The "Whole Shebang" Seafood, Sausage, & Chicken Gumbo
My grandmother, Ruby Fayard, always had a huge pot of Gumbo cooking on the stove-top in the Ocean Springs Seafood Market. I helped her many times and ,over the years, I picked up many of her methods. While no one can duplicate her exact Gumbo, this one that my family came up with is close. The primary difference is that Maw Maw didn't use chicken at all. Her Gumbo was exclusively seafood and sausage. I've added the chicken because, unlike 10 years ago, I don't have an entire seafood market at my disposal anymore and neither do most people! Making Gumbo is a very imprecise process but I've tried my best to lay out the important steps. You can add more or less of anything listed. You can make a small pot or a 20 gallon pot. This recipe assumes somewhere between 5-15 gallons. Once you are at the simmering stage, it's a good time to assess if the gumbo needs anything else. If you're staring at a pot of brown broth then you should add more meats. If your Gumbo isn't dark enough, you can add more roux. If it's too thick or dark, add more water or chicken broth. The only way you can ruin your Gumbo is to burn the roux or over salt it. It really is a much more pleasurable experience if you do the prep work a day or two ahead but you'll still need a good day at home to make the final product due to the hours of simmering necessary for it to come together. Have fun and enjoy!
“The Whole Shebang Gumbo” (chicken, sausage & seafood)
Steps that can be completed up to 2 days ahead of time:
1.Make a roux
Ingredients: 1 cup Flour & 1 cup Oil – re: Gluten free flour. I successfully made a roux with “cup for cup” flour from Williams Sonoma but cut the oil to 3/4 cup.
A. Add 1 cup of oil to a seasoned cast iron skillet at medium-low heat. Heat on low if your stove runs hot.
B. Once the oil is warm, slowly stir in the cup of flour.
C. From this point until the roux is the color you want it, your job is to stand over the pan and constantly (without a 30 second break) stir and scrape the mixture. Use a wooden scraper for this task.
D. When the roux is almost to the dark brown that you’re looking for, take it off the burner and continue to stir for 15 minutes.
E. Remove roux from hot pan to a jar for storage or a bowl. It should taste nutty/roasted but not burnt. If it’s burnt …start over. Better too light than burnt. The color you’re seeking is anywhere from the color of a brown paper bag to a dark espresso color.
2. Boil a chicken or two (unless you want a Seafood & Sausage gumbo)
Ingredients: 1-2 whole chickens, coarsely cut celery, quartered onions, chicken bouillon, poultry seasoning, bay leaves, salt & pepper, & garlic
A. Depending on how much Gumbo you’re wanting you’ll need to boil 1 or 2 whole chickens.
B. Add all ingredients but the chicken plus enough water to completely cover your chicken when submerged in an appropriate sized pot and bring to a boil.
C. Place chicken in the pot and reduce heat to a low boil. Cover and let it cook for 90 min or until chicken is falling off the bone.
D. Remove chicken to cool. Strain the stock, throw away the solids and reserve the liquid for use in the gumbo.
E. Pick the chicken off the bones and save for the gumbo. Discard bones, fat & skin. You don’t have to worry about shredding the meat too fine. Most of it will fall apart when it is cooking in the gumbo.
3. Brown the sausage & sauté your veggies
Ingredients: 5-6 large onions, 1 bag of celery, 3-5 bell peppers (garlic & okra in a different step), 5# smoked sausage
A. Chop all veggies (not too tiny or they will completely disappear) and slice the sausage
B. Slightly brown the sausage. Use some of the oil to sauté the veggies.
C. Set aside cooked veggies (in their juices & butter) and the browned sausage to be used in the gumbo.
Making the Gumbo: Previous steps must be complete at this point (and they’re the hardest!)
1. Brown your Okra
Ingredients: 1 large bag of chopped frozen okra (frozen or thawed) , butter, Gumbo pot, scraper or spoon, masher
* Note* This is not the okra that you see floating in the finished gumbo. If you want floating okra you can add it in later. This okra will be completely cooked down & slightly burnt. It’s purpose is to flavor and thicken your gumbo.
A. With the heat on high, cook down the okra until it is quite literally browning to the bottom of the pot and you have to keep scraping it off. You should have a a slimy greenish brown burnt (but not too burnt) mess in the bottom of your pot. Don’t worry about the layer of burnt okra concoction on the bottom of your pan because you will deglaze with chicken broth in the next step. Have at least 2 quarts of broth on hand because you’ll need it quickly as soon as the okra is done.
2. Make your Gumbo base
Ingredients: Roux (pour off as much oil from the top as you can), 2 quarts of chicken broth, and your gumbo paddle (see below) or long handled spoon.
A. This step begins with your burner still on high and your okra mess at the bottom of the pot.
B. Add your Roux to the Okra and stir it in VERY QUICKLY but thoroughly. It would be bad if you burnt your roux at this point.
C. The second you see your roux is blended with the okra, dump in at least 2 quarts of your chicken broth. (either from when you boiled the chickens OR store bought if you didn’t want chicken in your gumbo)
D. Stir through the steam! The okra mess should’ve come loose but just in case, immediately start stirring the broth and scraping the bottom of the pot for any residual roux/okra mixture. Once the steam goes away, continue stirring until all is smooth. You can turn the heat down to medium now.
3. Adding meats & veggies to the pot
Ingredients: browned sausages, sautéed veggies, shredded chicken, 2 garlic cloves, medium bag chopped okra, fresh parsley bunch, remaining chicken stock, gumbo crabs (optional), 5-15# P&D shrimp, 5# white crabmeat.
A. Dump in: browned sausages, sautéed veggies, shredded chicken, & gumbo crabs (optional)
B. Chop the leaves of a parsley bunch and add to pot
C. Mince a few more garlic cloves and add to pot
D. If you want floating chopped okra, add to pot
E. If all ingredients are not covered, cover them with chicken broth at this time. (Also adding an extra 1-2 inches of broth for the seafood yet to come.) If you run out of broth you can use water or store bought broth. I use water when I run out but I make 2 chickens so I have allot of broth on hand.
F. Bring to a boil
G. Once at a roaring boil, add seafood. I recommend 5-15# of peeled & deveined shrimp (size 40/50 or smaller) & 5# of white crab meat.
H. Once the gumbo reaches a boil again, turn it down to low.
4. Season It– Wait until it cools down to a simmer.
All to taste! I use: Salt & pepper, Louisiana hot sauce, Cajun power garlic sauce, tiger sauce, old bay, tony’s seasoning, seafood magic, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, 3 bay leaves
5. Simmer & add more veggies, meat, seafood, roux etc if the gumbo looks like it needs more of anything. Simmer for as long as you can. Discard leaves, crabs., & skim oil. Add gumbo filet to the pot or sprinkle on top of served up bowls. Best the next day!
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