seafood gumbo without a roux.....

deepsouth · Dec 10, 2011

i've never made seafood gumbo without making a roux, but my mom makes one with okra, so i decided to give her way a go. turned out awesome. no okra slime...

oh yeah, did steaks last night....

landarc · Dec 10, 2011

Okra is a valid and traditional method for gumbo, I like it as it makes a nice clear broth. I will give up my roux spoon never, but, that sure looks good to me.

deepsouth · Dec 10, 2011

landarc said:
Okra is a valid and traditional method for gumbo, I like it as it makes a nice clear broth.

is that my mom or is than an echo??

:-D

Cloudsmoker · Dec 10, 2011

What next ... Mac and Cheese without cheese?
Looks absolutely fantastic. Bet it tastes even better
But is it really gumbo?

deepsouth · Dec 10, 2011

Cloudsmoker said:
What next ... Mac and Cheese without cheese?
Looks absolutely fantastic. Bet it tastes even better
But is it really gumbo?

my mom says it is. i was a skeptic. no more.

kihrer · Dec 10, 2011

I have been told that the African word for okra is gumbo. I use both okra and a roux in my gumbo but I will say your pot of gumbo looks fantastic. I usually sprinkle vinegar on my okra and roast it for a little while. That keeps slime down for me.

deepsouth · Dec 10, 2011

kihrer said:
I have been told that the African word for okra is gumbo. I use both okra and a roux in my gumbo but I will say your pot of gumbo looks fantastic. I usually sprinkle vinegar on my okra and roast it for a little while. That keeps slime down for me.

i could definitely see using both some roux and okra.

fweck · Dec 10, 2011

I'd hit that :-D

landarc · Dec 10, 2011

Roux represents the Acadian influence on Gumbo, Gambo is a regional African name for both okra and a stew tradtiionally made amongst the Creole peoples of the Carribean. Another traditional thickener is File (filay) which is added just after serving which thickens as it cools. From what I have read, gumbo was really just another word for stew, but, one that found resonance amongst the Acadian and Creole peoples of that region.

smokeyw · Dec 10, 2011

That looks great but I never heard of a gumbo with no roux :crazy:

deepsouth · Dec 10, 2011

smokeyw said:
That looks great but I never heard of a gumbo with no roux :crazy:

i know, but it works. the okra acts as the thickener, but without the dark color (as landarc stated above).

paulheels · Dec 10, 2011

Cloudsmoker said:
What next ... Mac and Cheese without cheese?
Looks absolutely fantastic. Bet it tastes even better
But is it really gumbo?

Its called vegan, and yes its possible!

jonboy · Dec 10, 2011

Deepsouth,
Can you post up the recipe and method for making this gumbo?
How would you compare the flavor to a dark chocolate roux based gumbo?
Thanks,
jon

deepsouth · Dec 10, 2011

jonboy said:
Deepsouth,
Can you post up the recipe and method for making this gumbo?
How would you compare the flavor to a dark chocolate roux based gumbo?
Thanks,
jon

sure. this was all shooting from the hip. to me, the depth of flavor was not lacking at all. full flavored for sure.

olive oil in the hot pan, added 1 pound of frozen okra and stirred and chopped it until it wasn't slimy anymore and almost "disappeared". this took about 25-30 minutes. i had to add olive oil in the process, but never really measured how much i used. next, i added two stalks of diced celery and let that cook for about five minutes. then i added two chopped medium onions and a can of fire roasted diced tomatoes and let that simmer 10-15 minutes. then i added 80 ounces of seafood stock, a teaspoon of gumbo file', paul p's seafood magic, salt, 3 bay leafs and let that simmer a half hour. then i added a pound of crab (claw meat) and let that cook for about 10 minutes. then i added 2 lbs of peeled clean shrimp (that was the peeled clean weight) and i let that simmer until the shrimp were done and then i covered the pot for an hour on no heat.

jturk · Dec 10, 2011

I am a bit confused. I make my gumbo with a chocolate roux which has zero thickening power. It is the basis of a complex flavor that becomes gumbo. Without the flavor of the roux we loose the essence of gumbo. You can use okra, flower, corn starch, arrow root, or a hundred other thickeners and end up with a great soup, but is it gumbo? I don't mean to be a dick so if I am out of line, please disregard this post.

smokeyw · Dec 10, 2011

I tend to agree. Roux has a very distinct flavor that is the base for a good gumbo. I just can't imagine a gumbo without the flavor of the roux being there.

jturk said:
I am a bit confused. I make my gumbo with a chocolate roux which has zero thickening power. It is the basis of a complex flavor that becomes gumbo. Without the flavor of the roux we loose the essence of gumbo. You can use okra, flower, corn starch, arrow root, or a hundred other thickeners and end up with a great soup, but is it gumbo? I don't mean to be a dick so if I am out of line, please disregard this post.

deepsouth · Dec 10, 2011

i may be wrong about the roux being a thickening agent, but what i made wasn't soup. the essence of gumbo is there. it's definitely not a soup.

landarc · Dec 10, 2011

There are many different types of Gumbo, we are most familiar with the type that uses a chocolate roux to create a distinct flavor that you can only get via the use of a chocolate roux. But, if you look into the heritage of gumbo, you run across gumbo like Gumbo z'Herbes that is a vegetable based gumbo that has no meat or roux and uses a lighter soup. There is also a white gumbo that uses no thickeners and is really just chicken soup. Except it might not be chicken in there.

Also, there are differences in the nature of the cultural origin of gumbo, Creole recipes (such as the one in this thread) do not use roux, many use no thickeners at all (such as Gumbo z'Herbes), Cajun Gumbo does not use thickeners, but, it uses a dark roux for seasoning. We are most familiar with the Cajun style because that is the one that is most distinctive to the region, although, again, things like Gumbo z'Herbes and white Gumbo use ingredients that simply aren't often used outside of the Louisiana/Southern Georgia/Western Florida areas.

deepsouth · Dec 10, 2011

it says in wikipedia that roux is a thickening agent....

landarc · Dec 10, 2011

Roux is a thickening agent when used in the blonde to light brown stages, once you take it into the dark or chocolate stages, it loses much (not all) of it's thickening properties. The higher heat causes the starches to denature and it becomes more about flavor. It is an uncommon practice in French cooking to take a roux past a golden stage, so it is most defintely a local variation of the original French techniqiue.

BTW, Deepsouth, I have never really been clear where a soup ceases to be a soup once thickened, I mean, is clam chowder a stew? I sort of think that Gumbo actually is a soup, but, of a very specific type. Eh, if it's good in my bowl, I don't really care.

seafood gumbo without a roux.....

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