How to Make a Gumbo (for just a few or for 50!)

Let's face it- you are going to be in the kitchen for a while, but the end result is absolutely delicious! So, relax, put on some Cajun tunes, grab a glass, and get to cookin' sha!

First of all, decide if this is going to be the recipe for about 6-8 people. If you want to make it for more like I usually do, just multiply the ingredients according to the number of people you are serving. Much of this recipe is a matter of eye-balling the measurements, so if it gets confusing, just ask! Everyone makes their gumbo a little differently, so if there are certain ingredients that you do not care for, feel free to alter the recipe to your liking!

Don't forget that you can always message me with questions.

NOTE THAT I AM ALSO GOING TO POST MY POTATO SALAD RECIPE IN THE NEXT HUB. ONE CAN HARDLY GO WITHOUT THE OTHER!!!

Here is what you will need:

• 1 whole cut up chicken fryer (throw out gizzard and liver)
• Fresh garlic pod
• Bunch of green onions, diced
• Half of a bunch of celery, diced finely
• Green bell pepper, diced
• Stick of butter (Channel you inner Paula Deen)
• 1 package of andouille sausage (has a little kick)
• 1 package of tasso
• 2-3 yellow or white onions (I use white, but pick your favorite)
• Salt and Pepper
• Large pot
• White rice
• File' (not file, the spice file')

Roux takes the longest to prepare out of anything, so I recommend starting this first. There are 3 different ways that you can make your roux.

#1 RULE OF MAKING ROUX: If it burns, toss it!! It will ruin your whole gumbo.

1) The traditional way (see video below)

2) In the microwave

Mix 2/3 cup of flour and 2/3 cup of vegetable oil in a microwave safe container (I have used butter before too) and microwave for between 5-8 minutes. Roux is finicky, so watch it or even take it out to stir it every few minutes to make sure it does not burn.

OR

3) Cheat!! There are several different brands that are wonderful, but when i am making a big gumbo and do not feel like nursing the roux for hours over the stove, I use either Savoie's or Richard's Roux and use a mix of the light and dark.

How finely you dice your vegetables is a matter of taste, but I like to dice them up pretty small so that they pretty much melt into your gumbo in the end. Take the onions (both kinds), bell pepper and celery, dice them, and put them into separate bowls. The reasoning behind this is that you may chose to not use all of each vegetable, and this way you can freeze them individually if you have any extra.

***Take the green onions and set aside. These I do not saute'.

Once you have everything chopped, saute' each vegetable separately (I do white onion and celery together) with about a half of a tablespoon of butter (or more if you prefer or if it begins to burn). I cook this over about a medium heat so that the vegetables can cook slowly enough to just change color and not burn. You may salt and pepper the vegetables as they cook, but do not put too much, otherwise your gumbo will turn out like a salt lick!

Set all of the vegetables aside.

Some people prefer to buy the store bought chicken stock, but I say why bother! Boil your own chicken and save the money and gain the flavor!

Take your gumbo pot, fill it with water and just a tiny bit of salt, and put your cleaned chicken in there to boil. Set on high heat and boil the chicken until it is almost falling off of the bone (About an hour or so). Once the chicken is cooked, take it out of the stock to let it cool. Next I throw away all of the chicken skins, fat and bones so that you are left with just the meat.

Pour out or save about half of the chicken stock- you may need more later on once everything is cooking in the pot. Now you can put the chicken meat back into the pot along with your vegetables that you have already sauteed.

I LOVE garlic and put it in pretty much everything that I can. The best way to add garlic to your gumbo is with fresh garlic and a garlic press. I use about 1/4 of a garlic pod or about 4 cloves. You can use more or less to your liking (as everything else!).

At this point, I add in about 1/4 of the green onions to let them cook down. I garnish the top of the gumbo with more in the end. If you love green onions, add more in!

Next, or at least somewhere in between sauteing the vegetables and creating your stock, saute' the sausage and tasso in some butter to lock in the flavor. I do not season either of these because there is already plenty of flavor in them and you do not want to over-season them. Some people simply slice the sausage one way, but I like to quarter it so that you have smaller bites of sausage throughout the gumbo (same for the tasso).

As far as the brand of sausage goes, this is also by preference. I use Savoie's or Richard's, but there is also Manda and many other brands available. The best sausage of course comes from a local butcher that makes their own, but if you do not have access to one, any of those brands (or your favorite) will suffice.

This only takes a few minutes, and make sure to cook over medium heat at a max. I find that cooking them at high only makes the outsides char and the insides dry out. Once the meat is all browned, go ahead and add this into the chicken stock, chicken and vegetables that you already have cooking.

The next step is the last and easiest- Add in your roux that you made earlier. i add anywhere from 3-5 tablespoons of roux. The good news here is that you cannot mess up! Remember the chicken stock that you saved from earlier? If you put too much roux, add some of this in to thin it out. If your gumbo is not thickening up enough, then add a little more roux.

While your gumbo is cooking, it is best to have a stash of cookies or goodies on the side to have with you glass of wine or beer. Now you have time to pop in a movie and wait a couple of hours while your gumbo cooks down.

Season to taste at this point. Since you have already seasoned the vegetables and the meats all have their own seasoning in them, you do not want to add too much seasoning and make it too salty- it is hard to fix once you cross that path.

TIP FOR RE-HEATING: If you plan on cooking your gumbo ahead of time then cooling it in the fridge, make sure that you reheat on low heat. If you don't the gumbo will BURN! This is experience talking here, so you can trust me on that one.

NOW MAKE SOME RICE AND ENJOY YOUR CAJUN GUMBO!!! (add file' to taste)