Thinking of making gumbo tomorrow.

Looking for a somewhat simple recipe that I can do in a day. I've got some andouille sausage I need to use.

Get a bag of Louisiana Fish Fry Products brand Gumbo Base and follow directions. Add your okra, celery, bell pepper, onion, garlic, peppers, gumbo file, bay leaves and whatever meat you want to add. I add a can of stewed tomatoes. Serve over rice.

https://www.magicseasoningblends.com/recipes/chicken-and-andouille-smoked-sausage-gumbo/

Gumbo shop recipe is outstanding.

Starting some as well...

Potcake said:

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That may be good, but it's not gumbo. No okra, no file.

Lafayette cookbook

Willy Wonka said:

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You ought to try my sausage kolache gumbo!

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Bravo!

(And as a Shipley franchisee, the kolache nonsense will always be my favorite nonsense of all, so extra points for your joke.)

Martin Cash said:

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Potcake said:

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That may be good, but it's not gumbo. No okra, no file.

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File isn't a requirement, but okra certainly is IMO.

MyNameIsJeff said:

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Martin Cash said:

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Get a bag of Louisiana Fish Fry Products brand Gumbo Base and follow directions. Add your okra, celery, bell pepper, onion, garlic, peppers, gumbo file, bay leaves and whatever meat you want to add. I add a can of stewed tomatoes. Serve over rice.

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Don't do this.

Do this: https://texags.com/forums/67/topics/2696814

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Thanks, truthfully I was hoping for a FIDO recipe. Unfortunately, I had already made one. Turned out pretty good. Didn't cook the roux long enough to get that dark dark brown but flavor was there.

I'll try FIDOs next time as his guisada recipe is nails. Main difference here and vs what I did was he cooks everything separately and then combines. More cleanup and effort but generally results are better. I would've liked mine a little more spicy.

https://www.nola.com/entertainment_life/eat-drink/article_7f7a214d-8116-5079-aebb-20b39d1208c4.html

I've used this recipe a couple of times a year. It always turns out fantastic. My only changes are I tend to use more sausage than she calls for. I like a gumbo with a lot of protein in it.

MyNameIsJeff said:

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Martin Cash said:

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Get a bag of Louisiana Fish Fry Products brand Gumbo Base and follow directions. Add your okra, celery, bell pepper, onion, garlic, peppers, gumbo file, bay leaves and whatever meat you want to add. I add a can of stewed tomatoes. Serve over rice.

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Don't do this.

Do this: https://texags.com/forums/67/topics/2696814

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But do the Alton Brown baked roux recipe to make timing easier and eliminating the chance of burning, and see my tip on that thread about skimming the oil off the roux in the last couple of stirs.

Super simple gumbo recipe but it's good if you take your time and do it right:

Gumbo

1 & 1/4 cup veg oil
1 & 1/4 cup flour
5 chicken legs
1lb sausage
2 finely chopped medium onions
2 finely chopped bell pepper
2-3 finely chopped celery stalks
1-2 Serrano peppers very finely chopped
15-20 fresh okra
2 cartons chicken stock
Salt
Pepper
Blackening seasoning


In a pot put 1/4 cup veg oil down and heat

Season chicken with salt, pepper and blackening seasoning. Pat dry and fry in oil until skin is crispy but not cooked all the way through. Remove to paper towels, drain and let cool.

Add rest of oil to pan with chicken drippings. Lower heat to low-med. Add 1 cup flour. Leave 1/4 cup for adding later if needed. Stir to combine. Scrap pan to incorporate bits of chicken fat. Should be consistency of creamy soup. Little on the thick side. Should coat the back of a spoon easily. Season with salt. No pepper or blackening seasoning. Just salt. Just a good three finger pinch. Stir this scraping the bottom of the pan every 5 min until it is the color of light milk chocolate.

Add trinity and serranos (not the okra) to this roux. It will bubble and spit and fry quickly, remember it's half oil. Very hot!!! It will immediately turn darker, like the shade of dark chocolate. Season this with salt too. Two good pinches. Cook until vegetables are reasonably tender.

Add chicken stock and meat. (I cut sausage lengthwise then into 1/4" half moon slices and I cut the chicken off he bone and into spoon sized pieces.) Now add pepper and some blackening seasoning. Maybe two big three finger pinches of each.

