Chicken, Sausage, Crab and Shrimp Gumbo
Be careful with the roux! It will stick to you and burn, burn, burn! This is a nice project for a cold winter afternoon and makes the house smell great. You can substitute any of the main ingredients (the chicken, sausage, shrimp, and crabmeat) as long as you adjust cooking times appropriately. You can also adjust the seasoning to taste- hotter or milder. I made this batch on the mild side. Just make sure you dont over-season up front or you will spend hours adjusting with added liquids and ruin the gumbo.
(For the roux):
½ cup vegetable oil
½ cup flour
(For the gumbo itself):
4 tbsp vegetable oil
1 jalepeno pepper, minced (green flesh of pepper only- remove all seeds!)
2 yellow onions, Ό dice
5 7 celery stalks (about 1 celery heart) Ό dice
2 tbsps minced garlic (I cheated and used jarred but this should be about 4 cloves)
3 medium red peppers, Ό dice
2 3 bay leaves
1 tbsp Old Bay Seasoning
1 tbsp Creole or Cajun Seasoning
1 tsp dried thyme
Dash of smoked paprika
Pinch of cayenne pepper
4 boxes chicken stock (you can adjust this and use seafood stock in combination if you can find it, or want to make it)
4 14.5 ounce cans stewed, sliced tomatoes in juice
2 bags, frozen, cut okra (small disks)
8 10 boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut into 1 ½ pieces
8 links, andouille sausage, cut into Ό disks
1 can of crabmeat
1 ½ lbs peeled, deveined shrimp (remove all shell and cut into ½ pieces)
1. Make the roux. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, rack in the middle of the oven. In a 9 x 13 Pyrex baking dish, whisk together ½ cup flour and ½ cup vegetable oil. Place in oven and bake 30 minutes to an hour, whisking to combine every 15 minutes or so. You will know the roux is finished when it turns a nice rich brown color and smells nutty. Remove roux from oven and set aside.
2. In a large stockpot (8 quart or larger), heat the vegetable oil until shimmering. Add the onions, garlic, celery, and peppers and heat over medium/low about 12 minutes.
3. Add the roux to the pot and cook about 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in the stock/broth and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Add the seasonings. Reduce to a simmer and cook about 15 minutes.
4. Add the sausage pieces. Simmer for about 45 minutes.
5. Add the chicken. Simmer for an additional 30 minutes.
6. Add the okra and simmer another 30 minutes.
7. Add the shrimp and crabmeat, cook about 5 minutes or until shrimp turns pink.
8. Serve over white rice, preferably with a cold beer.
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Be careful with the roux! It will stick to you and burn, burn, burn! This is a nice project for a cold winter afternoon and makes the house smell great. You can substitute any of the main ingredients (the chicken, sausage, shrimp, and crabmeat) as long as you adjust cooking times appropriately. You can also adjust the seasoning to taste- hotter or milder. I made this batch on the mild side. Just make sure you dont over-season up front or you will spend hours adjusting with added liquids and ruin the gumbo.
(For the roux):
½ cup vegetable oil
½ cup flour
(For the gumbo itself):
4 tbsp vegetable oil
1 jalepeno pepper, minced (green flesh of pepper only- remove all seeds!)
2 yellow onions, Ό dice
5 7 celery stalks (about 1 celery heart) Ό dice
2 tbsps minced garlic (I cheated and used jarred but this should be about 4 cloves)
3 medium red peppers, Ό dice
2 3 bay leaves
1 tbsp Old Bay Seasoning
1 tbsp Creole or Cajun Seasoning
1 tsp dried thyme
Dash of smoked paprika
Pinch of cayenne pepper
4 boxes chicken stock (you can adjust this and use seafood stock in combination if you can find it, or want to make it)
4 14.5 ounce cans stewed, sliced tomatoes in juice
2 bags, frozen, cut okra (small disks)
8 10 boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut into 1 ½ pieces
8 links, andouille sausage, cut into Ό disks
1 can of crabmeat
1 ½ lbs peeled, deveined shrimp (remove all shell and cut into ½ pieces)
1. Make the roux. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, rack in the middle of the oven. In a 9 x 13 Pyrex baking dish, whisk together ½ cup flour and ½ cup vegetable oil. Place in oven and bake 30 minutes to an hour, whisking to combine every 15 minutes or so. You will know the roux is finished when it turns a nice rich brown color and smells nutty. Remove roux from oven and set aside.
2. In a large stockpot (8 quart or larger), heat the vegetable oil until shimmering. Add the onions, garlic, celery, and peppers and heat over medium/low about 12 minutes.
3. Add the roux to the pot and cook about 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in the stock/broth and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Add the seasonings. Reduce to a simmer and cook about 15 minutes.
4. Add the sausage pieces. Simmer for about 45 minutes.
5. Add the chicken. Simmer for an additional 30 minutes.
6. Add the okra and simmer another 30 minutes.
7. Add the shrimp and crabmeat, cook about 5 minutes or until shrimp turns pink.
8. Serve over white rice, preferably with a cold beer.
- bill 1-28-2008 4:44 pm