Cajun Seafood Gumbo

Kikimony's Note:

This is my MIL's best gumbo recipe! Not watery, not spicy - just right!

• Total Time: 1 hrs 30 mins
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 10

• 2 cups chopped onions
• ¾ cup green bell pepper , chopped
• 1 cup vegetable oil or 1 cup bacon fat
• 1 cup flour
• 1 ¼ tablespoons minced garlic
• 10 cups shrimp stock (see recipe)
• ¾ lb andouille sausage (sliced)
• ¾ lb kielbasa (sliced)
• 1 dozen oyster
• 1 lb crabmeat
• 1 ½ lbs raw shrimp
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 3 (10 ounce) packages frozen okra
• 1 (14 ½ ounce) can peeled tomatoes
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 teaspoons salt
• ½ teaspoon white pepper
• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ½ teaspoon thyme
• ¼ teaspoon oregano
• ½ teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

1. TO MAKE STOCK: boil the shrimp peelings and heads for approximately 2 hours.
2. Start with plenty of water because you need to end up with enough for 10 cups.
3. Make roux.
4. This is done by browning flour and lard/oil stirring frequently until DARK brown.
5. Add chopped vegetables and sauté.
6. Pour 10 cups of stock (hot) in separate large pot and add roux slowly, stirring often until well blended.
7. Add bay leaves and seasonings and peeled tomatoes.
8. Sauté okra then add to pot (until no longer stringy).
9. Add sausages to pot.
10. Simmer on low for 25-30 minutes.
11. Add shrimp, crab and oysters.
12. Turn fire up.
13. Cook 5 minutes and stir often.
14. Remove from heat, cover and let sit for 20 minutes.
15. Serve over rice.

Reviews

[Hey Jude]

I've had my eye on this recipe for a while but had to find a source (in Chicago) for whole shrimp, with heads. Found them! I did Stephanie's recipe almost exactly, except, I did not add the okra (I can't abide it). Also, I used turkey andouille sausage and kielbasa, to cut down the fat a bit. Excellent flavor and my house smelled like a cajun kitchen. The stock rules in this recipe, definitely get the whole shrimps, peel them and use the shells and heads to make the stock. I added an unpeeled, chopped onion, several garlic cloves and a stalk of celery to the stock. When making the roux, stir it constantly; it took me about 1/2 hour to get it to the dark brown color that was perfect for gumbo. My husband and I love NO, and we felt like we were there while eating this dish with cold beer and a baguette. Our neighbors are happy too because this made so much, we had to share. Thanks StephanieC for a great gumbo that I'm going to make many times!

[chia]

this is simply delicious! my house smelled wonderful and i had all the ingredients from my recent visit to NO. i omitted the okra, and also used a lb of crawfish and added 2 tsp of file. wonderful stuff!

[kraziegirl24]

This is definately NOT a cajun recipe but it is still good, one tip though, make sure you get the roux really dark but not to burn it. The roux makes the gumbo. I've done some researching on the roux and it's a tricky thing, you have to know how hot to get it and know when to take it off the heat all the while whisking it as it continues to change colors. Much harder than it sounds. Still experimenting with gumbo recipes, this wasn't bad though.