First you make a roux.....

to start a big pot of gumbo. Actually, the first thing you do is put a chicken on to stew. Season with salt and pepper, leafy celery, onion and whatever else you want to use. The chicken and broth are both used in the gumbo. Stew it until it is done (the joints move easily). Remove the chicken from the liquid so it can cool a little.

Now the roux...put equal parts of flour and oil in a large pot. For my stock pot I use about 3/4 cup flour, 3/4 cup oil. You can use olive oil or a mix of vegetable and olive oil. 

Mix it well to make a paste and start to cook over medium heat, stirring constantly. If you do not stay with the roux and give it constant attention, it will scorch and not be fit to use.

When it starts to brown  it goes quickly so pay attention. It should smell nutty and rich and look like chocolate. Some people do not like very dark roux, so make it the color you want. The darker it is the more flavor it imparts to the gumbo. When it is cooked to your satisfaction, remove from the heat and pour in a couple of cups of chicken broth to stop the browning. You can breathe now.

Chop up a medium size onion and add to the pot.

Chop up two or three bundles of green onions using all the green part too. This was 2 bundles. Chop some green pepper if you want and add all to the roux. Stir well

Strain the chicken broth you have had cooling into the roux and veggies.

Add about a half a jar of dried parsley to the pot. I also add 2 cans of stewed tomatoes. Season with just a dash of Worcestershire sauce, garlic (fresh or powdered) and Cajun seasoning. Be careful with the Cajun seasoning...it is generally very salty (the can advertises that when it is salty enough it is perfectly seasoned). You be the judge. I also add a little cayenne and black pepper. Let the mixture simmer a bit.

When the veggies start to get done, slice smoked sausage into bite sized pieces. I cut it on the bias to make it look nice in the gumbo.

When the sausage has cooked a while you can either put in the chicken that you have removed from the bone or you can turn the gumbo off and let it sit a bit. Remember, the chicken is already cooked through. If you cook it much longer it will start to shred instead of staying in nice big chunks. I like to let mine sit a little while because the oil will rise to the top. I skim as much of the oil off as I can and discard it. Since the parsley clings to the oil, I put a good bit more in to replenish it. I prefer the gumbo not so greasy.

When you get ready to eat, finish the gumbo by adding the chicken, sliced okra if you like - it really does give it a good flavor and you don't have to use a lot. Start the heat up again and gently simmer until the okrais done. If you want seafood in your gumbo, add shelled shrimp, either raw or pre-cooked. Cook until the shrimp is pink. If you want to add oysters put them in last and cook only until the edges start to curl. Crab is very scarce (and expensive) here, but you can use a can of crab meat or go for the big bucks and buy some legs. The legs you find here are usually already cooked and just need to heat through.

Prepare white rice according to package instsructions. Place about a cup of cooked white rice in a bowl. Cover the rice with The gumbo and serve with cornbread or garlic bread. We like garlic cheese bread with ours. Season with file powder if you want, I personally don't use it. Do not cook file in the pot of gumbo or it will become stringy.

                                   

This is soooo good...it may sound intimidating but it's really not. Some  people like only seafood, some no sausage or some no chicken. We like it with a little bit of everything in it. Hubby always wants shrimp and okra in ours. I insist on the chicken and smoked sausage.

Sometimes I make this up to adding the smoked sausage and let it cool completely and refrigerate over night. Next day, simply heat it up and finish with the chicken and okra and/or seafood. It makes a very generous amount. It's great for something like a Super Bowl party...just put it in a crock pot to keep warm and have bowls and spoons out for self serve. It was especially good with our 0 degree weather this week!

This recipe and method came from a Katrina victim that was being housed at our neighbor's home. Everybody pitched in to cook for them and the lady in turn made us a big gumbo dinner one night. It was the best I'd ever had and she wrote the recipe out for me. It took me a time or two to get the roux right...I was afraid of scorching it and have since gained more confidence. If you scorch it the first time, throw it out and start over.

 Stay warm and have a great day!