Cheater's Gumbo

[OldUsedParts]

Well, first of all Photobucket is giving me fits so I'm trying ImageShack this time.

Anyhow for now let's talk Gumbo on a very small scale with some cheating included.

First of all I need to ask KAM if this is the right color for the Roux. Since I was making a small 8cup pot I thought I'd try my hand at the roux one more time on a very small scale.

Now for the cheating part - - - I also added Tony C's Gumbo Mix

The other ingredients were a large bag of precooked medium shrimp, sauteed Holy Veggie Trinity and a can of Trappey's Okra and Maters.
Steamed some long grain Mahatma and grabbed some sodie crackers and LA Red.

It was not the best Gumbo I had ever tasted but it was the BEST Gumbo that I have ever made (so far )

[k.a.m.]

Well, first of all Photobucket is giving me fits so I'm trying ImageShack this time.

Anyhow for now let's talk Gumbo on a very small scale with some cheating included.

First of all I need to ask KAM if this is the right color for the Roux. Since I was making a small 8cup pot I thought I'd try my hand at the roux one more time on a very small scale.

Now for the cheating part - - - I also added Tony C's Gumbo Mix

The other ingredients were a large bag of precooked medium shrimp, sauteed Holy Veggie Trinity and a can of Trappey's Okra and Maters.
Steamed some long grain Mahatma and grabbed some sodie crackers and LA Red.

It was not the best Gumbo I had ever tasted but it was the BEST Gumbo that I have ever made (so far )

That is a good looking roux and a fine looking bowl of gumbo OUP.
That color right there is about the time I drop my Trinity into my roux and let it cook on low simmer till the vegetables sweat down and the roux turns about a dark chocolate color.

[OldUsedParts]

Thanks, KAM, I definitely had my ducks out of order today but lucked out. I had already sauteed the veggies when I got the notion to try roux instead of "only" TC Gumbo Mix but I'll sure drop'em in da Roux next time.

[OldUsedParts]

Hey KAM, what is your usual amount of Roux and your amount of liquid in your Gumbo

[Okie Sawbones]

I use 4 Tbs. of bacon fat, and 4 Tbs. of flour for my roux, then pitch in the Cajun holy trinity.

[egghead]

Roux looks excellent OUP - nice job

[OldUsedParts]

thanks, Gents, for some reason I've always taken the wussie way out when it comes to Gumbo but lately I've decided to try and learn some different wayS

[Okie Sawbones]

Here is my recipe, OUP.

Okie's Chicken Gumbo

Vegetable Oil or Bacon Grease or mixture – 1/3 Cup
Flour – 1/3 Cup
Onion – 1 large or 2 medium, chopped
Celery – 3 stalks, chopped
Green Pepper – 1 medium, chopped
Yellow Pepper – 1 medium, chopped
Garlic – 6 large cloves, minced
Tomatoes – 4 cups, chopped
Okra – 2 bags of frozen, sliced, thawed
Chicken – 4-5 lbs., stewed
Andouille Sausage – 1 ½ lb. sliced
Bacon – 3 strips, fried crisp and crumbled
Black Pepper – 1 tsp.
Salt – 1 Tbs.
Bay leaf – 2 whole
Cumin – 1 rounded tsp., ground
Thyme – 1 rounded tsp. dried, whole leaves (half if ground)
Oregano – ½ tsp. ground (double if leaves)
Sugar – 1 tsp.
Chicken Broth – 6-8 Cups
Hot Sauce – to taste
File – to taste

Stew the chicken. Cool and pick the meat from the bones, and tear into bite-size pieces. Strain and save the broth. Prepare your onion, celery, peppers, garlic, tomatoes and okra and place in a large bowl.

In a large Dutch oven or 10-12 quart pot, make a roux with the oil and flour over medium heat. Stir constantly until dark brown. Do not let it crack. Add the bowl of vegetables and cook over medium heat until tender, about 10 minutes.

Slowly stir in the broth using a whisk, and then add the chicken meat, sausage, and spices. Simmer over low heat for at least an hour, covered, the longer the better.

Serve over rice. Add hot sauce and file to taste. Enjoy!

[OldUsedParts]

Wow, definitely not the wussie way thanks, Oakie

[egghead]

I have been cooking down my okra and freezing for future use. We like chicken okra gumbo and shrimp okra gumbo. We don't put okra in other gumbos like:

Chicken and sausage gumbo,
Chicken, oyster, and andoille gumbo, or
seafood gumbo

Start with a bunch of okra in season


Combine with onions, green onions, garlic, and tomatoes


Cut em up


On to the egg to cook em down - oven works as well


Vacuum pack


Now I'm hungry

[Okie Sawbones]

[k.a.m.]

My roux's vary in amounts but a usual gumbo in my dutch oven is 1 cup oil to 1.5 to 2 cups flour. I adjust it for the consistency I am looking for. I never measure anything when cooking a gumbo but one time I did actually measure it out for a friend that wanted my recipe here is my basic gumbo.
First start boiling the chicken, sausage and veggies.
6 quarts of water
1-chicken 4 to 5 lb, cut up
2lbs smoked sausage, sliced, reserve 1 cup cubed for Roux
1/2 cup parsley, finely chopped
1 cup green onion, chopped
1 cup white onion, diced
3/4 cup bell pepper, diced
1 cup celery, chopped
6 cloves of garlic, minced
4 bay leaves
2 Tbsp Tony Chachere's
Let chicken boil for 45 minutes, pull chicken, cool and then debone.

ROUX
1 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 to 2 cups all purpose flour
Over medium heat in a cast iron skillet, heat oil, then slowly add flour, stirring constantly, until you achieve a pancake batter consistency, cook until paper bag brown and starting to smoke a little, reduce heat to simmer add:
1/8 cup parsley, finely chopped
1/4 cup green onion, chopped
1/2 cup white onion, diced
1/2 cup bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1 cup sausage, cubed (that was reserved)
2 cloves garlic, minced
Then stirring occasionally until vegetables caramelize and Roux takes on a deep dark rich color. (Don't Burn Your Roux!) Let Roux cool and add to the chicken and sausage stock. Bring to a boil. Add deboned chicken then bring down to a simmer. Simmer for 1 hr stirring often so it doesn't stick to bottom. If at this point my Gumbo is to thick, I make up some chicken stock from Bouillon Cubes. At this point I season to taste with Tabassco Sauce, Gumbo File, Tony Chachere's, Red Pepper, and 4 fresh Cayenne Peppers. From this point my Gumbo normally cooks for 5 hrs, it should achieve a nice dark color.
Note: When the gumbo is put together and simmering if you have a lot of oil come to the top skim it with a ladle.
This is the basics for my Gumbo. You can substitute chicken for shrimp, crab, or turkey. I also like boiling eggs and then peeling them and dropping them in my gumbo's
Enjoy.

[OldUsedParts]

thanks, KAM, my Gumbo Recipe File is getting larger for sure - - - -

[k.a.m.]

thanks, KAM, my Gumbo Recipe File is getting larger for sure - - - -

You are very welcome.

[OldUsedParts]

thanks, Egghead, a very good suggestion, especially on the okra - - "fresh is best" and this is dang close to it - - - now I'm hungry