Gumbo is a hearty, warming stew that can be made in numerous ways, and with numerous proteins. It's perfect on a cold day, or on a day when you might be feeling a little worse for wear from the previous evening, or really just if you're hungry. Normally it is served with rice, though I did not include the recipe for the dirty rice I used in the picture. The first time I made gumbo was while I worked at Calhoun's in Harrisonburg and we had a Chicken and Oyster gumbo on the menu. It was one of my favorite items to make and eat, as it was a different style of cooking than I was used to doing at that point in my career.
Gumbo is an all day cook item, as it needs to cook for a minimum of 3 hours after you've added all the ingredients to the roux. In addition to developing flavors more the longer you cook it, it also generally tastes better the next day. The darker you bring the roux (traditionally you want a medium-dark or dark roux when you make it), the stronger the flavor and richness you have in your final product. I always add my trinity to the roux, as well as a heavy dose of seasoning. This helps flavor the roux and soften the vegetables as they release their liquids. Additionally when you make gumbos they will always have either gumbo file (dried and ground sassafras leaves) or okra as a thickener, though both can be used (as I did in this case). A lot of times they are made with a blend of shellfish and pork or chicken, though in this case I avoided the shellfish.
A couple of other quick notes on making gumbo. Though I covered it in the recipe section already, I just want to reinforce the slow and low cooking while stirring. This applies specifically to the roux, though it is applicable for the entire cooking process. There is close to nothing as frustrating as ruining a whole batch of soup from burnt roux or flour that is stuck to the bottom of the pan. You want to use a firm wooden spoon while stirring, and make sure you scrape the bottom of the pan. You also want to skim the gumbo while cooking as you will get a lot of released grease during the cooking process.
Ingredients
Chicken Thighs, marinated 2 1/2 lbs
Sausage, creole 5 ea
Roux, medium-dark 1 1/2 cups
Onion, diced 2 ea
Pepper, diced* 3 ea
Okra, sliced 2 cups
Celery, diced 3 stalks
Tomatoes, canned, diced 28 oz
Gumbo File 2 T
Bay leaves 2 ea
Parsley, chopped 1 bunch + garnish
Salt and Pepper to taste
Sherry Vinegar 3 T
Avenue Spice 1 T
Creole Spice 2 T
Mustard Powder 1 tsp
Celery Seed 1 T
Tapatio, or other hot sauce to taste
Chicken stock 3 qt
Garnish
Chopped up parsley
Method of Procedure
Marinate the chicken over night to enhance the flavor.
Grill your chicken and sausage to firm up the protein and make it easier to cut.
Once grilled cut up all your protein and your trinity**, keeping them seperate.
Make your roux slowly while stirring and bring it to a medium-dark color.
Add your trinity to the dish as well as your Avenue spice, creole spice, celery seed, and gumbo file and stir while cooking until the vegetables have softened up.
Once softened add your chopped up sausage and chicken and stir while cooking for an additional 5 minutes.
Add your diced tomatoes, chicken stock, bay leaves, okra***, sherry vinegar, tapatio/tabasco (or other hot sauce you like) and mustard powder then simmer for about 1 hour, while stirring.
For the duration of the cook time for this dish, you should be removing the excess fat that gathers at the top of the gumbo with a ladle and discarding it.
Taste the gumbo and add more hot sauce, spice, or vinegar depending on your palate.
Cook for another hour and repeat step 8 and 9. Add your chopped parsley and simmer for at least 1 more hour.
At this point you can serve your gumbo over rice (or dirty rice) or plain, and garnish with parsley. I will normally cook my gumbo for another couple of hours then serve the next day.
*I used a mix of bell peppers for this dish, but you are fine with just green or a mix as well.
**Trinity is the Cajun/Creole term for celery, peppers, and onion mixture that is found in a lot of recipes. It is essentially the Cajun equivalent of the french mirepoix.
***A lot of times I am not able to find fresh okra, the frozen stuff works just as well, and you don't need to thaw it in advance for this.
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