Fourteen ingredients and forty-five minutes, in a pot and one skillet.
The chicken and the sausage are not the same job. One is raw and has to reach a temperature; the other is already cooked and only wants browning.
Two Meats, Two Different Standards
The kind of sausage changes the recipe: a raw sausage would need 160°F, a fully cooked one only needs heat. This recipe uses FULLY COOKED SMOKED TURKEY SAUSAGE, so the two meats go through the same pan with two different targets.
The chicken - raw, cooked to temperature
- First, and out of the pan
1 lb CUBED CHICKEN BREAST seasoned with 1 tsp SALT and 1/2 tsp PEPPER, SEARED IN 1 tbsp OLIVE OIL UNTIL BROWNED AND 165°F, then TRANSFERRED TO A PLATE. For safety, 165°F is the reading that matters.
The sausage - cooked already, browned for colour
- Second, in the same skillet
12 oz FULLY COOKED SMOKED TURKEY SAUSAGE, SLICED INTO ROUNDS and BROWNED UNTIL HEATED THROUGH. The pale interiors are what a cooked smoked sausage looks like cut; browning is only the surface.
The sauce they both return to
Heat LOWERED, then 2 tbsp BUTTER and 2 MINCED GARLIC CLOVES, 1 cup HEAVY CREAM and 1/2 cup CHICKEN BROTH SIMMERED 2 MINUTES, with 6 oz SHREDDED PEPPER JACK MELTED IN UNTIL SMOOTH - the pale melting cheese. Then 12 oz cooked ROTINI, the chicken and the sausage are FOLDED IN, and it is finished with 2 sliced GREEN ONIONS, 2 tbsp PARSLEY and 1/4 tsp RED PEPPER FLAKES.
Why This Recipe Works
- Cubed chicken seared first leaves browning in the pan for the sauce to pick up.
- Browning the sausage rounds develops colour on a meat that needs no further cooking.
- Butter and garlic over lowered heat stop the pan from scorching before the liquid arrives.
- Pepper jack melts smoothly into cream and broth, and brings its own mild heat.
- Folding pasta and both meats in at the end keeps everything coated rather than soupy.
How to Make It
Rotini cooked al dente and drained
Cook the rotini until al dente and drain.
Chicken seasoned and seared to 165°F
Season the chicken with the salt and pepper and sear in the olive oil until browned and 165°F. Transfer to a plate.
Smoked sausage rounds browned and heated through
Brown the fully cooked smoked turkey sausage rounds in the same skillet until heated through.
Butter, garlic, cream and broth, then the cheese melted in
Lower the heat, add the butter and garlic, then the cream and broth. Simmer 2 minutes and melt in the pepper jack until smooth.
Pasta and both meats folded in, then the garnishes
Fold in the rotini, chicken and sausage. Finish with the green onion, parsley and red pepper flakes.
Ingredient Notes
- Fully cooked smoked turkey sausage
- Twelve ounces in rounds. Because it is already cooked, browning is for flavour and colour, not doneness.
- Chicken breast, cubed
- A pound, cut into cubes and seared to 165°F before anything else goes in the pan.
- Pepper jack cheese
- Six ounces shredded. It is the pale melting cheese in the photograph.
- Heavy cream and chicken broth
- A cup and half a cup, simmered two minutes before the cheese goes in.
Success Tips
- Shred the pepper jack yourself; pre-shredded cheese carries starch that can turn the sauce grainy.
- Lay the sausage rounds flat and leave them alone until one side has colour.
- Melt the cheese over low heat, stirring, so it never gets hot enough to separate.
Serving Ideas
Five bowls of rotini in a thick pale-yellow pepper jack sauce with seared chicken cubes and browned sausage rounds, scattered with green onion, parsley and a few red pepper flakes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What sausage does this use?
Fully cooked smoked turkey sausage. It only needs to be browned and heated through, not cooked from raw.
Can I use a different cheese?
Pepper jack is the cheese in this recipe, and it brings the mild heat with it. Another cheese would change the sauce.
Why did my sauce turn grainy?
Usually heat. Add the cheese over low heat and stir until it is just smooth, then take the pan off.
