First, you make a roux. Gumbo. recipes

Everybody's gumbo will be a little different. That's a good thing. This is how I do mine.

First you make a roux.

1 cup oil

Any oil or fat will work except olive oil. Olive oil adds (imho, undesirable) flavor. I use peanut oil (high smoke point) if I have it. Use anything from lard to canola. You can use butter for a roux, but I save that for more delicate sauces or lighter, blonde rouxs.

1 cup all purpose flour.

Most recipes call for a 1:1 ratio for oil to flour. That is true, but if you look at classic French (Cajuns didn't invent roux) recipes, the 1:1 ratio is by weight, not volume. The way I do it is I use 1 scant (7/8) cup oil to 1 heaping cup of flour.

Now, before you start the roux, we have to cover a few things. I use and recommend a 9 quart cast iron pot with a good tight and heavy lid. While you need something close to 9 quarts so everything fits, you will use what you have. Choose the heaviest pot you can. and it needs a lid. I've used a sheet pan for a lid before. It's not my first choice, but it's a choice. Finally, before you start the roux, you will want your diced seasoning vegetables ready and in a bowl close to the stove because as soon as your roux hits the color that you want, (we will be trying for a dark roux) you should dump your vegetables to stop the roux from cooking further.

Ingredients, continued, in addition to the oil and flour listed above

1 onion, diced

1/2 bell pepper, diced

2 or 3 celery stalks, diced.

1 tablespoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon white pepper

1 teaspoon red pepper, cayenne (omit if you don't want spicy)

1 tablespoon oregano

1 teaspoon crushed thyme

1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes

16 ounces frozen sliced okra

64 ounces chicken stock

1 pound smoked sausage, Andouille if you can get it, any smoked pork sausage is good. Sliced into bite sized pieces.

1 1/2 pound skinned deboned chicken, cut into large bite sized pieces. I like thighs, use what you like.

Seasoning salt for the chicken. Use Tony C's or your favorite cajun seasoning if you have it. Use salt and pepper or a seasoning salt if that's what you got.

1 bunch green onions, green parts only, sliced

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

Serve with rice or potato salad

Chop your onion, bell pepper and celery. The proper proportion is 1 part onion to 1/2 part bell pepper and 1/2 part celery. So, pick your onion, I choose a big one, then peel and dice it. Then I use as much of the bell pepper and celery to match. In other words, if I have 1 cup chopped onion, chop 1/2 cup bell pepper and 1/2 cup celery. Place the diced vegetables in a bowl and keep it near the stove. And you are ready to cook.

You must constantly tend the roux as it cooks. It needs your undivided attention. If I do this at home, I will have my favorite beverage in hand.

Heat your pot over medium high stove. Add the oil, give the oil a moment to settle and heat slightly, then add the flour. I like to use a whisk for this, but a large spoon works too. It must be stirred and moved constantly. Constantly stir everything in the bottom of the pot. Stir and move every corner. Do not allow any spot on the pot to remain still for more time than it takes to move everything else. Do not leave the pot. Stir, stir, and stir. Watch the roux as it turns color and begins to darken. It takes a few minutes as it will go from blonde to light brown (peanut butter) to medium brown to dark brown. Think of dirty penny. The roux will eventually turn to dark penny color and you have a dark roux. Dump your diced vegetables and stir to mix (watch out for the steam as the fresh cut veggies hit that hot roux). And you want to cook, stirring occasionally, for about five minutes.

Add the salt and pepper and the herbs, stir to mix and wait a few seconds, 30 seconds to one minute, for the herbs to become aromatic. You will smell the herbs roasting. As soon as you smell the herbs or after 60 seconds, add the diced tomatoes. Stir to mix. Fully heat the tomatoes, that shouldn't take too long, then add the okra. Stir to mix. Once again, fully heat everything in the pot, takes just a little bit longer than the tomatoes, but not too much longer, then add the stock, not too fast, but you can add in a steady stream as you stir. The stock should not be refrigerator cold, but doesn't need to be hot. Room temperature is fine. Taste for seasoning. I find it is usually under seasoned at this point. That's okay because you will season the chicken and you will get some flavor from the sausage. Bring this to a boil, lower the heat to a simmer, cover and simmer for one hour. Stir it once or twice because I know you want to. Otherwise, keep it covered and simmering.

Season your diced chicken and slice the sausage. I adjust the amount of seasoning I use depending on how the gumbo tasted earlier. Optionally, you can brown the chicken and sausage in a separate pan if you want to. Do small batches so it browns, you don't want to fully cook it, just add some color. Paul Prudhomme says color is flavor. Small batches in a hot pan for a little color.

After the gumbo has simmered for an hour, turn up the heat until you get a low boil and add the chicken and sausage. Stir well. Return it to a boil, then lower the heat to medium for a strong simmer. Cover (I don't know why, but at this time I don't fully cover, I leave a crack in the lid to allow steam to escape. This makes the kitchen smell real good and usually gets me some company to hang out with me as I finish up) and cook for 45 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Turn off the heat. Skim any grease that might float from the sausage etc. Add the green onion and parsley, stir to mix. Cover fully and let it sit for 5 minutes just to allow the green onion and parsley to soften.

Most people like to serve it with white rice. I prefer to serve it in a bowl over a scoop of potato salad. And if I'm feeling wild, I'll serve it in a bowl with a scoop of jambalaya and call it Gumbolaya. Hot French bread is usually in the middle of the table.

Submitted February 05, 2015 at 06:21PM by Chef_Haynes http://ift.tt/16kixOn recipes