have you got one? Share plz!!!
Here is one that we make. It’s for the crockpot, though. Didn’t know if you were looking for something like that or not, but here it is anyway:
Sausage Gumbo
2 lbs. fully cooked smoked sausage-cut into 1/2" slices
1 1/2 C. chopped Bell Pepper
1 C. chopped onion
4 cloves garlic-diced
2 28oz cans crushed tomatoes, undrained
3T. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
2 pkgs. (10oz each) frozen, sliced Okra-thawed and drained
2T. white vinegar
Hot sauce to suit your taste
Mix sausage, peppers, onion, garlic, tomatoes Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper in the crockpot.
Cover and cook on low for 7 to 9 hours (or on high for 3 to 4 hours).
Add Okra, vinegar and hot sauce.
Cover and cook for 30 minutes more, or until slightly thickened.
At this point, I’ll add shrimp to the pot, too…but that’s up to you if you want shrimp in there or not.
Serve over rice.
This makes 16 servings of Sausage Gumbo.
well, first you make a roux…
I’ll let this site take it from there.
Personally, I use Andouille Sausage, Chicken, and Shrimp, but the meat is up to you. Also, don’t get too caught up in using a recipe per se, part of the fun of Cajun cooking (and cooking in general) is experimenting and seeing what you like.
I also use Andouille sausage, and not the commercial stuff made by your local commercial grocer. The real stuff is worth the price if you’re lucky enough to live where you can find it.
If you use filet powder to thicken it instead of the okra above, just remember to add the powder only to the portions that you are eating at that point. Don’t just add it to the whole pot.
Actually, that’s the fun of all cooking. I rarely make anything the same way twice.
Since gumbo is traditionally made with either okra (“gumbo” is in African word for okra – see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gumbo), or file powder as a gumbo substitute, this thread reminded me of a culinary puzzle I’ve been worrying over: How do you get the slime off of okra? So I started a thread: http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=312591
Whatever the answer is, it might have no relevance to making gumbo. Is the slime, perhaps, essential to the dish’s texture and consistency?
Sorry, of course I meant, “file powder as an okra substitute . . .” That is, file power is added to an okra-free gumbo to thicken it to the same consistency as one containing okra. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File_powder. But purists would not include okra and file in the same gumbo.
Having been introduced to gumbo (aka, food of the gods) by a cajun buddy, I can offer a few things that I do.
One gumbo uses a medium to dark roux, and contains sausage, chicken and/or game; onion, bell peppers, celery, parsley, green onions and maybe some other stuff I don’t remember.
Another uses a light roux, every kind of seafood you can acquire (typically shrimp, oysters, scallops, clams), tomatoes, okra, and the rest of the above.
You must serve it with baked sweet potatoes and French bread in a pasta-style bowl.
File’ is added to the bowl only, never to the pot - it will make the entire product stringy.
Wine and good music (like Little Feat’s Waiting for Columbus) are recommended while your guests participate in the cooking process, which can last for 4-8 hours.
It doesn’t taste like gumbo unless you use Andouille sausage, and it is not really gumbo unless you use okra to thicken it and a roux to flavor it. I don’t like okra in anything else, but it a well made gumbo, the okra seeds are the best, like vegetable caviar.
1/3 c flour
1/4 c oil
1 large chopped onion
celery and sweet peppers chopped, other vegetables to taste
5 cloves garlic minced
black pepper
salt
ground red pepper
3 c chicken broth
1/2 lb Andouille sausage
1 1/2 c okra, sliced large
3 bay leaves
chicken, diced a large breast worth, but it doesn’t have to be white meat
2 c hot cooked rice
12 oz shelled shrimp
Make roux with flour and oil. It is done when it is the color of an old penny. Stir in the veggies and spices except the bay leaves. Cook until the veggies are tender. Gradually add hot chicken broth. Add the sausage, okra, chicken, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil and then cover and reduce heat, add shrimp and rice, simmer for at least 30 minutes.
To make extremely mild gumbo, use 1/4 teaspoon each of the black and red pepper. I usually start with a teaspoon and then start adding stuff from the spice cabinet. Old Bay and Hungarian paprika work well. Habaneros seem to overwhelm it, but serranos are nice. Jalopenos are too bitter. Tabasco is nice, but go slow the vinegar is overwhelming. Worchestershire sause is a good addition, but again go slow. I like to add green onions too. Go easy on the salt as it can be added at the table.
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1/2 cup flour
1 green pepper, diced
1 med onion, diced
5-6 ribs of celery, diced
1 10 oz pkg frozen cut okra, thawed (or fresh - washed and sliced)
3-4 cloves of garlic, crushed
4 cans of chicken broth, or 1-1/2 quarts homemade
1 can peeled whole tomatoes
1 lb chicken breast, diced (or use leftover cooked chicken)
1 lb andouille sausage, sliced (or any link sausage)
Cajun seasoning, to taste
ground red pepper, to taste
salt
pepper
1 lb med shrimp, shelled
Make a roux: Melt the butter over medium heat. Sprinkle in flour, and stir or whisk constantly over medium heat until it is nice and brown, and smelling nutty. DO NOT BURN IT! Start over if you do. This takes about 5-10 minutes, so have a glass of wine handy.
When it’s ready, add the garlic and all the veggies except the tomatoes. Stir to coat, and cook over medium heat until they start to get a little mushy, about 15-20 minutes. While you’re cooking those, saute the diced (raw) chicken and sausage in a little olive or vegetable oil.
