Time: 45 minutes
Feeds: 4 people
Ingredients:
- 1 Polska kielbasa, sliced
- 1/3 cup flour
- 1/3 cup canola oil
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded & chopped
- 1 15 oz can petite diced tomatoes
- 1 heaping tbsp creole seasoning, see notes
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 12 oz can light beer
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp hot sauce, if desired
- 1 lb raw shrimp, peeled & deveined
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1/2 tsp creole seasoning, see notes
- Steamed white rice, for serving
Directions: In a Dutch oven or medium sized soup pot, brown the kielbasa over medium high heat. Remove from the pot and set to the side. To the same pot, add the oil and flour, stirring until combined and there are no lumps. Once the roux is starting to brown, add the onion, celery, and red bell pepper, cooking for about 10 minutes stirring occasionally. Once the vegetables have softened and are starting to color, add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the tomatoes, creole seasoning, and paprika, cooking for another minute or so. Slowly pour in the beer and add the kielbasa back to the mixture, bringing to a low boil. Simmer for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat a skillet over medium high heat and add the butter. Toss the shrimp with the creole seasoning and add to the hot skillet. Sear the shrimp on both sides until just pink and cooked through. Remove from the heat and set aside.
To finish the sauce, add the Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce if using and simmer for another 3-5 minutes. If you would like, you can add the shrimp into the sauce but we like to keep ours on the side so they don’t overcook and get tough.
In a wide bowl-plate type vessel, add rice to the bottom followed by a couple ladles full of the sauce and as many of the shrimp as you’d like. Stew will stir his all up so it’s combined while I like to get pieces of everything as I go along.
Notes: It’s really important when cooking with creole seasoning that you’re mindful of how salty things are. I always use Tony Chachere’s and it can definitely be on the salty side of things. I also have a no salt Tony Chachere’s that I sometimes use on the shrimp as to not over salt this dish but it tastes slightly different. If you’re using your own seasoning or a different blend, you can adjust the amounts appropriately.