Making a Great Gumbo

I am down in Lafayette, Louisiana today enjoying some great gumbos this week. This trip will be covered in some upcoming weekend posts. In the meanwhile. Here is a recipe for gumbo based on my memory of my mother’s efforts, refreshed by looking at a few recipes. First here are images of gumbos from some New Orleans restaurants: low brow, high brow, and middle brow.

   
When I was in grade school, I came home once a week to the smell of fried chicken and gumbo. We ate fried chicken that night and I usually got to sample a drumstick right away. The gumbo was savored over several days and got better with time. Louisiana gumbo recipes always begin with a roux, an equal mixture of oil and flour that provides a base and thickener. Proportions will vary by recipe, but 2/3-cup oil and 2/3- cup flour is usually enough.

To make a roux, mix the oil and flour together in a heavy pot (a heavy pot is essential). Use vegetable oil such as canola oil. Don't use olive oil (it doesn't get hot enough and the flavor is wrong). Then cook the flour-oil mixture, stirring constantly, until it is the color of a dark brown. Most cookbooks tell you to cook the roux over a low flame. It will take about half an hour to brown that way, but you're less likely to burn it. If you use a high flame it will go much quicker but you can't leave the roux for a minute because it is easy to burn. Nothing can be done with a burned roux except to throw it out and start over.

Once the roux is dark enough, lower the flame. At this point, add the onions and garlic, to lower the temperature of the roux. Let the onion and garlic cook a bit and then add warm water so the roux won't separate. Here are the total ingredients. You can do many variations on the seafood and meat but you always need the onion, garlic and okra.

3 1/2 quarts chicken stock

1 bay leaf

1 large onion, chopped (add to roux)

1/4 cup chopped garlic (add to roux)

1 fryer chicken, cut up

1 lb. andouille sausage (you can also use linguina or kelbasa) cut in 1/2" slices

1 lb. shrimp

3/4 cup chopped green onions

1 ½ cup chopped okra

1/3 cup chopped parsley

2 Tblsp. Louisiana Hot Sauce or 1/4 tsp. Cayenne (red) Pepper

1/2 tsp. black pepper

After you make the roux, bring stock to a low boil and slowly add the roux/onion mixture a spoon at a time, stirring each spoonful until it is blended. Add roux until desired thickness is obtained. Brown the sausage and chicken and drain the fat, then add them to the pot. Cook the mixture at a slow bubble for about an hour. Add the green onions, parsley, okra, shrimp, and seasonings. Then, heat for just about 10 minutes more. Serve in bowls over a scoop of long grain rice and shake some file (dried sassafras leaves) over the gumbo.

My mother used the cookbook “First You Make a Roux” produced in support of the Lafayette Louisiana Musuem and you can still get the original version. Another classic cookbook is “Talk about Good” by the Junior League of Lafeyette. It contains a number of gumbo recipes with such ingredients as duck, wild goose, oysters, and shrimp. It is in the 23rd printing with over 700,000 copies sold.

 

Comments

[John T Maloney (@jheuristic)]

Hi - Gumbo is great. Few dishes are a cultural icon like Gumbo.

A personal favorite from the region is 'New Orleans Old Sober Soup' aka Yaka Mein. Hard to find, but worth it. Would never try to prepare it moi-même. It is only street food and sometimes at festivals. Best consumed standing. Seek it out.

Old Sober is highly instrumental in correcting the symptoms of being over-served at many of the French Quarter's fine purveyors of fermented refreshments. -j

http://www.deepsouthdish.com/2010/03/new-orleans-old-sober-yakamein-soup.html

[bill Ives]

John

Thanks. Will look for it. Also having crawfish bisque in Lafayette - much thicker roux than most gumbos.

[Catherine Caldwell]

Talk About Good is the BEST cookbook! A classic. I use the multiple duck recipes.

[bill Ives]

Catherine - Thanks. I just ordered you book and look forward to reading it. I will do a review on this blog. everyone else should check out - http://jetvignettes.blogspot.com/

[Stock Pots]

Living in the New Orleans area for so, so, so many years and now living in Breaux Bridge....gumbo carries on with the starting of a roux depending on the meat of choice for the low, middle, or high brow...then carrying on with the gumbo...whether it be with chicken, seafood, or any wild game such as duck or wild goose...it's all so very delicious served with a scoop of rice...and, ahhh!...topping each bowl with a sprinkle of sassafras leaves...file' gumbo!!! And, don't forget the French Bread...also, a texture depending on whether it is in the New Orleans or Lafayette area.