Gumbo!

Author: Killis Haraway

Ingredients:

1 Whole chicken (fresh young hen)
1 lb Andouille or smoked sausage
1 lb peeled and cleaned crawfish
1 lb fresh shrimp peeled
16 Oz fresh oysters with liquid
16 Oz crab claws
1 C chopped onions
1 C chopped green onions
1 C chopped bell pepper
1 C chopped celery
3 smashed cloves of garlic
16 Oz cut fresh or frozen okra
½ C vegetable or canola oil
½ C flour
1 16 Oz can Tomato sauce
½ tsp Cayenne pepper (or more if you like it spicy!
1 Tbs Tony Chachere’s Cajun seasoning
1 tsp thyme
2 bay leaves
1 C rice

Method:

Prep: Prepare all ingredients and organize everything you will need before cooking this dish. Chop all vegetables, peel all shrimp and crawfish, and slice all sausage into ¼ inch slices. Preparing your ingredients in advance will save you time and make your Gumbo a success!

Gumbo: Place the chicken in a deep boiling pan with water covering it up to the top. Boil the chicken until cooked (about 45 minutes to 1 hour). While the chicken is cooking brown your sausage in a skillet. Once sausage is browned remove and place on paper towels to remove excess grease. Begin preparing the roux as stated below. Once the roux is done cooking the chicken should be about done as well. Remove the chicken from the pot and add the roux to the chicken stock. Stir it in until it is well mixed. Add the sausage and spices. When the chicken cools, pull away the meat discarding any skin or bones. Add the chicken to the Gumbo. Cook the Gumbo on medium-low heat for about 30 minutes. Add the oysters and crawfish and continue to cook for another 30 minutes. Add the shrimp and crab claws and cook for another 15 minutes. Add green onions about 10 minutes before serving the Gumbo.

Roux: heat the oil on medium low heat in a cast iron skillet and then incorporate the flour a little at a time smoothing out any lumps. A long wooden spoon with a flat end is optimum but any large wooden spoon will do. It should take 30-40 minutes to cook the roux. Once all flour is incorporated constant stirring will be necessary. The roux can burn quickly if it is not stirred continuously until done. The roux will be ready once it reaches a milk chocolate color. Once done add the chopped bell pepper, onion, and celery and stir them in. The vegetables will arrest the cooking of the roux and it will get a little darker. Once the roux is done add 1/2 cup of hot water and stir it in before adding to the stock. This will ensure that your roux does not break down or become pasty.

Rice: Prepare the rice in a rice cooker if possible. Use 1 C of rice. Serve the Gumbo over a nice bed of rice with a few chopped green onions.

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