When the veggies are ready, add the broth and tomatoes (breaking them up.) You can add a little water if it looks too thick. Add seasonings to taste. Bring to a boil, and reduce to low. Simmer for about an hour, more is ok, then add the shrimp about 15 minutes before serving. Serve with rice. Hooo-eeee!
How about some Zombie gumbo?
Okay, I know I am reviving an old thread but I was about to make a new one when I remembered to search first and found this one. I feel the urge to make some gumbo. I used to make it with file powder and no okra, but I found that I actually like okra and was going to try it with okra. It seems like all the recipes here put in the veggies at the same time but I was wondering if it would be better to put the okra in later to keep it from breaking down to sliminess? Also, I could not find fresh okra and had to go with frozen, in cooking other things I have found that frozen veggies are best if added later in the cooking process so they don’t get too mushy.
Also, I know how to make a roux but I’ve always done light rouxs, never a dark one. I always “cheated” when I made gumbo by using Tony Chachere’s gumbo starter. A friend from Lousiana told me to use that in her recipe. So I’ve never really done a real gumbo from scratch. I can’t find that stuff anymore so I guess I have to give the dark roux a try.
So it’s been a couple years since this thread first aired, does anyone else have any tips or recipes to add?
At Jerry’s Cajun Cafe in Pensacola Florida, they have the best gumbo I’ve ever tasted. He even gave me the recipe when I asked about it. As Written:
JERRY’S LOUISIANA SEAFOOD GUMBO
2 c vegetable oil
4 c flour
2 c onions, diced
3 c celery, diced
2 c bell pepper, diced
2 t minced garlic
2 c chopped green onions
3 gallons water
1 lb okra, fresh or frozen
2 cans Ro-tel tomatoes
1 t salt
1 t black pepper
2 oz crab boil
8 dashes Tabasco
8 dashes of Louisiana hot sauce
1 t crushed red pepper
1 oz Paul Prudhomme’s seafood magic seasonings
1 oz Cajun seasoning
1 oz dried basil
1 oz dried thyme
3 lbs peeled and deveined shrimp (70 - 90 count)
1 lb crab claw meat
2 whole crabs, cleaned and halved
1 pt fresh oysters
1 oz file or to taste
First you make a roux. In large heavy stock pit on medium heat, add oil and bring to temperature. Add flour gradually. It will sizzle when it is at the right temperature. Using a whisk, stir roux constantly. Stir until it reaches a peanut butter color. Then add onions, celery, bell pepper, garlic and 1 c of green onions (in that order) until all items are cooked down or caramelized.
Next, add water, okra, Ro-tel tomatoes, and seasonings and bring to boil. After it reaches boiling reduce heat to low and let simmer for at least an hour. Add seafood and continue to cook on medium heat for about 15 - 20 minutes. Taste for seasoning and texture. Add file to thicken. Stir in remaining green onions and simmer for a few more minutes.
Serve as a soup with a little steamed rice. Make about 4+ gallons of gumbo. Can cut recipe in half to reduce.
From Jerry’s Cajun Café & Market, Pensacola, FL.
I’ve only made it one time (for 30 people) and it was worth the effort! I have no idea how to make a smaller batch.
If you want no slime on your okra, peel and core it before putting it in. 
Duck and Andouille Gumbo
Make a Roux with flour and oil I start with a 1/1 ratio and add flour untill it looks about right. Over medium heat keep stirring… stir, stir, stir… stir untill you think your arm is about to fall off. When you think the Roux is going to burn if left on for even one more minute, a deep brown almost chocolate color… add the trinity. 1 onion, 1 bell pepper and 3 ribs of celery. Cook untill softened… add garlic, I usually add 2 cloves worth of crushed and chopped. I add some salt and pepper also at this point, and some red pepper. Maybe about 1 tsp worth of each (maybe a bit more on the red pepper). Then you add the sliced andouille… about 1 LB… let the sausage sweat a little bit in with the veggies… then add 2 quarts of chicken stock, 2 bay leaves, one package of frozen okra and 2 duck breasts (or chicken or turkey) that you’ve cooked previously (preferably on my big green egg smoker with apple wood because it’s awesome ;P) and have cut into long strips. As things cook and start smelling really good, add some tabasco and worcestershire to taste with a dash of oregano and basil… more salt and pepper if needed.
The gumbos I make are either dark or light. Dark = chicken or duck and sausage, light = seafood and okra and tomatoes. Both have onion, bell and celery. You don’t actually cook the filé, do you? It should never be added to the cooking pot, only the serving bowls.
The Other Master speaks on the subject of gumbos.
No, I don’t cook the filé but I couldn’t even find filé this time around. Stupid grocery store has sections for just about every ethnic food you can think of, but no cajun.
I was planning to make one with sausage and chicken but I may even toss in a few shrimp. I am hoping to finally get this done this afternoon but I have some other things to do as well, so if not today then Sunday.
I’ve found the file and cajun spices are often stocked in the regular “spice” aisle next to baking/sugars and oils. It’s usually stocked up right next to Prudhomme’s and Lagasse’s bottled spice mixes.
I had looked there, as well as in all the ethnic sections, they used to have it they just don’t carry it anymore.
My dear brother, who for many years was a cook on an oil rig off the Louisana coast, taught me to make roux in the microwave. Mix the oil and flour in a Pyrex dish and nuke on high. Never let it go more than 5 minute without checking and stirring it. As it gets closer to done, only nuke if for a minute or so at a time.
I find it a whole lot easier to NOT burn it this way.