With a Nod to ChisoxJim, Gumbo Recipe

[memphisbud]

A little earlier, ChisoxJim posted a thread with Q-View of a Gumbo he made with pulled pork.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...threadid=88950

It looked and sounded completely awesome, and, being a bit of a gumbo fiend myself, and in response to the comments of some esteemed members of this forum, I wanted to share my recipe for Chicken and 3 Sausage Gumbo. Although it's not smoked, I could see you sausage makers having fun with this, plus using some smoked yard bird in place of the just "cooked" bird would probably be a good way to tweak it if you want. Now I'm going to have to make a batch this weekend. Enjoy!

Chicken and 3 Sausage Gumbo
Ingredients:

1 lb cooked chicken, cubed
1 lb Andoille, cooked and sliced
1 lb Smoked Sausage, cooked and Sliced
1 lb Boudain Sausage, heated and removed from casing
1 ½ cup diced green pepper
1 ½ cup diced celery
1 ½ cup diced onion
16 oz frozen cut okra
1 Cup olive oil
½ cup flour (may have to add here and there to thicken)
Cajun seasoning to taste
5 cups chicken broth/base/stock
3 cups beef broth/base/stock
4 cups cooked rice (I like Jasmine Rice)

In a 6 quart stockpot, heat olive oil. Add flour and 2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning (to taste). Stir constantly until you get a peanut butter color (maybe 15 minutes). Add all vegetables except okra and stir continuously until the veggies get tender (the roux will adhere to the veggies and continue to cook while you stir).

In the mean time, heat oven to 350 and cook all sausage and chicken (except boudain) until done.

Once the veggies are tender add the chicken and beef stock/base/broth and stir until smooth…bring to a simmer. Slice sausages (except boudain) and dice chicken and add to broth once simmering. Add another tablespoon of Cajun seasoning. Cover and turn heat to med. Low and cook for a couple of hours. An hour before serving, heat Boudain in microwave according to directions, remove from casing and add to Gumbo, breaking up as you add. ½ hour before serving, start cooking rice, and add okra, a little more Cajun seasoning, and recover….you need to stir this fairly frequently.

When done, put some rice in the bottom of a bowl, and ladle Gumbo over top. Have Louisiana hot sauce to add for those who like it hot. I like to serve Crispy Garlic Parmesan Bread with it.

 

[chisoxjim]

to you for sharing your recipe.

Im keeping mine in the vault.

 

[memphisbud]

LOL Jim. Thanks for the Points....

 

[chisoxjim]

very similar method, and ingredients,

I let my roux get dark chocolate color(30 minutes), and use Gumbo File as the 3rd thickening agent(the roux, and the okra being #'s 1 & 2).

I got the smoked pork shoulder idea from a local guy from Louisiana who uses a slow roasted shredded shoulder in his, I just figured smoked meat will always work better than something from the oven.

 

[memphisbud]

Good stuff...I'm going to let my roux go longer next time, gotta play you know. Gotta love the Gumbo!

 

[mballi3011]

YAHOO now I have both recipes and I can put them in my own book behind the couch under the table lamp.

for both of you's

 

[memphisbud]

Ha mballi, behind the couch, and under the table lamp! May want to change the hiding place now....lol...thanks.

 

[eman]

A lil hint about a roux.
Try using peanut oil or at a minimum canola oil instead of olive oil or veg.oil.
Peanut oil can handle higher heat than other oils.
as a cajun born an bred ,I have been making a roux since i was tall enough to reach the pot.
It takes me 30 -45 min to make a DARK roux . (or as we call it a 4 beer roux).
As long as you use equal parts flour and oil you can make the roux as big or small as you want.
I mostly make seafood gumbo ,but have made chicken and sausage gumbo w/ smoked chicken and sausage from my smoker.

 

[chisoxjim]

good tip on the different oils you can use, lard also makes a good roux.

 

[memphisbud]

Thanks for the tips.....I'll have to try with peanut or canola....appreciate the knowledge!

 

[coacher72]

Another trick about making a roux. Those of you that have made your own, know that it can get pretty tricky getting it to that dark brown color. Sometimes it may get scorched and you have to start over. What my Dad taught me was to get the roux to peanut butter color or slightly darker. Use it in putting the gumbo together. Once everything is going add a little Kitchen Bouquet to the gumbo to get to the color you want. 

Hope this helps.

 

[eman]

Another trick about making a roux. Those of you that have made your own, know that it can get pretty tricky getting it to that dark brown color. Sometimes it may get scorched and you have to start over. What my Dad taught me was to get the roux to peanut butter color or slightly darker. Use it in putting the gumbo together. Once everything is going add a little Kitchen Boquet to the gumbo to get to the color you want. 

Hope this helps.

Uhhhhh, That's cheating! LOL

 When i teach folks how to make a roux it's low and slow till they get the hang of it.

