what is gumbo?

Question

im australian and have no idea what gumbo is or how its done. has anyone got any recipes for gumbo that they could share with me as hubby and i would like to try it. thanks.

Answer 1

I'm sorry but I am pure Cajun and we do not necessarily put okra in all our gumbo. Gumbo is made of a roux, onions, green onions, spices, and meat over rice...the meat can be any to your liking. I like chicken and sausage but seafood is always good too! Try shrimp gumbo first, it's easy to make and very tasty...I suggest you do not use Emeril's recipe, he takes it overboard and gumbo isn't that complicated.
Although making the roux takes awhile. Roux is basically just flour and oil. Stir constantly- you do not want it to stick to the pot and burn. When it becomes a dark brown stir in onions, celery, and peppers. Stir until onions are clear then slowly add water little at a time and work it in. The longer you cook the gumbo the better it will taste. Cook the roux for about an hour then add your meats and cook for another 30 minutes. Serve over white rice.

I didnt give measurements because it really all depends on you. You can look up recipes but if your not big on okra you don't have to add it. I personally think it ruins the taste of the gumbo.

I hope this helped

Answer 2

Gumbo is a soup. I believe it is a Cajun or Creole recipe from Louisiana, and every cook has his/her own recipe and unique finished product. Although commonly made with seafood, there are many recipe variations. The only "universal" ingredient is okra.

Okra is an African plant which grows tall stalks with a sort of ribbed elongated seed pod that can range from an inch or two to six or seven inches long. Longer pods tend to be tough or stringy so it is usually harvested when 3 to 5 inches in length.

In the southern states, it is often sliced into rounds, battered and fried. When used in soups like gumbo, it is sliced and simmered in the broth. It produces a thick, clear gummy substance when cooked this way which helps to thicken a broth.

My dear old Mom used to cook fried okra and often put it in stews and I can testify to the complete nastiness of the stuff in any form it is served. In gumbo, however, it was not nearly as bad.

Answer 3

GUMBO-is a cajun-type stew! It has andouille sausage (spicey)
chicken, ohkra, rice,garlic,salt-n-pepper, tomato base, & spinach.
I'm sure that U can get an exact recipe on-line, if U look under
"cajun cuisine". BBQ some crawfish, corn on the cob, some
corn-bread 2 go along w/U're gumbo, I'm making my own mouth
water!!! Good Luck & enjoy!! It's "OFF-THE-CHAIN"!!!

Answer 4

1 whole chicken, cut up 2 1/2 quart water
2 chicken bullion cubes 1 cup chopped bell pepper
1 cup chopped celery stalks 1 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup butter 1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup flour 1 (10 oz) bag frozen okra (If using fresh, about 2 1/2 cups sliced, and soak the slices in salt water overnight, then rinse before adding)
2 pounds smoked sausage cut into 1 inch pieces salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste
2 tbsp fresh garlic /4 to 5 cloves Tony Chachere's or file powder to garnish

Directions
In large stock pot, add chicken, water, bullion, and a little salt and pepper. Boil about 30 minutes, or until done.
Meanwhile, chop veggies and set aside. When chicken is finished, reserve the broth and set the chicken aside to cool slightly.
In large stockpot, melt butter with oil over med high heat until very hot. Using a wire whisk, mix in flour. Continue whisking constantly until the roux is the color of peanut butter. Quickly add all veggies and garlic. Continue to cook, stirring, about 3 minutes.
Slowly whisk in reserved chicken broth. Add sausage, salt and pepper, garlic powder. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer. Bone chicken, then add the meat to the pot. Continue to simmer about 20 minutes. Add okra, simmer 10 more minutes. Serve over hot rice, garnished with a little file or cajun seasoning.
Recommended Sides This gumbo is a meal by itself, but a little corn bread or biscuits couldn't hurt.

you may omit the file powder if unavailable,bon appetite,you may also use different meats with your chicken.like maybe some fresh tucker!

Answer 5

New Orleans Gumbo
2 tablespoons shortening
2 green onions, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 jalapeño pepper (optional)
1 tablespoon chopped fine parsley
1 quart cut−up okra
1/2 can tomato paste
1 tomato paste can of water
1 (18 oz.) can stewed tomatoes, chopped
1 lb. crabmeat
1 lb. shrimp
1 cup diced cooked ham
1 cup diced, cooked chicken
1 jar oysters (optional)
In a 10−inch frying pan melt the shortening. Add the onions, celery and peppers.
Cook for 3 minutes. Add parsley and cook for 2 minutes. Add okra, reduce heat
and cook for 15 minutes.
Pour all frying pan ingredients into a Dutch oven and add tomato paste and water,
stirring frequently. Add 4 cups water and the tomatoes and cook for 30 minutes.
Add all the meats and cook for 20 to 25 minutes more, stirring frequently. Serve
over hot, cooked rice.

