Jiffy Jac Chili

Jiffy Jac Chilli (BULK)

Jiffy Jac was located on Howard Ave in Biloxi prior to Hurrican Katrina. It was opened by Bill & Mary Meyer in 1968 and operated by their children Belinda and Joe in the later years. This is their famous chili recipe:

5-6 lb Ground Beef
114oz Can dark red kidney beans (grounded in a blender)
114oz Can ketchup
2 Cups all-purpose flour
1 Cup chili
1 Cup chili seasoning mix
1 Cup chili powder
1/4 Cup Cayenne
1/4 Cup Vinegar

Cook in a big 5-gallon pot. Cook meat to well done and drain. Mix dry ingredients in a bowl and then mix in with the meat. Stir until blended well. Add ketchup & vinegar. Stir very well. Add the kidney beans after grinding them in a blender. Stir all very well and add water until the pot is about 3/4 full. Simmer on low heat for about one hour.

Bethany’s Vegetable Beef Stew

Vegetable Beef Stew

This recipe is very off-hand. You can add, subtract whatever you may or may not like. If you want it thinner, leave the lid on when it cooks. If you want more of a hearty stew, leave the lid off and let it cook down. You can always add more crushed tomatoes if it gets too thick.

Ingredients:

2-3 pound roast cut in cubes and trimmed of fat
1 bag frozen corn kernels
1 bag frozen cut green beans
1 bag frozen green peas
5 bag of carrots, peeled and sliced into rounds
4 stalks of celery cleaned and sliced
1/2 head of cabbage chopped
1 bag frozen chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped parsley
4 chopped cloves of garlic
2 bay leaves
1-2 Boxes of beef bone broth
2 peeled and cubed potatoes
2-4 cans chopped tomatoes (don't drain!)
1 can tomato paste
1-2 cups red wine
Worcestershire sauce

Instructions:

Salt & pepper the beef cubes then brown them in the bottom of your (big) pot with about 2 tsp olive oil.

Add everything but the potatoes, canned tomatoes, the tomato paste, the broth, wine, & Worcestershire.

Stir all your veggies around for a few minutes. Add cans of chopped tomatoes with juice until you have an appropriate amount compared to all the vegetables. Add 1 box of beef broth. Add one cup of wine. If you still need more liquid, use a combination of beef broth, crushed tomatoes, and wine. Shake a liberal amount of Worcestershire sauce. The broth should cover the contents plus a little. Bring to a boil. Let it boil for 5 minutes then bring to a simmer. Let it simmer for as long as you can. Simmer at least 2-3 hours. You'll know you're done simmering when the meat falls apart when prodded with a fork. Taste it throughout the simmering process and season accordingly with salt and pepper. When you think it's done simmering, add the potatoes and let them cook until tender (half-hour or so). If you made it too thin, let it cook uncovered until it's the thickness you want. If it's too thick, add broth/wine/tomato juice or even water.  Mine made about 5 quarts of soup- which I froze in quart containers for winter.

John's Italian Gumbo

John's Italian-Southern Seafood Gumbo 

Get the stock cooking first in a pressure cooker

·         Fish carcass(This will give your gumbo a definite fishy taste. Leave out the carcass if you don’t want that)

·         2 quartered onion w/skin

·         4 cloves smashed garlic

·         1 Bunch parsley w/stems

·         2 stalks of celery w/leaves cut up coarsely

·         2 peeled carrots cut up coarsely

·         Shrimp heads from 2# of shrimp

·         16 black peppercorns

·         2 bay leaves

·         3 sprigs thyme

·         2 cups white wine

·         2 Quarts of water

While that’s cooking (maybe 30-45 min) prep the Gumbo

·         2 Chopped onions

·         ½ bunch chopped green onions

·         1 red pepper chopped

·         1 green pepper chopped

·         4 celery stalks chopped coarsely

·         2 cloves of garlic chopped

Make the roux

·         ¼ Cup flour to ¼ cup oil

·         Stir up. Microwave 1 min then stir.

