Let's talk roux. You can't make gumbo without a good roux. You just can't. So before you quit reading because you're a little intimidated by making one, listen up. I have a trick to making a simple, rich, dark roux every time, so no worries. You can do this.
I'm gonna walk you through this step by step, but first I'm going to give you the list of all the ingredients you'll need for your gumbo.
Roux
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup vegetable oil
Trinity
4 cups chopped onions
2 cups chopped celery
1 cup chopped green pepper
The Pope
1- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
Remaining ingredients
1 cup sliced okra (frozen is ok)
1 1/2 lbs smoked andouille sausage
one cooked, deboned and skinned chicken
8 cups HOT chicken stock (from the above chicken that you have boiled)
1-2 bay leaves
1 lb peeled shrimp
1 lb crawfish tails (get Boudreaux brand in the freezer section at Walmart, already cooked, just thaw it and dump it in)
2 cups chopped green onions
hot cooked rice
french bread
Instructions:
Early on the day before you plan to serve your gumbo, take a whole chicken and place it in a stock pot with enough water to cover the bird. Chop up some onions, celery, garlic, and add to the pot along with any other desired seasonings (salt your water well). Bring to a boil and simmer uncovered for and hour or so until the chicken is tender and cooked through. Let the chicken sit on the stove and cool in the broth for awhile. Once it's cool enough to deal with, take the chicken out of the pot and remove the meat from the skin and bones. Meanwhile, strain out the solids from your broth in the pot and put the strained broth back in the stock pot. Put the pot on the back of the stove and heat it up to a simmer.
Slice up your adouille sausage and saute' it in a skillet until browned.
Chop up your trinity and set it aside in a bowl. Get that okra out of the freezer and set it aside. You'll need all of these ingredients right at your finger tips and ready to add to the roux in a hurry.
Now for the secret no fail roux. Get out your big iron skillet (you knew this was coming, right?). Get out your flour and have your 1/2 cup of oil at the ready. Place your cup of all purpose flour in the skillet and while constantly stirring with your wooden spoon, heat the skillet up to medium high heat. Keep stirring and stirring (this can take from 15-30 minutes) until the flour is a rich brown color (about the color of the outside of a pecan).
Now I'm afraid this picture does not do the color justice. It's very hard to reach the darkest brown you can without burning, but trust me, the outside of a pecan is about the best way to describe it.
Once you have the flour browned up, pour that oil in, stir it up REAL quick like or it'll burn...(sorry no picture of the completed roux with added oil, if I had made a picture, it would have burned) ...and then dump your trinity in.
Once the trinity is incorporated with the roux, add the frozen okra. Saute' the vegetables until they are almost tender. Add the Pope and stir continuously. Once the veggies have reached the desired tenderness, add the deboned chicken and the adouille sausage to the pot. Cook with the vegetables until well incorporated, stirring fequently. Transfer everything to a heavy duty stock pot. Gradually stir in the hot chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add your bay leaves. Reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook for an hour or more. Really, cook it as long as you can. The roux will draw the flavors and textures together.
About 10 minutes before serving, stir in your green onions. 2 minutes before serving, stir in your uncooked shrimp. About 30 seconds before serving, add your cooked crawfish tails.
Serve over hot cooked rice and with some crusty french bread. I gaurantee, this gumbo would have made Justin Wilson proud. And if you don't know Who Dat is, Google him.
A note about football. I'm from the south where the SEC reigns supreme. We don't have very many NFL teams, so everyone pretty much can take their pick who to root for on NFL game day. This year is a bit different, though. People from all over north or South are rooting for the Saints. New Orleans (as a city) needed this and they played well enough to get to go. So to all the New Orleanians and Saints fans, "Lache pas las patate!" As translated, means "don't let go of the potatoes." In cajun country, it means "never give up trying."
Bon Appetit and Bonne Chance, y'all.