Answer 6

Down home southern cajun American cooking like a stew...usually it contains rice, herbs, peppers, sausage, chicken, roo (might be spelled differently), and okra...those are the main ingridients but some choose to omit or add in their own...it tastes very good though!

Answer 7

Here are some recipe that you can try:

GUMBO
This is originally a shrimp gumbo recipe, but it's gumbo, so you can add whatever turns you on. I always eat it with more than just a few dashes of Tabasco. I hope you like it.

8 servings
1 hour 15 min prep

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 large onion, diced
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped green bell peppers
1/2 cup chopped red bell peppers
1/2 cup sliced scallions
6 cloves minced garlic
4 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon creole seasoning (Tony Chachere's)
2 lbs any combo of sausage or shrimp or chickens (etc.)

In a large stockpot combine oil and flour and cook over medium-high heat about 15 minutes or until it turns very dark brown, almost between brown and black.
You will have to stir almost constantly.
This is called the roux.
Add onions, parsley, celery, bell peppers, scallions and garlic and cook about 10 more minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring regularly.
Add broth, salt, and creole seasoning.
(If you like you may also add a 10 oz package of frozen okra at this point, but I despise the stuff).
Cover pot and simmer 15 minutes stirring occasionally.
Add your chosen combination of meat at this point and simmer an additional 10 minutes (if using whole pieces of crab like claws, or blue crab halves cook a little longer to ensure they're cooked all the way.).
Ladle over steamed white rice.

CLASSIC CHICKEN GUMBO

INGREDIENTS:
2 tbsp Vegetable shortening
2 tbsp Flour,all-purpose
2 Onions,finely chopped
1 Green bell pepper,fine chop
5 cups Warm chicken broth
8 Tomatoes,peeled/chopped
1/2 lb Okra,cut into 1/4" pieces
1 1/2 tbsp File' Gumbo
1/2 cup Uncooked rice
2 Ribs celery,chopped
1 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper
1/4 tsp Thyme
1 Bay leaf
1 Broiler-fryer chicken,cooked

PREPARATION:
In large Dutch oven, melt shortening over low heat; add flour and cook, stirring, until brown, about 10 minutes (do not hurry; if flour burns, roux is ruined).
Add onions and bell pepper; cook until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.
Slowly add warm broth; stir until broth reaches a boil.
Add tomatoes, okra, rice, celery, salt, file' gumbo, pepper, thyme and bay leaf; bring to a boil.
Add chicken; when mixture boils again, reduce heat to low, cover and cook about 20 minutes.

CRAB, SHRIMP AND OKRA GUMBO

1 pound medium (20-24 size) shrimp, uncooked
7 quarts water
5 dried hot red chilies, about 2" long each
1 lemon, cut into 1/4" slices
3 large bay leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme, crumbled
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon salt
10 live blue crabs, each about 1/2 pound in weight
4 tablespoons brown roux (see link to the right of the Gumbo recipe)
1/2 cup coarsely chopped onion
1 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 pound fresh okra, trimmed, washed and cup into 1" pieces
3/4 cup coarsely chopped green pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (ie: Tabasco)
4 cups freshly cooked long-grain white rice

To make the gumbo: shell and devein the shrimp. Rinse under cold water and set aside.
In a 10- or 12-quart sauce pot, bring the water, chilies, lemon slices, 2 bay leaves, 1 teaspoon thyme and 1 tablespoon salt to boil over high heat. Drop in the crabs and boil briskly, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Remove crabs from the gumbo stock with tongs, and set them aside to cool.
Drop the shrimp into the gumbo stock and cook, uncovered, for about 4 minutes, or until they are pink and firm to the touch. Using tongs, transfer the shrimp to a plate.
Boil the gumbo stock, uncovered, until it reduces to about 3 quarts. Strain the stock through a fine sieve or cheesecloth set over a large pot; discard the seasonings. Cover the pot to keep the gumbo stock warm until ready for use.
When the crabs are cool enough to handle, shell them. Save the morsels of yellow liver and "fat" as well as any pieces of orange roe. Leave the large claws in their shells, but crack the legs lengthwise with a clever and pick out the meat. Reserve the meat, claws and roe.
In a heavy 5- or 6-quart casserole, warm the roux over low heat, stirring constantly. Add onion and garlic and stir for about 5 minutes, or until the gumbo vegetables are soft. Add okra and green peppers and stir well.
Stirring constantly, pour in the reserved warm gumbo stock (if it has cooled, reheat it before adding) in a slow, thin stream and bring to boil over high heat. Add the red pepper, red pepper sauce, 1 bay leaf, 1/2 teaspoon thyme and 1 teaspoon salt. Stir in the crab meat and claws, reduce the heat to low and simmer, partially covered, for 1 hour.
Add the shrimp and simmer a few minutes longer; taste for seasoning. The gumbo may need more red pepper sauce or red pepper.
Ladle the gumbo into a warm tureen and serve at once, accompanied by the rice in a separate bowl. Traditionally, a cupful of rice is mounded in a heated soup plate and the gumbo is spooned around it. Give each diner a nutcracker so the claws can be cracked easily at the table.