If you get it close to what you want in color and then toss in the trinity( onions ,bell pepper and celery) and stir, The sugars in the veggies caramalize and your roux will get real dark w/o burning.  I enjoy taking the time to cook a good meal so i am not worried about taking 30 min or more for a roux. But once you have made it a few times and know How close you are by the color then you can up the heat and make it alot faster.

 If you ever want to see how good a roux you can make ,Try doing it while holding a flash light.

 

[chefrob]

just a note on roux......the darker the roux the less thickning strength it has.

 

[coacher72]

eman, I know its cheating but it does get you by in a pinch. I'm like you, I like doing it the ol' fashion way, but sometimes I get impatient.

 

[dale5351]

Uhhhhh, That's cheating! LOL

If you think that is cheating, look up the recipe for the gumbo I make frequently.  Do a google on "smoked chicken and pepperoni gumbo".  You'll get thousands of hits to recipe sites that have snagged that recipe I created more than 15 years ago when I first started doing some Cajun cooking.  You'll notice that I use what is called "dry roux", basically flour that has been baked to a light tan color in the oven.  The pepperoni is there because at the time good Cajun sausages had not made their way up to Maryland where we live.  Pepperoni is fairly oily, and the dry roux helps to cut down on the fat content in the finished product.

I have only had one bad gumbo.  It was about 15 years ago from a restaurant in downtown Baltimore that called itself a Cajun restaurant.  I did not know enough to recognize it at the time, but now recognize that they had burnt the roux.

That dry roux is also a very good thing to thicken gravy with.  I keep a jar of it in our frig.

 

[coacher72]

dale5351,

I learned the dry roux method several years ago and it does work well. There is something about doing it the old fashion way that appeals to me. But keeping dry roux on hand is a way to serve in a pinch when you're short on time. Also Tony Chachere sells a dry roux that is carried by our local Wal-Mart that is pretty good.

 

[dale5351]

I imaging that the store product is a lot more expensive than flour, which is all you need to make it at home.

For those who don't know what we are talking about, here is a listing of two methods for making dry roux.

MMMMM

---

Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.05
 
      Title: Dry Roux
 Categories: D/g, Cajun
      Yield: 1 servings
 
      1    Information
 
  The traditional roux is an important element of many Cajun and
  Creole dishes.  It is a mixture of half flour and half fat (oil or
  butter) cooked to progressive degrees of color from blond to brown
  depending on the richness and the "smokiness" of the flavor you are
  trying to achieve, the brown being the richest.  This typical
  ingredient is a problem to low-fat, low-calorie, low-cholesterol
  cookery because of its high oil content, but making a "roux" without
  the oil is simple.
 
  For use in Cajun dishes, gravies and as an all around
  flavorful thickening agent.
 
  Make several cups at a time and store in tightly closed jar
  in refrigerator.
 
  Method 1 (Stovetop):
  Put 1 to 3 cups flour into heavy skillet and place over
  moderate heat. The amount of flour depends only on size of
  skillet and size of storage container you will use.
 
  Stir the flour around often with a wooden spoon as it
  cooks. Pay attention to the cooking because the flour will take a
  few minutes (5 or so) to begin coloring. Stir constantly to keep
  the flour in the bottom of the skillet moving so that it does not
  burn. Continue until all the flour is desired color, probably
  about like a light peanut butter color.  The entire process takes
  15 to 20 minutes to get enough rich dry roux to use for many
  dishes. Most dishes will call for several tablespoons full.
  Later -- when the dry roux is mixed with liquid, it will take on
  a darker color.
 
  Extracted from "Louisiana Light" by Roy F. Guste, Jr. 1990.
 
  Method 2 (In the Oven):
  Preheat oven to 400 F.
  Put quantity of flour (3-4 cups is good) into a flat heavy pan
  with sides.
  Bake for about 1 hour, stirring well every 10-15 minutes, until the
  flour begins to take on a light tan color.  Later, when mixed with
  liquids, it will take on the darker color that is normal for the
  traditional roux made with oil or butter.
 
  == Courtesy of Dale & Gail Shipp, Columbia Md. ==
 
MMMMM
 
 

 

[eman]

I have used the oven method when trying to make a low fat sauce piquant. Worked pretty well. 

Use rabbit which is very lean and cooking spray instead of oil.

 

[dale5351]

I have used the oven method when trying to make a low fat sauce piquant. Worked pretty well. 

Use rabbit which is very lean and cooking spray instead of oil.

One of our favorite dishes is chicken piquant -- pretty much using a recipe straight out of chef Paul Pruddome's book, Louisiana kitchen, except that we cut down on the number of jalapeno peppers.  

In our visits to Louisiana, it is one dish that we have not seen in any of the restaurants.  Plenty of gumbo, jambalaya, etoufee -- but no piquant.

 

[eman]

Sauce piquant was actually a poor mans food,  Actually most cajun dishes were . The creole food was what was served to the more genteel residents

of New orleans.

 Just about anything can be made good w/ a brown gravy and The trinity.