·         Microwave and stir every 30 sec until as dark as you want (brown paper bag)

Gumbo Pot

·         Cook down 2 bags of okra in ¾ cup oil

·         When no longer stringy add the following, cooking a bit in between

·         Onions + 2 tsb salt

·         Peppers & Celery

·         Garlic

·         (2) 1#/12oz cans Cento tomatoes (cut a bit in the can and squash as you put them in by hand)

·         Strained stock

·         2 bay leaves

·         Leaves from 6 sprigs of thyme + handful of parsley + green onion

·         1 tsp sea salt + cracked pepper

·         ½ tsp crab boil

·         Roux

·         Seafood (1-2# Crab Meat, 2-3 # peeled shrimp)

·         Add extra seasoning as needed (s&p, hot sauce, etc)

·         Let simmer at least 30 min to an hour

·         Eat w/rice & potato salad. Use chicken bouillon in the water to boil the rice 

The "Whole Shebang" Seafood, Chicken & Sausage Gumbo

The "Whole Shebang" Seafood, Sausage, & Chicken Gumbo

My grandmother, Ruby Fayard, always had a huge pot of Gumbo cooking on the stove-top in the Ocean Springs Seafood Market. I helped her many times and ,over the years, I picked up many of her methods. While no one can duplicate her exact Gumbo, this one that my family came up with is close. The primary difference is that Maw Maw didn't use chicken at all. Her Gumbo was exclusively seafood and sausage. I've added the chicken because, unlike 10 years ago, I don't have an entire seafood market at my disposal anymore and neither do most people!  Making Gumbo is a very imprecise process but I've tried my best to lay out the important steps. You can add more or less of anything listed. You can make a small pot or a 20 gallon pot. This recipe assumes somewhere between 5-15 gallons. Once you are at the simmering stage, it's a good time to assess if the gumbo needs anything else. If you're staring at a pot of brown broth then you should add more meats. If your Gumbo isn't dark enough, you can add more roux. If it's too thick or dark, add more water or chicken broth. The only way you can ruin your Gumbo is to burn the roux or over salt it. It really is a much more pleasurable experience if you do the prep work a day or two ahead but you'll still need a good day at home to make the final product due to the hours of simmering necessary for it to come together. Have fun and enjoy!

“The Whole Shebang Gumbo” (chicken, sausage & seafood) 

Steps that can be completed up to 2 days ahead of time:

1.Make a roux

Ingredients: 1 cup Flour & 1 cup Oil – re: Gluten free flour. I successfully made a roux with “cup for cup” flour from Williams Sonoma but cut the oil to 3/4 cup.

A. Add 1 cup of oil to a seasoned cast iron skillet at medium-low heat. Heat on low if your stove runs hot.

B. Once the oil is warm, slowly stir in the cup of flour.

C. From this point until the roux is the color you want it, your job is to stand over the pan and constantly (without a 30 second break) stir and scrape the mixture. Use a wooden scraper  for this task.

D. When the roux is almost to the dark brown that you’re looking for, take it off the burner and continue to stir for 15 minutes.

E. Remove roux from hot pan to a jar for storage or a bowl. It should taste nutty/roasted but not burnt. If it’s burnt …start over. Better too light than burnt. The color you’re seeking is anywhere from the color of a brown paper bag to a dark espresso color.

2. Boil a chicken or two (unless you want a Seafood & Sausage gumbo)

Ingredients: 1-2 whole chickens, coarsely cut celery, quartered onions, chicken bouillon, poultry seasoning, bay leaves, salt & pepper, & garlic

A. Depending on how much Gumbo you’re wanting you’ll need to boil 1 or 2 whole chickens.

B. Add all ingredients but the chicken plus enough water to completely cover your chicken when submerged in an appropriate sized pot and bring to a boil.

C. Place chicken in the pot and reduce heat to a low boil. Cover and let it cook for 90 min or until chicken is falling off the bone.

D. Remove chicken to cool. Strain the stock, throw away the solids and reserve the liquid for use in the gumbo.

E. Pick the chicken off the bones and save for the gumbo. Discard bones, fat & skin. You don’t have to worry about shredding the meat too fine. Most of it will fall apart when it is cooking in the gumbo.

