Drew BreesJust a heads up to anyone interetsted: I will be live-tooting me making gumbo in like an hour and a half after I get back from the store and prep. Feel free to follow this thread, as I'll be posting it here!
Also I have a much better camera this time around, so it's gonna look super great.
Alrighty yall, it's almost time! I'd like to start out with a little historical context; in this sense, I am like the people I despise the most (food bloggers). HOWEVER I try to limit that and provide a bit of context for my personal anecdotes (which I ALSO try to limit).
With that in mind, a short history of gumbo.
Gumbo, much like the state of Louisiana, is a bit of a metaphor for the cultural influences that shaped it (both the state and the dish).
Louisiana was founded first by French settlers, who then lost it to the Spanish in the 7 Years War (aka The French and Indian war for those of you in the States). The Spanish, ultimately, gave it back to Napoleon as part of the Treaty of San Ildefonso. Napoleon, seeking to raise funds for war, sold it to the Americans.
So now you have not only American settlers, French Settlers (including those expelled from Acadia, who would go on to become Louisiana's Cajun population), and Spanish Settlers, but also a good mix of German Settlers for good measure. The German Settlers are important, because they brought their sausage-making expertise to the equation.
Every single one of these settlers at some point dealt with the native population of the Mississippi River (specifically the Choctaw, Cherokee, and Alabama tribes), who were well-versed in using the native plant life in their dishes.
Finally, we have African slaves, and specifically West-African slaves, who used okra in a lot of their dishes, and brought that with them as they were forced into servitude in the South.
The word Gumbo itself is derived from the Choctaw word for filé, "kombo", which is powdered sassafras leaf, often used as a gumbo thickener.
There are roughly three ways to thicken a gumbo: a roux (the traditional French way), okra, and filé powder. Typically, you're not going to use a combination of the three, but you can use a combination of roux/okra or roux/filé.
There are also two types of gumbo (and a third, made mostly from vegetables, which I've never tried to make nor had, so I can't speak for it): sausage and chicken, or seafood.
Seafood gumbo is arguably much more labor intensive, and my great-grandmother's recipe is great. That being said, I don't have all day to peel crab and cook shit, so I'm going with sausage and chicken, specifically chicken and andouille gumbo.
Additionally, I'll be doing a roux/okra method, which is a personal favorite since I do have a little time on my hands.
Roux is a method of slowly cooking equal parts fat and flour, so they don't burn but instead create a dark, nutty-flavored thickening agent. Honestly I've only ever really used a blonde roux (i.e. cooked for a short amount of time) to make Mac & Cheese at home, so I don't know what other applications aside from gumbo a dark roux has.
Gumbo is usually a sunday tradition at my parents' place; last weekend my stepdad sent me a picture of them making gumbo since the Saints weren't playing. Much like red beans and rice on a monday, taking the day to simmer a pot of gumbo is not actually a stereotype, but an actual factual thing our family did.
I'll be cutting up some veggies before I start making the roux, so I'll be afk for a few, just so I can focus on making the roux and posting without ALSO needing to chop. See yall in a few!
So here we are ready to roll! I have my roux, equal parts vegetable oil and all-purpose flour. I'm using about a cup of each in this recipe. Also pictured is my mom's roux spatula; you'll see that looks like two pieces of different colored wood toward the edge of the spatula, but these are actually two different colored pieces of clay. You can use these clay pieces to compare to your room to see how dark it is and how dark you want it.
This bad boy is going to be stirred pretty much constantly for about the next 20 minutes. What's going to happen is the flour will slowly cook down (it is important not to have the heat to high otherwise it will burn).
This is also the first time I'm cooking gumbo on this stove, so I'm having to adjust a little bit temperature wise. So far so good though.
The Flash made it look a lot lighter than it actually is. Here's a better picture.
Approaching a nice peanut butter color now, and this kitchen smells a bit like a fish fry. However we want to go a little bit darker. Typically we're looking for close to the color of chocolate
I promised to deliver high quality content, so enjoy me adding the trinity+pope (celery, bell pepper, onion, + garlic) to this roux
Gonna let this wilt for about 5-10 minutes, then add some andouille
We've got andouille, we've got okra, we've got a sweaty roux. We've got Bay leaf, and now chicken stock. Gonna let this boil then reduce to a simmer for an hour before we start the next step.
And now, dear reader, I must confess a secret to you: here is the part of the recipe that I ripped off the famous Emeril Lagasse.
Normally, I would just throw some chopped chicken in the pot and call it a day. However, our story begins many moons ago when I was but a much more wee lad than I am today.
I came home after drinking, but was not quite tired. I wasn't super hungry, but I didn't feel like spending the next day cooking. Drunk me, having everything I needed to make a gumbo, did just that.
However, I only had sausage and some leftover rotisserie chicken. And as we all know, the worst part about cold rotisserie chicken is that it sucks major ass.
In a fit of wisdom, I came across Emeril's "Essence" seasoning (it's since gone by about 100 different names, but it's essentially the same), which I will now detail:
8 Tbl paprika
3 Tbl cayenne pepper
5 Tbl pepper (ground black)
6 Tbl garlic powder
3 Tbl onion powder
6 Tbl salt
2.5 Tbl oregano
2.5 Tbl thyme
Shake to combine, and can be stored in a jar or container for up to 3 months.
