In August of 2000 I married up. I married Cajun. For the past 20 years I've been working on perfecting this Gumbo recipe and after numerous tastings have decided to share it with the world. This is the the recipe that the kids love and look forward to whenever I make it. It is a labor of love so plan on making it when you have a free day because it can take some time to prepare. I usually make it on a Saturday to enjoy on Sunday. Allowing it time to cool in the fridge gives it an incredible flavor. Although it's not necessary to do it this way, it's worth the wait.
Here is the recipe that I use. Please note that it is a double recipe so feel free to divide it if you don't have 10+ people or a small army to feed. After the recipe I'll provide pictures as I work through the process...
2 whole chickens (you can also purchase roasted chickens if you don't want to do this part but you'll need to also supply about 12 cups of stock or more if you choose this route)
2 cups of vegetable or canola oil
2 cups of all-purpose flour
2 large green bell peppers, chopped
4 celery stalks, chopped
2 large onions, chopped
2+ lbs of smoked sausage or andouille sausage, sliced (I half and slice mine)
8 cloves of garlic (2 tablespoons of minced)
Salt and pepper to taste
Creole Seasoning to taste
2 Bay Leaves ( I ruined a batch by only putting in one leaf, just kidding, do Bay Leaves really do anythings)
I start the recipe by boiling 2 whole chickens in a large pot. I put the chickens in the pot and then cover with water. This means that the chickens, when pushed to the bottom are covered by 2-4 inches of water. This will make the stock for use later. I also add the 2 Tbs of Tony's and bring the water to a boil. I let the chickens sit in the simmering water for an hour or two, basically until it's impossible to remove the chicken without them falling off of the bones.
Once the chicken is cooked and falling off of the bone I remove the chicken and set it aside to cool. Once cool, I'll remove all of the meat by hand and break it up into small pieces. I do this later since the chicken isn't added until much later. Take the remaining water and pieces and pour into a large pot through a strainer. This will be your stock for later. If you have too much stock, save it in containers. If you have too little, you can add commercial stock, homemade stock, or water later in the recipe.
While the chicken is cooling I slice the sausage to bite-size pieces. You can slice it whole or half it and slice it. I usually use both smoked sausage and a spicy jalapeno sausage that my in-laws bring up from Louisiana. Since I want people to know which is smoked and which is spicy (for the kids) I half the smoked and then slice, the other sausage I just slice. I also brown the sausage for extra flavor, this is a personal preference.
While the sausage is browning I begin heating the 2 cups of oil and begin chopping the onion, celery, peppers, and garlic placing them in a bowl. Once the oil is hot enough to fry in I begin making the roux.
Making the roux is a critical point in the Gumbo creation. Roux is basically fried flour in a powdered form. I slowly add the flour 1/2 cup at a time to the hot oil while stirring with a whisk. The whisk keeps the flour from clumping together. This process is a bit time consuming but worth the effort. If you don't stir it enough or add too much flour at once, bits of flour will clump together and burn (think of leaving a dough-nut in hot oil for too long). If you start to see little black specks, you may need to throw it out and start over. Slowly add the flour 1/2 cup at a time while stirring and then keep stirring. Then, when you are tired of stirring, keep stirring. Again, you are frying in oil that powdered flour, trying to fry it evenly. As you stir, the flour will get darker and darker. You are trying to brown it to the color of dark chocolate milk...see below...
Once the roux is a dark brown, about the color of dark chocolate milk, you will quickly add the chopped veggies. Be careful during this process. You are adding moisture dense vegetables to hot oil and you are going to get a lot of hot steam in your face in the process. At this point I have switched from a whisk to a heat-resistant spatula. Once all of the vegetables are added, keep stirring. The result will resemble your onions, peppers, etc covered in a dark molasses. Below you can see the steam rising up in my face. It is also at this point that most of my family will come running in the house stating that they knew I was making Gumbo because they could smell it outside, across the hills. The smell alone is worth the effort thus far...
It is here that you will also add your garlic (if not with the veggies) and sausage. Keep stirring as all these new ingredients are heating up and the moisture cooking out.
Continue to stir and cook the vegetable and sausage for 5 - 10 minutes. Now you will add the stock to the pot and bring to a boil. Let the whole creation simmer for an hour or more...
After an hour of simmering you can add the separated chicken. Please note, you can also add shrimp but do so for the final 15 - 20 minutes of the cooking process. If just adding chicken, allow to cook for another hour or more...
After the chicken ( or shrimp) is cooked, your Gumbo is ready to eat. You can eat it as is, over rice or however you like. We serve ours over rice.
To be honest we almost never eat ours after it has finished cooking. I usually turn off the burner and allow the Gumbo to cool and then place the Gumbo in the refrigerator overnight. Most times, our Gumbo is for the next day. Allowing it to sit overnight gives the Gumbo time to rest and the flavors to blend. We noticed that the Gumbo was always better the next day and so started making the Gumbo a day in advance.
On the next day, skim off the excess oil (note that there probably won't be any congealed fat but there will be plenty of oil from the roux) and heat. Serve over rice with a side of rolls and potato salad and enjoy...for days to come. ( I usually freeze a gallon or more for lager enjoyment)
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