Gumbo

DoesItFloat

DoesItFloat

Life of the Party
I was grocery shopping yesterday and happened to see some nice, huge shrimp behind the counter - got my mind thinking of my New Orleans days and gumbo, so that was the dinner plan. Happy it's soup season. A couple ingredients aren't pictured, but you can probably guess.

This will definitely be a camp recipe at some point on the coast. I'd like to try it PNW style with salmon and more local seafood ingredients.

The hardest part: the roux...
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Quite possibly my favorite smell of all time - the trinity going in the roux...
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Usually it's a pint of Guinness, but I couldn't find any...
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Obligatory browning of the andouille...
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Aforementioned shrimp cleaned and deveined. Suckers were huge...
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Everything added. Coming together simmering for a good while...
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Finished product. Good the day of, but much better the next day. Turned out pretty nice, needed a little more cayenne. I like to dust my rice with extra filé powder...
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Triggw said:
I grew up in South Louisiana and was prepared to scoff, but that looks pretty dang good. But okra and file?
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Where did you grow up @Triggw ? I‘m from Morgan City.
I am getting pretty good at making gumbo finally. I took a class in New Orleans four years ago on a trip where my other companions spent time drinking on Bourbon Street. I also bought a 5 quart Le Creuset Dutch oven, which made a difference. I also roast a chicken and make my own stock now and that too helped. I don’t use file.

@DoesItFloat , your gumbo does look great! (Love the dog in the photo too!) I like your idea of Oatmeal Stout! How much did you add? I use andouille and okra too, but i have to use frozen this time of year and i crisp it and cook the slime off first of course! But i don’t make mine as hot as you probably do.

Our family celebrates Christmas on Christmas Eve night and our tradition is to make Gumbo, which I’ll be doing this year along with my brother and nephew.

I made it for my dad’s birthday last month but didn’t take a photo of it until it was more than halfway gone. I used two pounds of wild caught red shrimp i bought from the Northern Fish Co. But you can see folks picked out most of the shrimp! I always use the chicken from my roasted chicken but i crisp it up a little in a skillet first.
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My roux took me nearly an hour this time! Never stop stirring!!!! Before my new Dutch oven it once took me 90 minutes to get it dark, but i also switched to canola oil from lard or bacon drippings which is how i started making roux.
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Jojo said:
your gumbo does look great! (Love the dog in the photo too!) I like your idea of Oatmeal Stout! How much did you add?
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Probably 14 oz. give or take. I usually use a whole pint of Guinness to darken up and add a touch of sweetness. I had a few obligatory sips of the Sammy.
 
Jojo said:
Where did you grow up @Triggw ? I‘m from Morgan City.
I am getting pretty good at making gumbo finally. I took a class in New Orleans four years ago on a trip where my other companions spent time drinking on Bourbon Street. I also bought a 5 quart Le Creuset Dutch oven, which made a difference. I also roast a chicken and make my own stock now and that too helped. I don’t use file.

@DoesItFloat , your gumbo does look great! (Love the dog in the photo too!) I like your idea of Oatmeal Stout! How much did you add? I use andouille and okra too, but i have to use frozen this time of year and i crisp it and cook the slime off first of course! But i don’t make mine as hot as you probably do.

Our family celebrates Christmas on Christmas Eve night and our tradition is to make Gumbo, which I’ll be doing this year along with my brother and nephew.

I made it for my dad’s birthday last month but didn’t take a photo of it until it was more than halfway gone. I used two pounds of wild caught red shrimp i bought from the Northern Fish Co. But you can see folks picked out most of the shrimp! I always use the chicken from my roasted chicken but i crisp it up a little in a skillet first.
View attachment 41387

My roux took me nearly an hour this time! Never stop stirring!!!! Before my new Dutch oven it once took me 90 minutes to get it dark, but i also switched to canola oil from lard or bacon drippings which is how i started making roux.
View attachment 41389
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Been to Morgan City. It's way down there. I was born in Crowley. Went to high school in Lafayette. My mother was a Broussard before she married a Texan. Don't get back to Louisiana very often anymore, but I enjoy the food when I do.

Nice dark roux, BTW:) Float's is a little light, but I think that's typical New Orleans. My wife makes a good gumbo. When we were first married, though, she made and served gumbo when my grandmother (Mrs. Broussard) was visiting. She hadn't yet discovered that magic instant when it's dark enough but not burned, so the gumbo was pretty light. When served, my grandmother said, "Oh this is good, Linda. What do you call it?" Both were embarrassed.
 
