Blackened chicken with beans and rice
From the kitchen of Plaquemine Lock, this Louisiana-inspired recipe sees chicken thighs coated in a punchy spice blend before being blackened in a pan and served with beans and rice
- Preparation:
- Cooking:
- Total:
- Serves: 4 persons
Ingredients
- 4chicken thighs, skin on and bone in
- 150g buttermilk
- 180g smoked sausage, 2 small links, sliced into pound coin-width discs (smoked Polish or German sausages work well. Chorizo is also a great option)
- 1large onion, finely diced
- 1green pepper, deseeded and finely diced
- celery sticks, finely diced
- 2tbsp tomato purée
- 3garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 200ml fresh chicken stock
- 1tsp hot sauce (Crystal is a New Orleans favourite but Tabasco or Frank’s are both good choices, too)
- 1bay leaf
- 2x 400g tins kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 1tbsp unsalted butter
- 2tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley (optional)
- cooked long grain rice or crusty bread, and lime wedges, to serve
- 7tbsp sweet paprika
- 2tbsp garlic powder
- 2tbsp cayenne pepper
- 2tbsp ground black pepper
- 2tbsp onion powder
- 5 ½tbsp dried oregano
- 5 ½tbsp dried thyme
- 10 ½tbsp fine salt
Instructions
Step 1
Add the chicken to a baking dish and smother with the buttermilk. Turn to coat, then cover, chill and marinate for 24 hrs.Step 2
Cook the sausage in a large non-stick frying pan over a medium heat for 5-6 mins until it releases its oils and browns. Remove the sausage from the pan using a slotted spoon and transfer to a bowl. In the same pan, add the onion, pepper and celery. Season and fry for 3-4 mins or until softened but not coloured. Add the tomato purée and garlic, cooking for a further minute, then stir in the sausage, stock, hot sauce and bay leaf. Add the beans to the pan, stirring to combine, then simmer over a low heat, covered, for 20 mins until the beans are tender and the mixture is thick. Add a splash of water if the pan seems dry and season to taste.Step 3
Remove the chicken from the buttermilk, scraping off the excess. Mix together the blackening spice mixture. Put the chicken on a plate and add 3-4 tbsp of the mixture until the chicken is coated in the spices. Store the left-over spice mixture for up to six months in a sterilised glass jar in a cool, dark place. Add the butter to a wide frying pan and put over a medium-high heat. Once melted and the pan is hot, add the chicken skin-side down. You should hear a good sizzle. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for 5-6 mins or until dark and crusty. The chicken will go black very fast, but don’t worry. Flip it over and cook for a further 6-8 mins. Add a splash of water to the pan then cover with a lid and cook for another 6 mins or until the chicken is cooked through completely.Step 4
Once ready, toss the parsley (if using) through the red beans and serve with the chicken, rice and a lime wedge.