This recipe is not intended to be used all at once, since we're only using 1 Lb of chicken today. However, we are going to liberally apply that shit to the chopped chicken before it goes into the pot.
I did this with our leftover rotisserie chicken, and it was KILLER. I've not told my family about this change (and I doubt they would care) but I feel like things like this, the little variations, are what make gumbo a "personal" dish for lots of people.
Ok I forgot to get a picture of the seasoning on the chicken BUT here she is 1 hour in, now simmering with some chicken:
Basically it's skimming fat off the top for the next 2 hours, letting everyone get to know each other in the pot, then making rice later to serve it over. I'll post a finished picture later today when I have some, but I'll go ahead and share my recipe here now for y'all to have as a thanks for sticking around!
There's two parts to the recipe, the roux, then the actual recipe.
Roux:
1 cup oil (I use vegetable oil, but you can use butter if you really want to go hard in the paint)
1 cup flour (all-purpose)
Combine the two in a deep pot, and heat over medium heat for 20-25 minutes, stirring constantly, until the color resembles chocolate or a very dark peanut butter
Actual gumbo part:
- 1 and 1/2 cup onions, diced (this is roughly 1 large onion)
- 1 cup celery, diced (I usually cut the stalks in half lengthwise, then chop across for manageable pieces; this is roughly 2-3 ribs of celery)
- 1 cup green bell pepper, diced (this is roughly 1 whole bell pepper)
- 1 lb smoked sausage, sliced (I usually make half-moons)
- 1 lb chicken meat, cut into cubes
- 1 and 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 3 bay leaves
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 2 tbl chopped parsley
- 2 cups okra, sliced OR 1 T filé powder (typically, you're going to use on or the other, or you can omit either of these entirely if you just want to make a roux and use that)
- 2 cups okra, sliced OR 1 T filé powder (typically, you're going to use on or the other, or you can omit either of these entirely if you just want to make a roux and use that)
1. Make a roux
2. Add onions, celery, and bell pepper to the finished roux, and stir to combine. Cook 4-5 minutes (still on medium heat that you made the roux with) until the veggies are wilted
3. Add sausage, salt, cayenne pepper, and bay leaves. Stir and cook for 3-4 minutes.
4. Add chicken broth, and stir well to combine. Add okra. Bring to a boil then simmer 1 hour on medium-low.
5. Season chicken cubes with Emeril's Essence (see subsequent toot), then add to pot.
2. Add onions, celery, and bell pepper to the finished roux, and stir to combine. Cook 4-5 minutes (still on medium heat that you made the roux with) until the veggies are wilted
3. Add sausage, salt, cayenne pepper, and bay leaves. Stir and cook for 3-4 minutes.
4. Add chicken broth, and stir well to combine. Add okra. Bring to a boil then simmer 1 hour on medium-low.
5. Season chicken cubes with Emeril's Essence (see subsequent toot), then add to pot.
6. Stir in parsley after 2 hours. (Once removed from heat, add filé if you did not already add okra).
Don't use all three (okra, filé, and a roux); most people use either okra or filé, or a roux and one of the other two. Otherwise it will be too thick.
Emeril's Essence (chicken rub):
8 Tbl paprika
3 Tbl cayenne pepper
5 Tbl pepper (ground black)
6 Tbl garlic powder
3 Tbl onion powder
6 Tbl salt
2.5 Tbl oregano
2.5 Tbl thyme
After step 6 (in total, you're spending about 3 hours simmering), you can make some rice while the gumbo cools enough for you to eat it. Any long grain rice will do, I prefer jasmine, but made to regular instructions on the package. Then serve in a deep bowl and ladle the gumbo over that rice. Add your favorite hot sauce for extra fun.
Hope yall enjoy, and thanks again for sticking around :D
Ta da! Bout to make a few bowls once my wife gets in shortly, so one last picture to come!
Final result: a big ol bowl of home (to which I added some Tabasco shortly after this picture). Serve with some french bread for cleanup later, and enjoy!
Manroll Steamheimer@anthonydavis Fantastic thread! Here's the gumbo I made earlier this week: https://mastodon.social/web/statuses/100874888593044297
🇵🇸Murray O'Caht🇵🇸@anthonydavis mate I'm gonna give this a go - I love cooking, most of my recipes don't have stories though.
@klendool Hell yeah, go for it! Let me know how it goes too if you don't mind :D
It's never too late to start a tradition for yourself at the very least haha
@anthonydavis @klendool well I live in a gluten free house so I'll be unable to make the roux with wheat flour, but I've had some fairly good results using rice flour for roux.
healyn@anthonydavis please give me this gumbo
@healyn COME ON DOWN TO MY APARTMENT T_T
@anthonydavis for real, that looks so fucking good
@healyn thank you! I'll share the recipe in full at the end as well, since it's not really a family secret haha
Jenny Utah@anthonydavis omfggggggg can I come over?!? Pretty please???
@ItsJenNotGabby Come on down! :D