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Gumbo is a stew or soup originating in Louisiana. It consists primarily of a strong stock, meat or shellfish, a thickener, and the vegetable "holy trinity" of celery, bell peppers, and onion. Traditionally, one of the key ingredients has been okra which this recipe includes, but we have also added the Louisiana ingredient of crawfish instead of the typical shrimp.
Feel free to add whatever meats you have available. This is a flexible dish.
Ingredients:
1 lb andouille sausage - sliced and halved (smoked sausage will do if you can't find andouille)
3 large chicken breasts (1.5 lbs roughly) - cubed
2 cups onion (2 small or 1 large) - chopped
2 cups celery (6 stalks)- chopped
2 cup bell pepper (2 pepper)- chopped
1/4 cup garlic - minced
1 lb frozen okra
1 cup vegetable oil
1 1/4 cups flour
5-6 cups chicken stock
1 tsp crawfish boil concentrate
1 tbs salt
1/2 tbs pepper
1 tsp cyanne pepper
2 - 3/4 lb crawfish tail packages
2 cup green onion (1/2 in gumbo, other 1/2 for topping), sliced
1 cup fresh parsley (1/2 in gumbo, other 1/2 for topping) - chopped
1 tbs File
Rice
Louisana hot sauce
Directions:
In smaller pot over medium-high heat, add vegetable oil then slowly stir in flour. Do not stop stiring until the roux is the color of a dark mocah coffee or if you like, the color of dark chocolate. This step will take 30-40 minutes and can be done ahead of time.
In a large dutch oven add enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan.
Saute chicken till browned, 5-7 minutes. Remove.
Saute sausage for 5-7 minutes. Add the frozen okra and saute for another 5-7 minutes. Remove.
Add the onions, celery, bell peppers & garlic. Saute until soft and translucent, 5-7 minutes.
Slowly stir in water, bouillon cubes, crawfish boil concentrate, salt, pepper, cyanne and roux.
Add the chicken, sausage & okra.
Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 30-45 mintues, stirring occasionally.
While this is simmering, follow the instructions on the rice to make 8 servings.
After this time, add the crawfish tails, file, 1 cup green onions & 1/2 cup parsley, stir, then cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
Adjust salt, pepper & hot sauce to taste.
Serve over rice with a generous amount of hot sauce, green onions & parsley.
Notes:
Servings: 10-12
Time: 2 hours
Duck Gumbo:
This was really good. Used lard for the roux. Jennifer says it was a touch too dark, but I did take it really far.
Deboned the duck the day before and let reset in the fridge. Made a stock with the duck bones and pieces. Cooked down for 8 hours then strained and reduced till 1/2.
Cooked the duck on a sheet pan & rack for 45min at 325. Cut up the duck with the skin and added the fat from the pan.
When I cooked this, I added 2 cups of the stock and about 3 cups of chicken broth. This was fantastic.
I bought the smallest duck and was able to get just a little over 1 lb. Will buy the largest one next time to get closer to 1.5 lbs
Bacon Variation:
Add 1 lb bacon, 1 lb shrimp 1 lb andouille & 1 lb chicken, but the key comes in the roux.
Start by cooking the chicken for 5-7 min, remove then add the andouille for 5-7 min and remove.
Cook the vegetables as noted above, then remove.
Then, here comes the key. Start by cutting the bacon into 1 in pieces. Add to the pan and saute until the fat is rendered out. Remove the bacon but leave the bacon fat.
Add a little vegetable oil if needed to get the fat up to about 1 cup of liquid.
Make the roux by slowing stirring in 1 cup of flour and stir constantly for 30-40 minutes to create the roux.
When ready, add 4 cups of chicken broth, veg, meats and remaining spices. Simmer for 30-45 min.
Add the shrimp, file, green onions and cook for 5 min.
You will not believe how good this tastes.
Main Ingredients
Roux Color
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