3. Brown the sausage  & sauté your veggies

Ingredients: 5-6 large onions, 1 bag of celery, 3-5 bell peppers (garlic & okra in a different step), 5# smoked sausage

A. Chop all veggies (not too tiny or they will completely disappear) and slice the sausage

B. Slightly brown the sausage. Use some of the oil to sauté the veggies.

C. Set aside cooked veggies (in their juices & butter) and the browned sausage to be used in the gumbo.

Making the Gumbo: Previous steps must be complete at this point (and they’re the hardest!) 

1. Brown your Okra

Ingredients: 1 large bag of chopped frozen okra (frozen or thawed) , butter, Gumbo pot, scraper or spoon, masher

* Note* This is not the okra that you see floating in the finished gumbo. If you want floating okra you can add it in later. This okra will be completely cooked down & slightly burnt. It’s purpose is to flavor and thicken your gumbo.

A. With the heat on high, cook down the okra until it is quite literally browning to the bottom of the pot and you have to keep scraping it off. You should have a a slimy greenish brown burnt (but not too burnt) mess in the bottom of your pot. Don’t worry about the layer of burnt okra concoction on the bottom of your pan because you will deglaze with chicken broth in the next step. Have at least 2 quarts of broth on hand because you’ll need it quickly as soon as the okra is done.

2. Make your Gumbo base

Ingredients: Roux (pour off as much oil from the top as you can), 2 quarts of chicken broth, and your gumbo paddle (see below) or long handled spoon.

A. This step begins with your burner still on high and your okra mess at the bottom of the pot.

                  B. Add your Roux to the Okra and stir it in VERY QUICKLY but thoroughly. It would be bad if you burnt your roux at this point.

                  C. The second you see your roux is blended with the okra, dump in at least 2 quarts of your chicken broth. (either from when you boiled the chickens OR store bought if you didn’t want chicken in your gumbo)

D. Stir through the steam! The okra mess should’ve come loose but just in case, immediately start stirring the broth and scraping the bottom of the pot for any residual roux/okra mixture. Once the steam goes away, continue stirring until all is smooth. You can turn the heat down to medium now.

3. Adding meats & veggies to the pot

Ingredients: browned sausages, sautéed veggies, shredded chicken, 2 garlic cloves, medium bag chopped okra, fresh parsley bunch, remaining chicken stock, gumbo crabs (optional), 5-15# P&D shrimp, 5# white crabmeat.

A. Dump in: browned sausages, sautéed veggies, shredded chicken, & gumbo crabs (optional)

B. Chop the leaves of a parsley bunch and add to pot

C. Mince a few more garlic cloves and add to pot

D. If you want floating chopped okra, add to pot

E. If all ingredients are not covered, cover them with chicken broth at this time. (Also adding an extra 1-2 inches of broth for the seafood yet to come.) If you run out of broth you can use water or store bought broth. I use water when I run out but I make 2 chickens so I have allot of broth on hand.

F. Bring to a boil

G. Once at a roaring boil, add seafood. I recommend 5-15# of peeled & deveined shrimp (size 40/50 or smaller) & 5# of white crab meat.

H. Once the gumbo reaches a boil again, turn it down to low.

4. Season It– Wait until it cools down to a simmer.

All to taste! I use: Salt & pepper, Louisiana hot sauce, Cajun power garlic sauce, tiger sauce, old bay, tony’s seasoning, seafood magic, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, 3 bay leaves

5. Simmer & add more veggies, meat, seafood, roux etc if the gumbo looks like it needs more of anything. Simmer for as long as you can. Discard leaves, crabs., & skim oil.  Add gumbo filet to the pot or sprinkle on top of served up bowls. Best the next day!

