Crazy Good Gumbo
photo by kellychris
- Ready In:
- 9hrs 30mins
- Ingredients:
- 22
- Serves:
-
10-12
ingredients
- 1⁄3 cup cooking oil (or butter)
- 1⁄3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1⁄2 cups onions, chopped
- 1 1⁄2 cups green bell peppers
- 1 -2 jalapeno pepper (optional)
- 2 -4 celery ribs
- 1 lb andouille sausage (or smoked sausage if you can't get smoked andoulle)
- 1 lb shrimp, cooked (optional)
- 1 1⁄2 lbs chicken, cooked
- oregano
- basil
- thyme
- 4 garlic cloves
- onion powder
- garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- black pepper
- white pepper
- ground red pepper
- paprika
- 2 -4 cups water
- 1⁄4 - 1⁄2 teaspoon file powder (use corn starch to thicken if you can't find the file)
directions
- Make the Roux. In a small sauce pan combine oil and flour and cook on medium stirring constantly until the mixture turns dark brown like melted chocolate. Heat it slowly or it will burn -- don't be tempted to crank up the heat to make it cook faster, this will take 15-20 minutes. If it starts to smoke, you're are on the verge of burning it, so turn the heat down as far as it will go and continue stirring. It turns a grainy looking texture if it burns. When finished let it cool in the pan.
- Chop veg and put in crock or a big pot.
- Cut up sausage into rounds and fry in a pan, then add to crock or pot.
- Tear up chicken, add to crock.
- Add herbs, spices, water, roux, and garlic. I start with about 1/4 tsp of each: oregano, basil, thyme, onion powder, garlic powder, white pepper, black pepper, paprika, and red pepper.
- Simmer the whole thing until you can't keep people out of it without the threat of bodily harm. I usually use the crock and cook it on low for about 8 hours Taste, add more seasonings if needed. I never quite add enough salt, so it always needs more salt. Add more water if necessary.
- Add cooked shrimp, if using. Simmer 20 minutes more.
- Thicken with file or corn starch. If using file, add it just at the very end right before serving. Cooked file gets tough and rubbery, but it adds a desirable flavor. If using corn starch, put 2-3 Tablespoons in a cup, add a bit of water and mix until dissolved then add the mix to the gumbo and stir it inches Use more if necessary.
- Server over cooked rice.
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Reviews
-
This was excellent! Not a drop was left at the end of our potluck. I put measurements to the ingredients. A teaspoon each of Oregano, basil and thyme. 1 Tablespoon of minced garlic. 1/2 Teaspoon of Onion and garlic powder. Two teaspoons of salt. 1/4 teaspoon of black, white, red pepper and paprika. I used vegetable broth instead of water and added five cups. Never having made Gumbo, I didn't know what to expect. This was a wonderful, warm, excellent-tasting dish! Thanks
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Made for Fall PAC 09 Orphange adoption. Went to all of the stores in our area and could not find any andouille sausage, the best I could find was Kielbasa, so I used that, and because I had guests who wouldn't eat shrimp I was not able to put that in either. I enjoyed the flavor, but next time I ever make this it will be with the andouille and shrimp, as well as adding some okra since to me Gumbo simply isn't gumbo without it. Thank you for the recipe.
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Second time trying gumbo (and first time making it), so I'm not really a good source for how a great gumbo tastes; but whatever this was, it was good. I didn't add the celery or bell peppers, and I roasted the jalapenos as a throwback to NM. The file powder didn't really thicken it so I used corn starch as well, but I did everything else according to the recipe. Dee-licious.
Tweaks
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This was excellent! Not a drop was left at the end of our potluck. I put measurements to the ingredients. A teaspoon each of Oregano, basil and thyme. 1 Tablespoon of minced garlic. 1/2 Teaspoon of Onion and garlic powder. Two teaspoons of salt. 1/4 teaspoon of black, white, red pepper and paprika. I used vegetable broth instead of water and added five cups. Never having made Gumbo, I didn't know what to expect. This was a wonderful, warm, excellent-tasting dish! Thanks
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
Andi the grate
Theodore, Alabama
I'm actually a Botanist pretending to be an Analytical Chemist. I like to cook but I really don't do it very often. But every once in a while I love to make an extravagant meal for my friends and family.