
Made as written but with 4 cups of broth. People are correct. Its good but need a bit more spice and heat.
I used a can of fire roasted diced tomatoes. Great addition for spicy. Private notes are only visible to you.
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FAQ
How long does it take to simmer raw shrimp?
Do you season raw shrimp before cooking?
Does raw shrimp need to be thawed before cooking?
Does shrimp have to be cooked before eating?
How do you make shrimp jambalaya?
Shrimp jambalaya is a classic Cajun dish with fluffy rice and tender, flavorful shrimp. This is full of flavor, and made with the classics Preheat oven to 325 degrees, with rack in middle position. Cut andouille sausage into ¼ inch half moons. In a large Dutch oven over medium high heat, heat the oil until shimmering.
Can you freeze shrimp jambalaya?
How to make this recipe for easy shrimp jambalaya ahead of time: Freezing Jambalaya can be a little tricky. The rice may not have the best texture after being frozen, and the integrity of the shrimp may be compromised. Follow directions like normal, but do not add the rice or shrimp. Let Jambalaya cool completely and transfer to freezer safe bags.
How long can you keep shrimp jambalaya?
For leftovers: Keep Shrimp Jambalaya in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat in a pot over the stove or in a microwave safe bowl covered with a paper towel. Eat Shrimp Jambalaya for dinner or lunch, either way you will be so glad that you made this delicious dish!
Can I substitute shrimp for Jambalaya?
No biggie. Sub out shrimp for another protein like chicken or crabmeat. Tomato paste will make Jambalaya thicker: Some Jambalaya recipes will call for tomato sauce. To prevent watery Jambalaya stick to the recipe and use tomato paste.