Gumbo Recipes from Bigmista

[Bigmista]

With all of the talk about Jambalaya, I decided to post my Gumbo recipes from The Survival Gourmet. I hope someone can garner some useful piece of information from these articles.



Seafood Gumbo for 12

I had a catering gig for New Year’s Eve. Seafood Gumbo for 12 people. No prob because me and MrsMista always stay in for New Year’s Eve and watch the Twilight Zone Marathon.

I got started early in the day getting all of my veggies chopped up, peeling my shrimp and cleaning the crabs. The work isn’t hard but it can be tedious. I was home alone for the first part of the day so I cranked up the tunes and got to work.

The most important part of any gumbo is the roux. If anyone tells you they are making gumbo, just ask them how they make their roux. If they look at you like you’re crazy, just walk away. They aren’t making gumbo, they are making seafood soup.

A roux is basically flour and fat (oil, butter, etc) mixed together in a one to one ration in a skillet and stirred slowly and constantly over a low fire. As it cooks, it will change color. It is used as a thickener and flavor element in many dishes but it is essential in Gumbo.

The first rule of roux making is NEVER GET ANY ON YOU!

It is very hot and sticky. There is a reason they call it Cajun Napalm! I knocked the spoon out of the pot and got some on my shoe. It was still burning my foot. Be careful with this stuff.

Roux making is not for the impatient. This is how my roux looked after 30 minutes of stirring.

It took about 50 minutes to get the color I wanted. That’s when I added the “Holy Trinity” bell pepper, celery and onions.

Once the veggies are mixed in, I add the whole mixture to some shrimp stock made from the shells and heads of the peeled shrimp.

Then I add some sausages and chicken. This fills out the pot.

Then I add the crab and let it simmer for at least an hour.

I also add shrimp to the gumbo but I never add them until 5 minutes before I serve because they will get tough if they cook to long.

I hope you enjoyed this article. My next article will teach you how to clean the crabs for Gumbo. Let me know what you thought of this article in the comments.

Enjoy!
Bigmista
The Survival Gourmet

 

[Bigmista]

Here is my Quick Gumbo recipe:


Weeknight Gumbo

make money

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Here’s an easy recipe if you have a stocked pantry and freezer. You did stock your pantry and freezer like I told you in my earlier posts, right? (If you didn’t go back and read those posts right now. I’ll wait. Really. Go read them. *tapping foot* You’re back already? Let’s continue.)

Gumbo is one of those dishes that most people think you only get once a year because it takes hours to make. Wrong. I’m going to clear up the “mystery” of Gumbo right now.

Ingredients:

6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, diced (these get a lot of miles in my kitchen)
1 lb polish sausage or hot links, sliced
1 1/2 lbs shrimp (I used frozen pre cooked shrimp to save time)
1 cup + 1tbsp cooking oil
1 cup flour
2 quarts chicken stock or broth (In a pinch you can use chicken buillion and water)
2 tbsp salt
2 tbsp black pepper
2 tbsp red pepper (I like it spicy. You can cut back on this if you like but you do need some.)
2 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
1 tbsp Gumbo Filé (Should be in the spice section or the “ethnic” section)
1 onion, chopped
1 bell pepper,chopped
1 tbsp garlic, minced

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Add 1 tbsp cooking oil to a hot dutch oven or stock pot. Saute the chicken in the pot until just done. Remove chicken and all dripping. Add the sausage and cook until the slices start to get a little crispy on the outside. Remove the sausage but leave the drippings. Add the onions to the pot and saute in the sausage drippings. Remove the onion but leave the drippings.

Now we make the roux. Roux is basically flour cooked in oil. It is essential to Gumbo and other Cajun and Creole dishes. Add the 1 cup of oil. When it is hot, lower the heat to medium-low and slowly sprinkle in the flour, stirring constantly. When all of the flour is in, keep cooking until the roux get to the desired color. For this particular Gumbo, I went with a blonde color. The lighter the roux, the more thickening power it has. Darker roux add more of a nuttier flavor.

When the roux reaches the color you like, add the onion, bell pepper and garlic. Continue stirring. Next add the chicken stock or broth. Mix well. Next, add everything that is left except the shrimp, the Filé and the rice. Stir and let it simmer for about 15 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning. Start cooking your rice now.

When the rice is almost done, add the shrimp and the Filé. Stir. Two minutes should cook the shrimp. Serve in a bowl with rice. Eat.

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Now you have Gumbo as often as you like! Impress you friends and family.

