First Gumbo for me

[troutman]

I've made all kinds of gumbo over the years. Learned how from a Coonass down in Morgan City Louisiana when working down there back in the '70s. As far as okra is concerned, I share the feeling about the slim, it is nasty. The trick to good okra is to cook it in a sauce pan on the side as you're doing your roux (tons of time, my roux takes at least 30-40 minutes to darken) and empty a can of chopped tomatoes in with it. The tomatoes neutralize the scum and add a sweetness to the mix. While adding your ingredients to the gumbo, add the okra/tomato mix. It really helps the gumbo imho, try it you make like it that way !!

And hey smokeymose, thanks for the step-by-step. I'd eat your's in a heartbeat, love gumbo !!!

 

[SmokyMose]

Mose and Al, have you tried or do you like pickled okra?
It's nice and crunchy when done right.
I particularly like it spicy.

I love pickled pepperoncini and jalapenos, so I would probably like it. I think I may have seen it at a store.

 

[SmokyMose]

I've made all kinds of gumbo over the years. Learned how from a Coonass down in Morgan City Louisiana when working down there back in the '70s. As far as okra is concerned, I share the feeling about the slim, it is nasty. The trick to good okra is to cook it in a sauce pan on the side as you're doing your roux (tons of time, my roux takes at least 30-40 minutes to darken) and empty a can of chopped tomatoes in with it. The tomatoes neutralize the scum and add a sweetness to the mix. While adding your ingredients to the gumbo, add the okra/tomato mix. It really helps the gumbo imho, try it you make like it that way !!

And hey smokeymose, thanks for the step-by-step. I'd eat your's in a heartbeat, love gumbo !!!

Actually I just picked up some okra and was going to ask how/when to add it.
Thanks!

 

[Rings Я Us]

Fine looking hearty warm dish!

 

[indaswamp]

A little history on gumbo...Two distinct paths; that of the Creoles and the Cajuns.

Cajuns lived back in the swamps and did not have access to okra as it was a foreign vegetable brought to the new world by the slaves from their native Africa. Cajuns lived and learned from the native indians and they showed the Cajuns the thickening power of ground sassafras leaves (file' powder). All true Cajun gumbo uses file' - not okra.

The Creoles lived in and around New Orleans and along the Miss. river in the plantation homes. They slaves grew okra from the seeds they brought with them, and the cooks taught the Creoles the use of okra in stews and soups. Thus, okra became incorporated in Creole gumbo along with tomato. And as mentioned, if you stew down okra with tomato and then add it to the gumbo, the slime is knocked out while cooking with the tomato.

Both ways make great gumbo. I personally prefer Cajun gumbo with a nice dark roux. To each his own.

 

[SmokyMose]

A little history on gumbo...Two distinct paths; that of the Creoles and the Cajuns.

Cajuns lived back in the swamps and did not have access to okra as it was a foreign vegetable brought to the new world by the slaves from their native Africa. Cajuns lived and learned from the native indians and they showed the Cajuns the thickening power of ground sassafras leaves (file' powder). All true Cajun gumbo uses file' - not okra.

The Creoles lived in and around New Orleans and along the Miss. river in the plantation homes. They slaves grew okra from the seeds they brought with them, and the cooks taught the Creoles the use of okra in stews and soups. Thus, okra became incorporated in Creole gumbo along with tomato. And as mentioned, if you stew down okra with tomato and then add it to the gumbo, the slime is knocked out while cooking with the tomato.

Both ways make great gumbo. I personally prefer Cajun gumbo with a nice dark roux. To each his own.

Thanks for the info, inda! Never heard of the sassafras angle, but it grows around here. I'm no expert by any means. My second batch was Friday, this time with Okra and stewed tomatoes, but I believe the roux is what makes it. It's a definite, distinctive flavor. It's also a kick standing over the pot stirring and watching it slowly get that chocolate brown color....

 

[foamheart]

I believe I can speak on gumbo with but a little authority.

Gumbo is any warm soup served over rice. Thats the only requirement. Everything else is regional, or personal preference.

If I can show Skelly to make a good gumbo, anyone else should have no problem.

It doesn't require okra, sausage, andouille, or a roux. Hot soup you like over rice.

I wrote this awhile back, there is a Q-View recipe in there somewhere.

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/gumbo-basics.145641/

If it helps, I am glad, but looks to me like you pretty much figured it out already. Good looking gumbo.

 

[Griff 4570]

Gumbo looks great!

 

[SmokyMose]

Thanks for the head check, Kevin. I guess it's kind of like Beef Stew. If you find yourself wiping the plate with a piece of bread to get every drop, it's all good, no matter how it was made.

 

[indaswamp]

Mose and Al, have you tried or do you like pickled okra?
It's nice and crunchy when done right.
I particularly like it spicy.

Mmmm! Pickled Okra! Now we're talkin! I love pickled okra as a side with redbeans, smoke sausage and rice!!!

