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Make It Yourself Gumbo

What is Gumbo? As cold weather moves in, it’s a comforting, soothing and warming dish. It’s a plethora of taste and techniques from African, European and Indigenous peoples cooking styles all muddled together somewhere in the depths of southern Louisiana.
Author: Roger Ramsey for the News-Enterprise, Elizabethtown, KY

Ingredients

Broth

  • 1 2½ to 3 lb whole chicken
  • 1 onion quartered
  • 1 bell pepper broken into pieces
  • 3 stalks celery cut into 1-inch sections
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Roux

  • 4 oz vegetable oil canola or peanut oil
  • 4 oz all purpose flour

Sausage

  • 1 pound of good quality of pork based smoked sausage I like Condcuh even though it’s from Alabama instead of Louisiana or Andouille sausage cut into bite sized pieces

Seasoning vegetables:

  • 1 cup of small dice of onion
  • ½ cup small dice of bell peppers
  • ½ cup small dice of celery
  • 1 14 oz can of fire roasted diced tomatoes.
  • One pound okra fresh or frozen cut into ½-inch slices
  • Four cloves garlic thinly sliced

Seasoning blend

  • 2 fresh or 1 dried bay leaves
  • 1 tablespoon fresh or 1½ teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 tablespoon fresh or 1½ teaspoon dried basil
  • 1½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Instructions

  • Place the chicken, either whole or halved into a pot of cold water. Add the onion, carrot, celery salt and pepper. Bring the chicken to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook the chicken for 45 minutes at a simmer. The chicken should be able to be pulled from the bone and the meat shredded after it has cooled.
  • While the chicken is stewing create your roux
    Heat the oil in a heavy bottom pan. Stir in the flour being careful to not splash the hot oil. (A trip to the ER can ruin your dinner!) Maintain a medium heat and stir the roux constantly. You want the roux to darken to a color similar to chocolate but without any odor of scorch.
  • Add the sausage. Cook the sauage until it releases some of its fat. The sausage fat will flavor the roux.
  • Add the trinity vegetables (onion, bell peppers, celery) and cook the vegetables in the hot roux until softened but not browned.
  • Add the garlic to the pan and stir.
  • Add the tomatoes and chicken broth.
  • Stir the broth into the roux ensuring that the roux dissolves completely into the broth.
  • Stir and cook the broth until it comes to a boil. Immediately turn the heat down to a low simmer.
  • Add the chicken and continue to simmer the gumbo until it has reduced to the desired consistency.
  • Remove the bay leaf.
  • Serve the Gumbo in a bowl with rice and maybe a shot of tabasco sauce and a scattering of thinly sliced scallions as a garnish.
  • Laissez les bon temps rouler!