Gumbo

Gumbo

I am going to give you my Creole gumbo recipe. I learned to cook from my mother and grandmother who were born and raised in New Orleans and really knew how to cook.

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour

  • ¾ cup bacon drippings

  • 1 cup coarsely chopped celery

  • 1 large onion, coarsely chopped

  • 1 large green bell pepper, coarsely chopped

  • 2 cloves garlic, minced

  • 1 pound andouille sausage, sliced

  • 3 quarts water

  • 6 cubes beef bouillon

  • 1 tablespoon white sugar

  • salt to taste

  • 2 tablespoons hot pepper sauce (such as Tabasco), or to taste

  • ½ teaspoon Cajun seasoning blend (such as Tony Chachere's), or to taste

  • 4 bay leaves

  • ½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves

  • 1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed tomatoes

  • 1 (6 ounce) can tomato sauce

  • 4 teaspoons file powder, divided

  • 2 tablespoons bacon drippings

  • 2 (10 ounce) packages frozen cut okra, thawed

  • 2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar

  • 1 pound lump crabmeat

  • 3 pounds uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

  • 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 

Make the roux: Whisk together flour and 3/4 cup bacon drippings in a large, heavy saucepan over medium-low heat until smooth. Cook roux, whisking constantly, until it turns a rich mahogany brown color. This can take 20 to 30 minutes; watch heat carefully and whisk constantly or roux will burn. Remove from heat; continue whisking until mixture stops cooking. Thick brown roux in a saucepan with a whisk.

Make the gumbo: Place celery, onion, green bell pepper, and garlic into the work bowl of a food processor, and pulse until all vegetables are very finely chopped.

Stir vegetables into roux, and mix in sliced sausage. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until vegetables are tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Combine water and beef bouillon cubes in a large Dutch oven or soup pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir until bouillon cubes dissolve, then whisk roux mixture into the boiling water.

Reduce heat to a simmer and mix in sugar, salt, hot pepper sauce, Cajun seasoning, bay leaves, thyme, stewed tomatoes, and tomato sauce. Simmer soup over low heat for 1 hour; mix in 2 teaspoons of file gumbo powder at the 45-minute mark.

Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons bacon drippings in a skillet over medium heat. Add okra and vinegar and cook for 15 minutes; remove okra with a slotted spoon, and stir into the simmering gumbo.

Mix in crabmeat, shrimp, and Worcestershire sauce, and simmer until flavors have blended, 45 more minutes. Stir in 2 more teaspoons of file gumbo powder just before serving

 

 

 

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