 

[indaswamp]

Thanks for the head check, Kevin. I guess it's kind of like Beef Stew. If you find yourself wiping the plate with a piece of bread to get every drop, it's all good, no matter how it was made.

You Gumbo looks good. I'd eat it. How much bread did you go though? LOL!

Just gave a little background on the styles is all...Kevin is correct though, nowadays the two styles have intermingled to the point where it is hard to know where Cajun stops and Creole starts. The fast pace world we live in now. Such is life.

For your sassafras, just pick the mature late spring leaves, dry them, then pulverize into a powder with either a spice or coffee grinder. Put the powder in a dark container like a pill bottle and store in a dark cabinet. That's it. Easy pease.

For a 2 gallon pot of gumbo, I start with ~1TBSP. But only add it after the gumbo is finished. I personally love file' and always add more in my bowl.

 

[myownidaho]

Nice looking gumbo, Dan! You nailed that roux.

 

[troutman]

Thanks for the clarification on gumbos indaswamp. I do prefer the creole kind. When I have the cajun style the roux is usually so overcooked that its bitter to me. I do add file but after the fact in my bowl and not into the cook, that's the way I was taught by my Louseyana friends !!! :)

 

[indaswamp]

Thanks for the clarification on gumbos indaswamp. I do prefer the creole kind. When I have the cajun style the roux is usually so overcooked that its bitter to me. I do add file but after the fact in my bowl and not into the cook, that's the way I was taught by my Louseyana friends !!! :)

If the roux is bitter after cooking in for about an hour, it was burnt. Roux should never be bitter.
Best way to make a dark roux is in a black iron pot and to pull it off the heat when it is a medium-dark color. The residual heat in the pot will continue cooking the roux slowly and you will not burn it. The residual heat will cook it to a perfect dark roux. It's fool proof.

Another tip-put a dark tarnished penny next to the pot while cooking. That is the color you are shooting for. Pull it from the heat before it gets that dark.....

 

[indaswamp]

One more tip-
You can start a roux with a high heat. the bubbles forming are moisture in the flour escaping. once the bubbles stop, reduce the heat to Med.-high. When the roux goes from fluid to clumpy, that is a perfect medium brown roux. Reduce the fire to med. heat and keep cooking to med. dark for a dark roux.

 

[mdboatbum]

I've only been making gumbo for about 20 years and hail from just barely below the Mason Dixon line, so I'm by no means an expert and still learning. But I have picked up a trick or two along the way.

As for roux, I happen to enjoy the game of chicken that is taking it to within a heartbeat of going too far. That razor thin sweet spot between just the right amount of attitude, and a waste of 45 minutes of stirring time. However, for times when I'm not feeling brave, or there's a game on, or it's just too hot in the kitchen to work out my wrist muscles for the better part of an hour, there's always the baked roux. I've done it a couple times and the results are ok. It's a lot easier, but for some reason I just feel the slightest bit guilty afterwards. Like I've skipped church to go fishing or something.

There's also a method I've seen but not tried, which looks interesting. Basically you put the flour in the pan over medium heat with no fat. Just flour in a dry pan. You then whisk that until it gets to the color of your choice. The video I saw it looked about the color of caramel. THEN, you add your fat and finish the roux to your desired color. Supposedly the dry flour is much less likely to burn and browns in about half the time. So what would take 45 minutes to an hour takes only 20-25 minutes. Again, I haven't tried this yet, just passing it along.

And my last thoughts on roux; I'm told there is an instant roux available in stores in Louisiana of all places. Now I'm all for trying new things, but this just seems wrong to me. Like, "skipping church to go skinnydipping with your buddy's sister" wrong. That reminds me, I gotta call old Blind Willie and see if he's done being mad at me me yet.

As for okra vs file', I lean toward file'. I like okra, and my wife absolutely loves the stuff, but there is a subtle flavor in the file that sets it apart. I have used both together, which seemed to be the best of both worlds.

 

[chewmeister]

Good looking gumbo. My favorite to make is a seafood gumbo with andouille and okra. It helps some to blanch the okra first as far as the slime is concerned, but it also helps to thicken the soup. We grow a lot of okra in summer here.

 

[bdskelly]

I believe I can speak on gumbo with but a little authority.

Gumbo is any warm soup served over rice. Thats the only requirement. Everything else is regional, or personal preference.

If I can show Skelly to make a good gumbo, anyone else should have no problem.

It doesn't require okra, sausage, andouille, or a roux. Hot soup you like over rice.

I wrote this awhile back, there is a Q-View recipe in there somewhere.

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/gumbo-basics.145641/

If it helps, I am glad, but looks to me like you pretty much figured it out already. Good looking gumbo.

LOL. This is true. Foam turned this Irishman into roux making fool.
It’s one of those things that I never get tired of making. I’d suggest you read Foamheart’s history lesson and recipe on gumbo he’s linked for you. You won’t mess up following his advice. B