Louisianna Chicken Big Mamou

Louisianna Chicken Big Mamou

Otherwise known as Mary's Chicken Mamou around here. I had to beg to get, my then boss, Mary to give me this recipe. She always made a big batch of this every year for our company picnics and I just loved it. So about 10 years ago I procured this recipe and it went into the files and became all but forgotten until three or four months ago. I made it per her recipe and we still loved it! Since then I became curious about the origins of this dish primarily because I had never seen anything like it in all of my readings. So without much trouble I found that the original recipe was created by Chef Paul Prudhomme. It is named for a town (Mamou) in the heart of Louisianna's Cajun country that bills itself as the "Cajun Music Capitol of the World". This is one of the few areas where the traditional Courir de Mardi Gras (French for the Mardi Gras Run) is still held. Le Capitaine leads masked men on horseback to gather ingredients for making the communal meal (usually a gumbo). Participants gather in costume and move from home to home requesting ingredients for the nights meal. This rural version of Mardi Gras draws on traditions that are centuries old.


After being enlightened, I began searching through recipe after recipe and they are apparently all Prudhomme's original with no variation. So I printed out a copy and compared it to what Mary had given me. The seasonings were essentially the same but hers used less cayenne, much less butter (1 stick for the sauce vs. 1 pound. Yikes!) She also served hers on rice rather than on pasta. Despite the potential coronary that I might be setting myself up for, I decided to make the original recipe for comparison. It wasn't worth it. We did not like it on spaghetti and all of that butter really didn't add anything to the dish except leaving an oil slick on my tongue and the need for a Lipitor. So I will give you Mary's version. Your taste buds and your heart will thank me. The only thing I amend to her version is the quantity of cayenne (more for me) and I pureed some fire-roasted tomatoes and used that in place of the tomato sauce. P.S. Ignore the toasted almonds in the picture. I did that trying to make a pretty picture which I didn't make anyway! Better luck next time, eh?


Recipe: Mary's Chicken Mamou

Seasoning #1
2 teaspoons thyme
3/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon white pepper
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
Mix in a small bowl and set aside.


Seasoning #2
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1-1/2 teaspoons white pepper
1-1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
Mix in another small bowl and set aside.


Other Ingredients
1 stick of butter
1 cup onion, minced
4 cloves garlic, left whole
2 tablespoons garlic, minced
1 cup chicken stock
2 tablespoons worcestershire
1 tablespoon Tabasco
16 oz. tomato sauce
1 green pepper, chopped (I use poblano pepper)
1 tablespoon of honey
2 pounds boneless chicken, cubed (white, dark or both)


Directions
Melt 1/2 the butter in a large skillet. Sautee onions and garlic cloves for 5 minutes. Add minced garlic and seasoning #1, Simmer about 8 minutes. Add stock and worcestershire, simmer 8 minutes. Add tomato sauce and bring to a boil. Add Tabasco, honey and peppers. Simmer 40 minutes.


Meanwhile in another skillet, melt the other 1/2 of the butter. Roll chicken cubes into seasoning #2 then add to the pan. Cook until done then add to the finished sauce. Serve with fluffy white rice.