I was a weird kid and developed an obsession with creole cooking when I was 8-10 years old. Probably from watching Emeril on PBS all the time. Cooked lots of gumbo. I have all of Emerils cookbooks. All these gumbo pics look good and it's been a while, time to make some. One of my favorites is turkey bone gumbo, made from the carcass the day after Thanksgiving.
 
Triggw said:
Been to Morgan City. It's way down there. I was born in Crowley. Went to high school in Lafayette. My mother was a Broussard before she married a Texan. Don't get back to Louisiana very often anymore, but I enjoy the food when I do.

Nice dark roux, BTW:) Float's is a little light, but I think that's typical New Orleans. My wife makes a good gumbo. When we were first married, though, she made and served gumbo when my grandmother (Mrs. Broussard) was visiting. She hadn't yet discovered that magic instant when it's dark enough but not burned, so the gumbo was pretty light. When served, my grandmother said, "Oh this is good, Linda. What do you call it?" Both were embarrassed.
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Hahahahahaha!!!! Oh that is funny.

That happened to my mom one time. My mom was raised in Morgan City all her life until she married my Dad. Three of the kids in my family were born there, but lived there only a few years, including whenever my military dad was stationed out of the country on a remote duty.

My mom has two yaya sisters who were amazing cooks, as was her mom. But my mom was a terrible cook. She made a gumbo once for our visiting relatives here and my aunt’s husband tasted it and said, “Elodie, did you not make a roux?” She swears she did, but her gumbo is not what any of us called gumbo. And she made the sin of using those bay shrimp!

It’s definitely all about the roux and all about how dark one can get it without burning it. I’ve not burned it yet, but it has taken me awhile to get my gumbo right. The first time i made roux i gave up at the peanut butter color stage just cause i was tired and wanted it done. But i could tell the gumbo suffered. It wasn’t like my yaya aunts. But with this new Dutch oven and using canola instead, it gets darker faster. My hand does hurt for a couple of days after I’ve made it though! I feel confident enough that i would cook it for my relatives.

I sit at a stool on the stove and listen to a podcast and just stir and stir. If i have to go to the bathroom i made my husband come and sit and stir. Roux takes patience. One thing fly fishing taught me was patience. I don’t always have it though. But i really hate to start over or do things twice.

I have cousins in Lafayette still. I don’t know where Crowley is though!
 
You can make a non fat 'roux' by toasting a thin layer of flour on a cookie sheet in the oven. Doesn't work in a convection oven :LOL:. That gets you to brown. Then add to whatever fat you want and darken to final stage, or add and whisk into cold water like you were making gravy. The non fat version lacks 'body' though.
 
Jojo said:
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I have cousins in Lafayette still. I don’t know where Crowley is though!
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Twenty-five miles west of Lafayette on I-25. Yes, roux has embarrassed a lot of cooks.

Edit: Oops. I-10. Been in Colorado too long.
 
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Dat gumbo sho look good, y'all!

I don't have much to add (awesome work done here already), but I do have two tidbits:

You can almost always find fresh okra in any Asian market, for a pretty reasonable price. Not everyone likes it, but I adore it. I have read that okra is part of what traditionally made up the unique mouth feel of gumbo, but I just plain love the stuff. Makes awesome pickles...

But back on topic.. my other tip is to use a salt free Cajun seasoning blend. You can always add salt later, and I have found most salted blends too salty for my taste (and I'm not afraid of a little salt). If you can't find the salt free stuff, just make sure you don't add any salt before tasting your fully-cooked gumbo, and you might use a little extra stock to mellow the saltiness if necessary. It's still delicious if it comes out a little salty, so no big deal.

Oh... guess I had 3 tips... Louisiana Hot Sauce (just about any brand) is essential for serving. (Also superior to Frank's Red Hot on chicken wings, IMO... and cheaper!)

Mangez bien, mes amis!
 
I do like a good gumbo…and have made it a few times. Years ago I would make an annual pilgrimage to Lafitte or Delacroix to fish for redfish and speckled trout (before I began fly fishing) and very much enjoyed the local cuisine…I miss turtle soup from there…and a dark roux is mandatory for both
 
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