Jambalaya help. : Successful :

I committed to cooking Jambalaya for around 30 for a company retreat. When I committed I had never actually cooked Jambalaya before but i had seen it done many times. My idea was to cook Jambalaya, White beans, and a couple salads with bread.

So i decided to have a couple practice rounds before the big day.

1. My first practice I used a regular large saute pan. I used...

1.5 lbs of Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs,
1 lb of smoked sausage
2 small yellow onions
1 bell pepper
4 stalks of celery

( and all of the other spices )

I used PARBOILED RICE this time, and chicken stock. (4 cups stock for 2 cups rice )

The Jambalaya was pretty good and the rice came out fine but i wasn't overly impressed.

2. My second practice I used a larger pot ( maybe 10 quarts ) I used...

3.0 lbs of Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs
1 lb of Smoked Sausage
1.5 lbs of Pork Loin
3 Large yellow onions
1 small bell pepper
2 anaheim peppers
2 Poblano peppers
2 jalapeno peppers
4 stalks of celery

( and all of the other spices )

I used Cajun Country Long Grain Rice and chicken stock. ( 7.5 cups stock for 4 cups rice )

The Jambalaya was terrific except for the mushy rice.

I brought everything to a boil and added the rice, then brought it back to a boil, then turned to low and covered for 25 minutes. When i opened, there were pools of liquids. I rolled it a couple times and covered for another 10 minutes. Opened and still pools of liquid. I rolled again and put in oven at 300 for another 10. I rolled it again and the liquid had gone down but the rice was mushy.

I really loved the second recipe except for the mushy rice so i would like to cook this for the retreat.

Do you think less stock will solve this problem, or is there something else that i am not doing right?

Thank you for your help.