Enjoy!

Bigmista

The Survival Gourmet

 

[Rooster]

Bigmista,

That looks absolutely awesome!! I would have to leave out the celery as I cannot eat the stuff, but the rest wouldn't stand a chance around me.

 

[Bigmista]

Celery really isn't necessary. I leave it out when I cook for my self. I only add it in for tradition sake. I really don't think it brings anything to the party.

 

[barbefunkoramaque]

i CANNOT BELIEVE

I am presently shocked that there is a guy In California that comes that close to tradition. I was born in the Bayou country in Texas and I have tasted a lot of Gumbo which is a miracle as I am highly allergic to shrimp.

Except for the kind of sausage you are using, and I think that is due to how hard it is to get it there (I live in Ct now and getting the right sausage was hard even BEFORE Katrina.) I also applaud the proper serving of rice as a clump above the gumbo.

Celery adds nothing.... that statement is as far from the funk as Pat Boone's Tutti Frutti. Celery has the most distinctive flavor, why else would we use it for stocks. I shutter... Actually I personally don't believe a man as funky as you meant to say that... I think your taunting me Big Mista.

Finally, where's the okra...okra has thickening properties so you can still get your Roux more on the Patti Labelle side... (though I always loved the Jane Kennedy style of Roux) lay in some okra early so it breaks down, and then again in with the skrimps.

Okra is crucial to be traditional as Gumbo is the African word for (Hibiscus esculentus) which is also called "gumbo."

I am allergic to seafood so my gumbo is not as traditional as BigMistaz because when I make it there is no seafood stock for obvios reasons and so the base is a chicken and sausage gumbo until I ad extra shrimp stock and shrimp and crab at the last minute thereby making two pots... chick and andouille and chicken, andouille and seafood gumbo.

Ever made a dry roux?

 

[barbefunkoramaque]

One mo' thing... when I was a kid and visited some friends of my folks that owned a restaurant on Bolivar Island... I had the crappy job of draining the fat. If you get the simmer right and before you add the or chicken back in... get a ladle and skim the fat. I still can pull out within a Tablespoon all the fat that went into the making of the roux. People skip this step but the best places don't forget it.

 

[Big George's BBQ]

That looks really good. Do you do mail order?

 

[Professor Salt]

I'm gonna make one of these recipes with the sausages that yelonutz sent me.

What's the yield on the weeknight gumbo recipe?

Do you have a preference for one recipe over another? I'm not worried about prep time, I'm more interested in getting great flavors / consistency of the final product.

 

[Bigmista]

I am presently shocked that there is a guy In California that comes that close to tradition. I was born in the Bayou country in Texas and I have tasted a lot of Gumbo which is a miracle as I am highly allergic to shrimp.

Except for the kind of sausage you are using, and I think that is due to how hard it is to get it there (I live in Ct now and getting the right sausage was hard even BEFORE Katrina.) I also applaud the proper serving of rice as a clump above the gumbo.

Celery adds nothing.... that statement is as far from the funk as Pat Boone's Tutti Frutti. Celery has the most distinctive flavor, why else would we use it for stocks. I shutter... Actually I personally don't believe a man as funky as you meant to say that... I think your taunting me Big Mista.

Finally, where's the okra...okra has thickening properties so you can still get your Roux more on the Patti Labelle side... (though I always loved the Jane Kennedy style of Roux) lay in some okra early so it breaks down, and then again in with the skrimps.

Okra is crucial to be traditional as Gumbo is the African word for (Hibiscus esculentus) which is also called "gumbo."

I am allergic to seafood so my gumbo is not as traditional as BigMistaz because when I make it there is no seafood stock for obvios reasons and so the base is a chicken and sausage gumbo until I ad extra shrimp stock and shrimp and crab at the last minute thereby making two pots... chick and andouille and chicken, andouille and seafood gumbo.

Ever made a dry roux?

As far as the sausage goes, you use what you can get your hands on. I just found a supplier of some decent chicken links that I will be using from now on in my "Company" gumbo.

I know you are not gonna try to tell me that celery has more funk than onion! My Pop always tells me you can never have too much money and too much onion. I have never heard anybody say this doesn't have enough celery in it. Or too much celery for that matter. Try without it and see if you can tell the difference.

In the first recipe, I was catering for a small party and they requested no okra. In the second recipe, I made it with stuff I had in the house. Okra isn't a staple so it didn't go in. When I do have it, it goes in 15 minutes before the shrimp so it doesn't get slimy. That's what turns people off with okra.