Answer 8

Gumbie's distant cousin

Answer 9

hmmm..how to explain Gumbo. Old southern CAJUN recipe that can contain a variety of things 1 always is Okra
This one is from Emeril

1 pound gumbo crabs without the legs, rinsed well and quartered
1 1/4 pounds andouille or other spicy sausage, sliced into 1/4-inch thick slices
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 cups chopped yellow onions
1 cup chopped green bell peppers
1 cup chopped celery
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 pound small okra, stem ends trimmed and sliced 1/2-inch thick
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 tablespoon dried thyme
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup lager beer
10 cups shrimp or fish stock
1 teaspoon liquid crab boil
3 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup cooled Light Brown Roux, See How To Roux, recipe follows
2 pounds medium (26 to 30 count) shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 teaspoon Essence, recipe follows
1 pint oysters, with their liquor
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Steamed White Rice, for serving
Chopped Green Onion Tops, for serving

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Place gumbo crab quarters on a small baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes, or until lightly browned and fragrant. Set aside.

Cook the andouille, in batches, in a large stockpot, over medium-high heat until browned and the fat is rendered, about 5 minutes. Remove the andouille with a slotted spoon, place on a paper towel-lined plate, and reserve. Add the vegetable oil to the stockpot and heat with any excess fat from the sausage over medium-high heat. Add the onions, bell peppers, and celery and cook until the vegetables are soft, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the okra and cook, stirring, until the vegetable has released most of its slime, about 3 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, basil, thyme, and bay leaves and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

Add the beer to the vegetable mixture, stirring to incorporate, and then slowly add the stock, stirring well. Add the reserved gumbo crabs, browned sausage, liquid crab boil, salt, and pepper to the stock and bring mixture to a boil. When mixture is at a boil, add the roux, a little at a time and whisking to incorporate. Wait until mixture returns to a boil before adding more roux. When all of the roux has been added, bring gumbo to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer gently for 45 minutes. Using a clean ladle, occasionally skim any impurities or foam that rises to the top of the gumbo.

Season the shrimp with the Essence in a medium bowl. Add the shrimp, oysters, and their liquid to the gumbo, stir well, and cook until the shrimp are pink and just cooked through and the edges of the oysters start to curl, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the parsley. Remove bay leaves before serving.

Serve immediately over steamed white rice and garnish with chopped green onions tops, if desired.


How to Roux:
3 cups vegetable oil
5 cups all-purpose flour
Place a heavy, iron Dutch oven, (or iron skillet with deep sides) over medium heat and heat the oil until just smoking. Whisk in flour, a little at a time and cook, whisking constantly, until roux becomes smooth and thick. Continue to cook, constantly stirring with a wooden spoon and reaching all over bottom of pan, until roux darkens to desired color. Be careful not to produce specs of black. The roux must remain an even color throughout process. If specs appear you must start over.

For a Light Brown Roux, cook the mixture, over medium heat for 1 1/2 hours, or until the color of peanut butter. Remove about 1 cup of the light colored roux, cool completely, and set aside for the Delmonico's Seafood Okra Gumbo.

For a Medium Brown Roux, cook the mixture, over medium heat for an additional 30 minutes, or until the color of a copper penny when ready. Remove about 13/4 cups of the medium colored roux, cool completely, and set aside for Emeril's Country File Gumbo.

For a Dark Brown Roux, cook the mixture an additional 35 to 45 minutes. The color should resemble dark chocolate when ready. Remove all of the remaining dark roux from the pan and cool completely. Set aside for the Chicken and Sausage Gumbo.

Yield: about 4 1/2 cups roux

NOTE: The timings for various shades of roux will vary depending on the cooktop as well as the amount of roux made. (A smaller amount will cook in much less time.) If this is your first time making a roux, the slower you cook it, the less likely you will be to burn it. The important thing is to cook the roux to the desired color, as specified above.



Emeril's ESSENCE Creole Seasoning (also referred to as Bayou Blast):
2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme
Combine all ingredients thoroughly.
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For more Gumbo recipes(many simpler) here is where to go.
http://foodnetwork.com/

Answer 10

A stew. Here's more about it.