Gumbo

I love Gumbo. For you northerners, it's similar to a winter stew, only it's about a million times better. My friend's mom used to make the absolute best chicken and sausage Gumbo. I watched her cook it thousands of times, and I think every time she cooked it, she was able to skim off about 4 cups of fat from the top. If there is a dish that can yield that much fat it has to be good in my book. In the next month I will be making turkey gumbo. Friday after thanksgiving it's turkey gumbo time. I can't make seafood gumbo here, because seafood are not fresh and are too expensive.

So invariably, I go back to my staple, chicken and sausage gumbo. All chicken and sausage gumbos are similar----you start with a roux (a what? we'll get to that in a minute), then comes the holy trinity (and I'm not talking about the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost), chicken stock, chicken, sausage and love.

Now I just mentioned roux. What is a roux? The uninformed will tell you it's a thickener. That is in part true. Most kids think a roux smells terrible when it is cooking. It is however, essential to gumbo. A lot of care and time go into a roux. There are different colors of roux, blonde, medium brown (peanut butter looking), chocolate, and millions of variations in between. For chicken gumbo I use a chocolate roux, because it gives a nice smoky flavor to the dish.

So I guess like a good cook I should list the ingredients.

whole chicken, cut up
1 lb smoked sausage
2 large onions
1 large bell pepper
4 stalks of celery
4 cloves of garlic
chicken stock
salt
bay leaf
bayou bang


For you southerners, you thought the first step would be what. Of course, make a roux. But through trial and error I've shaken things up and done it differently. I used to boil my fryer, then I have my stock and my chicken for the gumbo. But the chicken was just kind of blah in the gumbo, so I've changed things up. Take your big pot that you are going to cook the gumbo in. Put vegetable oil in and heat on medium (DO NOT, I REPEAT DO NOT USE OLIVE OIL). Throw the fryer in, skin and all, and brown on all sides. By browning the chicken I've done two things. Some of the skin carmelizes into the pot which helps once the roux and veggies get going. Second thing is, the chicken actually has some nice flavor instead of just the bland white boiled look. Once you are good and browned on all sides remove chicken.

Now you make a roux. Now a roux is basically one part flour to one part oil or butter. For this dish I use oil. Use vegetable oil. Olive oil burns way to easily, and it does not make a good roux at all. It is actually quite repugnant. I usually do a cup and a half of each for this dish. However, since I already have the oil from the fryer browning and the juices, I do 1.5 cups of flour and about 3/4 cup of oil. Put it in the pot on medium high heat. Now here is the tricky, tedious part. The pot needs your undivided attention, or the roux will burn. You need to stir that roux, and keep stirring, and keep stirring. If the phone rings, let the machine get it. If your kid needs a diaper change it can wait. If your house is on fire, hopefully the kitchen is the last thing to go. Do not leave the roux. If you burn it (there will be black in the roux), you have to start over. A burnt roux is disastrous. So keep stirring that roux until you get the color of chocolate, milk chocolate, because it will carry over to dark chocolate. Depending on your pot, your stove, your climate, this could take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour.

Once your roux is done, in goes the sausage, cut up. I let the sausage brown for about 5 minutes. I want my sausage to get carmelized before I add the stock so that goes in first. After five minutes add the holy trinity. The holy trinity is Onions, Bell Pepper, and Celery. When that magical combination hits the pot with the sausage and the roux, it smells like heaven. I think Yankee Candle needs to make a holy trinity scent. I cook that until the veggies start to get tender. Then you add the garlic. I always add the garlic later. If you overcook the garlic, it will burn, and burnt garlic is almost as bad as burnt roux.

When the garlic is soft, in goes the chicken stock and the chicken. Put the fryer back in. Then I throw in my bay leaf and my Bayou Bang. What is Bayou bang. It's like Tony Chachere, but it's no salt, and it's better. Listed ingredients include garlic, onions, paprika, black and white pepper, cayenne, and then the "special herbs and spices." It's really a great thing to have in your kitchen. If you don't then add cayenne, pepper, little garlic powder, little onion powder, white pepper, and a dash of paprika.

After all that goes in, all you have is time on your side. The longer a gumbo cooks the better it is. In fact the next day it's better than the day you cook it. Just cook and stir occasionally on medium low. It will thicken up nicely. All the chicken will fall off the bones, and you'll be able to scoop most of them out. I sometimes let it cook for 4 hours, but 2 will do it.

Once it is done, you serve with rice. Traditional is white rice. I use either jasmine or basmati. Jasmine has a great aroma, and the dirty basmati adds a nice rustic touch to this very rustic dish. So put in a scoop or two of rice, throw the gumbo on top and add the hot sauce. I am a Crystal fan.

There are a ton of variations, but this one is mine. It does take some time to make, but it is well worth it. And make a nice huge pot, it freezes great.