Recipe

Authentic New Orleans Gumbo Recipe

	Dmiller64116 / All my dishes 2 years, 4 months ago I spent a week on the Gulf and ate gumbo every day. I couldn't get enough of the complex layers of flavor. I labored for years to make it and was never successful until I found this recipe. Thanks Chuck Taggert, www.thegumbopages.com Prep:60m Cook:120m Servings:8	Dmiller6411
	gumbo

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Fans

valinkenmo

trev

Ingredients

5 Qts. chicken stock (MUST be homemade!)

1-1/4 cups flour

1 cup oil

1 chicken or guinea hen, without giblets, cut up

1 to 1-1/2 pounds andouillesausage, sliced about 1/4" thick on the bias (you may substitute hot or mild smoked sausage if good andouille isn't available) and/or fresh Creole hot sausage, browned

4 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined

6 blue crabs, cleaned, broken in half and claws pulled off (or for a more elegant looking gumbo, omit and instead add 1-1/2 pounds lump white crabmeat, picked over for shells and cartilage)

3 pounds okra, sliced (leave out if you don't like okra, but be sure to add filé at the end if you leave out the okra)

2 onions, chopped

1 bunch green onions with tops, chopped

2 bell peppers, chopped

5 ribs celery, chopped

several cloves garlic, minced

3 bay leaves

1 bunch fresh parsley, chopped

Creole seasoning to taste, OR

black, white and cayenne peppers, to taste

Salt to taste

Few dashes Tabasco, or to taste.

1 - 2 tablespoons filé powder (ONLY IF YOU DON'T USE OKRA!)

Steaming hot Louisiana long-grain rice

Directions

For the roux: Blend flour and oil thoroughly in a thick skillet and cook over medium-high to high heat, stirring CONSTANTLY. BE VERY CAREFUL NOT TO BURN IT!! If you see black specks in the roux, you've screwed it up. Dump it out and start over. Keep cooking and stirring until the roux gets darker and darker. It's best to use a very heavy bot or skillet for roux-making, especially cast iron. With a good cast iron Dutch oven or skillet, you can get a beautiful dark roux in only about 20 minutes.

You should turn the fire down or off as the roux nears the right color, because the heat from the pan will continue cooking it. You can also add your onions, bell peppers and celery to the roux as it's near the end of cooking to arrest the cooking process and to soften the vegetables (this is the way I like to do it). KEEP STIRRING until the roux is relatively cool. Add the roux to the stock.

Sprinkle the chicken pieces with Creole seasoning and brown in the oven. Slice the sausage and brown, pouring off all the fat (especially if you're using fresh Creole hot sausage).

Sauté the onions, green onions, bell pepper and celery if you haven't already added them to the roux, and add to the stock. Add the chicken and sausage(s). Add the bay leaves and Creole seasoning (or ground peppers) to taste and stir. Bring to a boil and immediately reduce to a simmer; let simmer for about 45 minutes. Keep tasting and adjusting seasonings as needed.

Add the okra and cook another 30 minutes or so. Make sure that the "ropiness" or "stringiness" from the okra is gone, add the parsley, crab halves and claws (if you're using them). Cook for another 15 minutes, then add the shrimp (and if you've omitted the hard-shell crabs, add the lump crabmeat now). Give it another 6-8 minutes or so, until the shrimp are just done, turning pink. Be very careful not to overcook the shrimp; adding the shrimp should be the very last step.

If there is any fat on the surface of the gumbo, try to skim off as much of it as possible.

Serve generous amounts in bowls over about 1/2 cup of hot rice -- claws, shells, bones and all (if you've made the original "rustic" version). Remember that the rice goes in the bowl first, and it is not an optional step, despite the trend among some New Orleans restaurants to serve a riceless gumbo.

You may, if you like, sprinkle a small amount of gumbo filé in your individual serving for a little more flavor; just remember that if you're making a filé gumbo, it should be added to the pot off the fire for its proper thickening action.

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Comments

zena824 2 years, 4 months ago said:
This is awesome......Great.... Thanks for the post... I used to live in new Orleans with my grandmother....I love they way those folks cook...

chocolategrits 2 years, 3 months ago said:
Excellent! I found this recipe online, too, and thought it was the best I'd seen. It's just like my cajun grandma makes, except that she makes a dry roux rather than an oil-based roux. I made it on Monday (with the dry roux and no okra, only because I didn't have any).

mslturner34 1 year, 10 months ago said:
I just finished my New Years dinner and OMG. This gumbo was so good. My husband had never had gumbo before and he was lovin it. My kids had never had it either and they all cleaned their bowls dry. Thanks for the tasty recipe!

valinkenmore 5 months, 2 weeks ago said:
This is the way I remember my mother making gumbo. Thanks so much for a tremendous recipe. I can't wait to make it for my husband.

trev 5 months, 2 weeks ago said:
It just can't get any better, can it? This one is on for the weekend. A great recipe with all the finer details included. Thanks

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