Roux

Roux

My grandmother, Ruby Fayard, taught me how to make a proper Roux when I was a young girl. I'd stand at the stove in our seafood market and stir until I thought my arm would fall off! I saw this article posted on a Cajun blog and it is pretty much the same way I was taught. I thought I'd share for anyone who dares...


http://acadianatable.com/first-you-make-a-roux/

Recipe by: George Graham - AcadianaTable.com

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 cups oil

Instructions

1. A Cajun roux starts out in a large cast iron pot on medium heat. With no distractions and approximately one hour of time at your disposal, begin by adding the flour and oil.
2. With a long-handled wooden spoon, begin to stir. Constant stirring and moving the flour around the bottom of the pot is the key to browning the flour evenly to prevent burning. This early stage will go slowly as you begin to see the white flour take on a beige and then a tan color.
3. Continue stirring slowly and evenly, scraping the bottom and the circular crevices of the pot to move the flour around in the hot oil.
4. At about the half-hour mark, you will begin to see a brown color developing and smell the first hints of toasted flour. This is where the stirring becomes even more crucial.
5. At this point, you begin to enter the quickly developing phase where the least bit of inattention could result in burnt flecks of flour appearing – a sure sign you’ve ruined the roux. Watch your heat and lower it if cooking too fast.
6. Constant stirring to keep the flour from staying in one place too long prevents burning. You will begin to smell an even nuttier aroma as you see the color turn darker mahogany. Most stop here, but you will keep going until you achieve a deeper, darker chocolatey consistency and color.
7. Forget time at this point since you are now cooking by instinct, sight and smell. The utmost attention is needed to your stirring, and when you see that Hershey chocolate darkness, you will know you have arrived.
8. Turn off the heat, but continue stirring until it begins to cool down and quits cooking.
9. Spoon the roux into a bowl and let cool.

Notes

I like the neutral taste of canola oil, but vegetable or peanut oil work fine as well. Refrigerate your roux in a glass jar for up to a week and place in the freezer for longer storage.

Green Gumbo! Gumbo Verde' ! Gumbo Z'Herbes

GREEN GUMBO

What to do with a giant bundle of greens? Make green gumbo of course! Greens are great just boiled up with some s&p and a ham hock but why not spend a few extra minutes and make them fabulosa! You can use either one type of greens or a variety of mustard, turnip, kale, etc. The recipe calls for a pound. I used turnip greens and it was great. You can either food process the greens or just chop them. I prefer the more rustic chopped greens, but processed would look nice :) My dad says it's great over rice but I just like them plain.

4 ounces thick cut bacon chopped up
12 ounces andouille sausage sliced 1/4″ thick
3 tablespoons flour
8 cloves garlic finely minced
1 large onion minced
2-3 jalapeno chilis seeds removed and minced (add less if you want it mild)
1 pound greens
8 ounces clam juice
2 cups vegetable stock
6 ounces okra trimmed and roughly chopped
1 teaspoon celery seed
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
Add the bacon and andouille to a large pot and fry over medium heat, until most of the fat has rendered out and the sausage is browned. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the sausage and bacon to a plate. You should have about 1/4 cup of fat in the pot, if you have more, remove some, if you have less, add butter.
Add the flour to the fat and fry, stirring frequently to make the roux. Keep frying until it reaches a golden brown color. Add the garlic and onions and fry until the onions are browned, soft and fragrant. Add the okra. Stir it all up until the okra is mushy and cooked down a bit.
Chop the greens or process them. Add the jalapenos, greens, clam juice, and vegetable stock to the pot. Return the bacon and sausage, then add the celery seed, oregano, paprika and pepper.
Lightly salt the gumbo. It should be a little less salty than you think it should be since some of the water will evaporate as it cooks. Cover and simmer over medium low heat for 40 minutes, or until the greens are tender and the green gumbo is thick and flavorful.
Serve the green gumbo over hot rice with hot sauce.

Pumpkin Soup

We cleaned out our pumpkins at Halloween and saved the meat in the freezer. It sat there for a few months so we decided we needed to cook it. It was cold out and we tried homemade pumpkin soup. It was great! We tweaked the recipe below with extra seasoning and more cream but it's a great starter for an swesome soup!

6 Cups Chicken Stock
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
4 cups pumpkin puree (we roast it like acorn squash with EVOO salt & pepper. Peels easy too)
1tsp fresh parsley
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 tsp chopped fresh thyme
1 minced clove of garlic
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
5 whole black pepper corns

Put all ingredients except parsley and creme into a pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer for 30 minutes.

Puree the soup and bring to a boil again. Simmer and cook for another 30 minutes. Stir in heavy creme and serve it up with parsley on top.