Cut okra into 1/4"-1/2" slices. Just make sure if they're 1/4", that they're ALL 1/4". If they're 1/2", make sure they're ALL 1/2". Add to another pot with a little oil. Cook on medium heat until the okra is basically falling apart stirring every few min. It takes that long to cook the slimyness out of them. Once it looks dry, add to the pot.

Turn up heat to above medium and bring this to a boil. Once boiling, boil for 15-20 min to finish cooking the chicken and heat the sausage through. Simmer this for an hour or so until the broth coats the back of a spoon. Thicken with additional flour if need be.

Cut heat and let it cool on the stove. Put it in there fridge and eat the next day. It's gotta have a day in the fridge to meld the flavors. Won't taste right if you don't.

Gumbo is kinda like brisket or chili, everyone's family makes it a bit different and it's always "better in my backyard".

That being said my grandma was French Cajun and used file but no okra. My understanding is that tomatoes and okra are more Creole than Cajun but I assume there are gray areas between the styles depending on which part of the bayou you're on.

chilidogfood said:

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Gumbo is kinda like brisket or chili, everyone's family makes it a bit different and it's always "better in my backyard".

That being said my grandma was French Cajun and used file but no okra. My understanding is that tomatoes and okra are more Creole than Cajun but I assume there are gray areas between the styles depending on which part of the bayou you're on.

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That is correct but as you say there's a lot of grey now. A lot of Cajuns end up with tomato or okra in their gumbos. It's all taste.

A mix of a very dark roux and a lighter peanut butter roux gives the tasty dark flavor but with the thickening power of a light roux.

Ok question… how much roux are y'all using? In a 5qt pot I used maybe a cup to a cup and a quarter of roux total by the time I'm done making it. Tough to tell exactly your yield when you make it from drippings, oil and flour but that's my guess.

Also, make it or use jarred?

TheFunnierPhideaux said:

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Ok question… how much roux are y'all using? In a 5qt pot I used maybe a cup to a cup and a quarter of roux total by the time I'm done making it. Tough to tell exactly your yield when you make it from drippings, oil and flour but that's my guess.

Also, make it or use jarred?

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I usually do a half cup of flour and half cup of oil.

I've never used a jarred roux. People make it sound like it's so hard to make, but it's not. Just don't quit stirring.

I tried jarred roux one time as a shortcut for weeknight gumbo. It was decent, but tasted a little more acrid or cigarette buttish to my palate.

I'd do it again, though if I needed to have a gumbo ready in an hour. I'm sure that's what most of the restaurants are doing.

I'm guessing the issue with a jarred roux that's dark enough for gumbo is stopping the cooking process. As soon as the roux hits the right color is when you dump in the holy trinity, which stops the roux from cooking further and as soon as the veggies are done is when you pour in the stock. If you just take it off the heat the fat is going to continue to cook the flour. You can probably get away with it on a lighter roux but gumbo generally has a dark roux, would be tough to get a jarred one that's the right color but somehow didn't overcook when being made.

chilidogfood said:

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I tried jarred roux one time as a shortcut for weeknight gumbo. It was decent, but tasted a little more acrid or cigarette buttish to my palate.

I'd do it again, though if I needed to have a gumbo ready in an hour. I'm sure that's what most of the restaurants are doing.

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Or do a dry roux in the oven. 45ish minutes at 425, and no need to constantly stir. Prep and combine the other ingredients then add the roux and simmer. You're done in a little over an hour, it's way better and cheaper than something from a jar, and way lighter than adding tons of unnecessary oil from a traditional roux, without sacrificing flavor

chilidogfood said:

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Gumbo is kinda like brisket or chili, everyone's family makes it a bit different and it's always "better in my backyard".

That being said my grandma was French Cajun and used file but no okra. My understanding is that tomatoes and okra are more Creole than Cajun but I assume there are gray areas between the styles depending on which part of the bayou you're on.

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I've taken to making my gumbo without either and offering file and okra (blanched and then lightly sauted) on the side, along with green onion and some chopped parsley, as well as sherry, and hot sauce, of course, so people can do it up as they like. I typically make my roux and roux/stock ratio a little thicker so the gumbo is already thick enough without either.

Microwave your roux…easy, fast and tastes exactly the same

Looks fine to me! One tip is to fry off your meats before making the roux so you can use the fat and fond they throw for flavoring your roux. Your pictures didn't show you did that, but you may have.

Another advantage of a dry roux

Made this tonight, was great.