Gombo is the African word for Okra and it can be a key ingrdient in this dish but there is no real right or wrong way to make it. If you go in 10 different houses in Louisiana or Texas, you will get 10 different bowls of Gumbo.

I do make dry roux from time to time when I don't have an hour to stir a traditional roux. 1 cup of flour dry on a cookie sheet in a 350 degree oven for 30 mins. Stir every 10 minutes so it doesn't burn but gets golden brown. Sauté your trinity and add the hot flour. It turns Grace Jones brown instantly.

And I know all about skimming the fat.

Galveston Mod.

 

[Bigmista]

I'm gonna make one of these recipes with the sausages that yelonutz sent me.

What's the yield on the weeknight gumbo recipe?

Do you have a preference for one recipe over another? I'm not worried about prep time, I'm more interested in getting great flavors / consistency of the final product.

The Weeknight recipe will give you dinner for two and lunch for 2-3 days.

If time isn't an issue, take the time to make the shrimp stock in the first recipe. Crabs are nice but aren't a necessity. You could always throw in some snow crab or King crab legs but personally, I don't want to stop eating to crack shells.

 

[Mad Max]

Those are some fine looking dishes. I think I am gonna have to my some gumbo (Bigmista style), really soon. Thanks for the recipes.

 

[Rightstuff]

You da man! That looks awesome!

 

[Bbq Bubba]

Thanks for the recipes B.M.

That just might help this yankee bring out the cajun in him!

 

[Bigmista]

I have faith in you all. If I can make it, you can too!

 

[tjus77]

One mo' thing... when I was a kid and visited some friends of my folks that owned a restaurant on Bolivar Island... I had the crappy job of draining the fat. If you get the simmer right and before you add the or chicken back in... get a ladle and skim the fat. I still can pull out within a Tablespoon all the fat that went into the making of the roux. People skip this step but the best places don't forget it.

mon ami where you from? I grew up in Port Arthur! Good recipe for a West Coast person. I agree with celery... it DOES add flavor, but I was never a fan of okra. To each his own.

 

[tjus77]

Gombo is the African word for Okra and it can be a key ingrdient in this dish but there is no real right or wrong way to make it. If you go in 10 different houses in Louisiana or Texas, you will get 10 different bowls of Gumbo.

Amen to that! And the same with Jambalya. We make a tomato based version, but I like both!

 

[hcarter]

Like I always heard the older folks say in Nawlins, "Is your Momma Catholic, and can she make a roux?" Nice!! Reminds me of home.

 

[nmayeux]

Nice lookin' gumbo Mista! Don't see any okra though... You are dead on regarding the roux, and like jambalaya the best gumbos are made with what you have on hand!

 

[barbefunkoramaque]

mon ami where you from? I grew up in Port Arthur! Good recipe for a West Coast person. I agree with celery... it DOES add flavor, but I was never a fan of okra. To each his own.

Big Mista Galveston Mod

I am from Dickinson Texas. My Father taught at Ball High and Stephen F Austin for 35 years. Mother Taught at Dunbar Elementary in Dickinson. Dad was a Shop teacher along with Fogarty and Charlie Alkali of Texas Fajita Championship Fame. Lives there during the Great Flood of 1979 when Alvin recorded the largest rainfall ever in one day --- 43". I slept on the roof.

GRACE JONES was wild but never funky... but a color I could not ever get to without stopping time. Use me.... all i gotta do is use me....

Yeah, like I said I can't the right sausage up here either so you do what you got to do... Like making a Vinegar Pie though... yall know what I am saying.... Instead of Lemon.

"If you go in 10 different houses in Louisiana or Texas, you will get 10 different bowls of Gumbo." Of course you will.... unless you carry the same damn bowl of Gumbo?

Celery is so valued in my Gumbo look what name I gave it in my spice legend. Don Cornelius. Think about that a bit. Not a musician but his presence is crucial. Looks like a stalk of celery too. Being tall and all. Damn talkin' bout celery and the sexiness of a good gumbo gets me all wantin to.... wantin to...

word scramble something -----> gib istam

Now Onion and Celery unscramble that and then you can dance.


Big Mista from the look of your pictures esp those ribs... you are to the point where you can look your client in the eyes and say... "you get what you gonna get and you'll like it Stella!!!" Give them that Bella Lagosi look when you do!

 

[pigout sc]

Your Gumbo recipe is fantastic. Made it for the family last night and got rave reviews. Thanks for sharing Bigmista!