Bunner, I don't blame you for choosing kielbasa. Ohio's idea of andouille and Cajun food in general is to vaporize your tongue on contact. I couldn't eat the andouille I found there.
It seems to me that blackening, even though it's done on high heat, renders a lot of fat out of the sausage, which is a good thing. In a soup, I guess you could just skim the fat off the top.
I never did a seafood jambalaya, but I'll try your idea with chicken and sausage. I never used butter, which explains why my jambalaya rather sucks. I have a hard time using up unsalted butter before it starts tasting like socks.
I do a shrimp etouffee (crawfish practically can't be had up here) that is basically a shitload of onions, bell pepper, and celery with flour, water, butter, bay leaves, and cayenne. I'm getting impatient for cool weather so I can get back into the soups and stews.
Thanks for the tips. I'm pretty much a novice at this-- got into cooking because I grew up in Louisiana and no one up here seems to be able to cook that way.
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What others say about boorite!