Smoked Pork Sausage with Hatch Chiles
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Recipe by:
Serves: 4
Ingredients
Hatch Cornbread
  • 2 tablespoons bacon grease
  • 1½ cups yellow cornmeal
  • ½ cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1 cup diced mild Hatch chiles, seeds and membrane removed, or poblano peppers if not in season
  • ½ cup canned yellow whole kernel corn, drained
  • 1 large egg
  • 1¼ cups buttermilk
  • ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
Sausage and Chiles
  • ½ cup diced smoked pork jowl bacon
  • 2 pounds mild smoked pork sausage, sliced into bite-size chunks, or any mild smoked sausage
  • 1 cup chopped yellow onion
  • ½ cup chopped celery
  • ½ cup flat-leaf parsley
  • ½ cup chopped red and yellow bell pepper
  • 2 cups sliced mild Hatch chile peppers, seeds and membrane removed, or poblano peppers, if not in season
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • ½ cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups chicken stock
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 2 teaspoons Acadiana Table Cajun Seasoning Blend, see recipe here
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 6 cups cooked long-grain white rice, such as Supreme, for serving, optional
Instructions
Hatch Cornbread
  1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
  2. In a 10-inch cast-iron skillet, add the bacon grease. Place the skillet into the oven.
  3. In a large mixing bowl, add all the dry ingredients along with the chiles and corn In a separate bowl, add the egg and buttermilk, and whisk until combined. Add the liquid ingredients to the bowl of dry ingredients, and add the melted butter. Stir to combine.
  4. Remove the hot skillet from the oven and pour in the cornbread batter. Place the pan back into the oven and bake until it begins to brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Remove and keep warm.
Sausage and Chiles
  1. In a large cast-iron skillet with a heavy lid on medium-high heat, add the bacon and cook until the fat renders out and the bacon crisps, about 8 minutes. Remove the bacon and all but 1 tablespoon of the grease. Add the sausage, cook until browned on both sides, and remove to a platter and keep warm. Add the onion, celery, parsley, bell pepper, and Hatch chiles. Cook until the chiles begin to brown and then add the garlic.
  2. Return the sausage and bacon pieces to the skillet and sprinkle with the flour. Stir the mixture and cook the flour just until the raw taste disappears, about 3 minutes. Add 1½ cups of the chicken stock and reserve the rest if needed. Stir the mixture and bring to a boil. Add the paprika, Cajun seasoning, a pinch of salt and pepper. Lower the heat to simmer and cover. Cook for 20 minutes. Uncover and check to see if more stock is needed to achieve a stew-like consistency. Taste the mixture and add salt and pepper to taste. Serve family-style in the skillet with a bowl of cooked white rice (optional), and cornbread on the side.
Notes
Search out a quality, mild smoked pork sausage, but this recipe can be made with any smoked sausage; venison would be very tasty. The mild Hatch chiles have a piquant sweetness that I like in this dish, and if unavailable, I suggest using poblanos. That said, if you like heat, go ahead and get the hot Hatch chiles or even jalapeños. I like the intense flavor and smoke of pork jowl bacon, but regular will work.
Recipe by Acadiana Table at https://www.acadianatable.com/?p=27224