Shrimp Gumbo

Vicki in CT's Note:

Saw this on Alton Brown's show last night. Looked like an interesting way to make the roux.

• Total Time: 3 hrs 30 mins
• Prep Time: 1 hrs
• Cook Time: 2 hrs 30 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 4 ounces vegetable oil
• 4 ounces all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ lbs medium shrimp (raw, whole, head-on, 31-50 count)
• 2 quarts water
• 1 cup diced onion
• ½ cup diced celery
• ½ cup diced green pepper
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• ½ cup peeled seeded and chopped tomato
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme , chopped
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 bay leaves
• ½ lb andouille sausage , cut into 1/4-inch pieces and browned
• 1 tablespoon file powder

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Place the vegetable oil and flour into a 5 to 6-quart cast iron Dutch oven and whisk together to combine. Place on the middle shelf of the oven, uncovered, and bake for 1 1/2 hours, whisking 2 to 3 times throughout the cooking process.
3. While the roux is baking, de-head, peel and devein the shrimp. Place the shrimp in a bowl and set in the refrigerator. Place the heads and shells in a 4-quart saucepan along with the 2 quarts of water, set over high heat and bring to a boil. Decrease the heat to low and simmer for 1 hour or until the liquid has reduced to 1-quart. Remove from the heat and strain the liquid into a container, discarding the solids.
4. Once the roux is done, carefully remove it from the oven and set over medium-high heat. Gently add the onions, celery, green peppers and garlic and cook, moving constantly for 7 to 8 minutes or until the onions begin to turn translucent. Add the tomatoes, salt, black pepper, thyme, cayenne pepper, and bay leaves and stir to combine. Gradually add the shrimp broth while whisking continually. Decrease the heat to low, cover and cook for 35 minutes. Turn off the heat, add the shrimp and sausage and stir to combine. Add the file powder while stirring constantly. Cover and allow to sit for 10 minutes prior to serving. Serve over rice.

Reviews

[ChefMarvelIris]

This was great!!! I hate to say I did anything different to a recipe - but I added a whole package of frozen okra and the juice of a lemon. Plus - I did not have any file' powder so was trying to do some kind of adjustment for that. (Couldn't find it anywhere). I was totally awesome the way I did it - I'm sure with the file' powder, it would have been even better. Thanks so much - Go Alton Brown!!

[Jmommy209]

Fantastic. I was a little grossed out by the shrimp heads, but got over it when I tasted the gumbo. I did add some okra with the tomatoes, as my husband wanted some. This is definitely the way to make a roux, MUCH better than standing at the stove for 45 minutes! I will definitely make this again. Thanks, Vicki.

[Boo Chef in West Texas]

Very good recipe! You can't go wrong with Alton. Didn't change a thing. Thanks for posting. Made for Rail Riding Rowdies ZWT 5