Gumbo

Drew’s Chicken & Smoked Sausage Gumbo

Minimally adapted from My New Orleans: The Cookbook, by John Besh

Serves 10-12

Ingredients

1 cup (240 ml) (230 gm) rendered chicken fat, duck fat, or canola oil

1 cup (240 ml) (140 gm) (5 oz) flour

2 large onions, diced

1 chicken (3 ½ to 4 lbs.), cut into 10 pieces

2 tablespoons (30 ml) (15 gm) (½ oz) Basic Creole Spices (recipe follows), or store-bought Creole spice blend

2 pounds (2 kilograms) spicy smoked sausage, sliced ½ inch (15mm) thick

2 stalks celery, diced

2 green bell peppers (capsicum), seeded and diced

1 tomato, seeded and chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

Leaves from 2 sprigs of fresh thyme

3 quarts (3 liters) Basic Chicken Stock (recipe follows), or canned chicken stock

2 bay leaves

6 ounces (175 gm) andouille sausage, chopped

2 cups (480 ml) (320 gm) (11 oz) sliced fresh okra, ½ -inch (15mm) thick slices (or frozen, if fresh is not available)

1 tablespoon (15 ml) Worcestershire sauce

Salt, to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Filé powder, to taste

Tabasco, to taste

4-6 cups (1 – 1½ liters) (650 gm – 950 gm) cooked Basic Louisiana White Rice (recipe follows)

Directions:

1. Prepare homemade chicken stock, if using (recipe below).

2. Prepare homemade Basic Creole Spices, if using (recipe below).

3. Season the chicken pieces with about 2 tablespoons of the Creole Spices while you prepare the vegetables.

4. Make sure all of your vegetables are cut, diced, chopped, minced and ready to go before beginning the roux. You must stand at the stove and stir the roux continuously to prevent it from burning.

5. In a large cast-iron or heavy-bottomed pan, heat the chicken fat, duck fat, or canola oil over high heat. Whisk the flour into the hot oil – it will start to sizzle. Reduce the heat to moderate, and continue whisking until the roux becomes deep brown in color, about 15 minutes.

6. Add the onions. Switch to a wooden spoon and stir the onions into the roux. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Continue stirring until the roux becomes a glossy dark brown, about 10 minutes.

7. Add the chicken to the pot; raise the heat to moderate, and cook, turning the pieces until slightly browned, about 10 minutes.

8. Add the sliced smoked sausage and stir for about a minute.

9. Add the celery, bell peppers, tomato, and garlic, and continue stirring for about 3 minutes.

10. Add the thyme, chicken stock, and bay leaves. Bring the gumbo to a boil, stirring occasionally.

11. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, for 45 minutes. Stir occasionally, skimming off the fat from the surface of the gumbo every so often.

12. Add the chopped andouille, okra, and Worcestershire. Season with salt and pepper, several dashes of filé powder, and Tabasco, all to taste.

13. Simmer for another 45 minutes, continuing to skim the fat from the surface of the gumbo. Remove the bay leaves and serve in bowls over rice. Pass more filé powder at the table if desired.

Seafood Gumbo

Minimally adapted from My New Orleans: The Cookbook, by John Besh
Servings: 10

Ingredients

1 cup (240 ml) canola oil
1 cup (240 ml) (140 gm) (5 oz) flour
2 large onions, diced
6 jumbo blue crabs, each cut into four pieces (if unavailable, omit, or substitute another type of crab)
1 pound (½ kilogram) spicy smoked sausage links, sliced ½ inch (15mm) thick (optional, but encouraged if you eat sausage)
1 stalk celery, diced
1 green bell pepper (capsicum), seeded and diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup (240 ml) (160 gm) (5½ oz) sliced fresh okra, ½ -inch (15mm) thick slices (or frozen, if fresh is not available). If fresh or frozen is unavailable, you can leave it out because the roux will provide enough of a thickener.
Leaves from sprig of fresh thyme
3 quarts (3 liters) shrimp (prawn) stock (recipe below)
2 bay leaves
1 pound (½ kilogram) peeled and deveined medium Louisiana or wild shrimp (prawn) (Note: If you are buying whole, head-on shrimp, which you will need in order to use the heads and peels for stock, you will then need approximately 4 pounds (2 kilograms) of shrimp to yield enough heads/shells for the stock. Although the recipe only calls for 1 pound (½ kilogram) of shrimp, you will end up with a little over 2 pounds of cleaned shrimp (1 kilogram), which I found was perfect for this size pot of gumbo)
1 pint (475 ml) (450 gm) (16 oz) shucked oysters
8 ounces (225 gm) lump crabmeat
1 cup (240 ml) (100 gm) (3½ oz) minced green onions (scallions, or spring onions)
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Basic Creole Spices, to taste (recipe below)
Worcestershire, to taste
Tabasco, to taste
4-6 cups (1 – 1½ liters) (650 gm – 950 gm) cooked Basic Louisiana White Rice (recipe follows)

Directions:

1. Prepare shrimp stock, if using (recipe below).
2. Prepare homemade Basic Creole Spices, if using (recipe below).
3. Make sure all of your vegetables are cut, diced, chopped, minced and ready to go before beginning the roux. You must stand at the stove and stir the roux continuously to prevent it from burning.
4. In a large cast-iron or heavy-bottomed pan, heat the canola oil over high heat. Whisk the flour into the hot oil – it will start to sizzle. Reduce the heat to moderate, and continue whisking until the roux becomes deep brown in color, about 15 minutes.
5. Add the onions. Switch to a wooden spoon and stir the onions into the roux. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and continue stirring until the roux becomes a glossy dark brown, about 10 minutes.
6. Add the blue crabs and smoked sausage and stir for a minute before adding the celery, bell peppers, garlic, and okra. Increase the heat to moderate and cook, stirring, for about 3 minutes.
7. Add the thyme, shellfish stock, and bay leaves. Bring the gumbo to a boil, stirring occasionally.
8. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, for 45 minutes. Stir occasionally, skimming off the fat from the surface of the gumbo every so often.
9. Add the shrimp, oysters, crabmeat and green onions to the pot and cook for 15 minutes. Make sure everything is ready to serve before adding the shellfish to the gumbo. DO NOT OVERCOOK your shellfish.
10. Season with salt and pepper, Creole Spices, Worcestershire, and Tabasco.
11. Serve in bowls over rice.