Does anyone know a good Gumbo Recipe?

Question

I have lived all over the south and the last place i lived was down in mobile alabama. They had some of the best seafood..Wintzels and the original oyster house down on the causeway...I miss the gumbo...I have been cooking with the zataran stuff but i want to make the real deal.....Thanks to all who helped..

Answer 1

Dang they bet me to it......Are you from cajun country??

Here's mine:



Seafood gumbo. It ain't a recipe, it's dozens, if not hundreds, of recipes. There are so many different ways to make this dish, and it is made in so many different ways by so many Louisiana cooks and chefs, that it's almost futile to list one recipe here. I'm going to list a few, but please by no means think these are definitive. They're good gumbos, and good places to start off. As you learn more about Creole cuisine, feel free to experiment with different combinations of seafood, roux or no roux, filé or no filé, okra or no okra, tomatoes or no tomatoes (I don't like tomatoes in my gumbo, me ... but lots of Louisianians do). Just remember ... you CANNOT have a good seafood gumbo without a good seafood stock. Don't use water, and don't use bottled clam juice.
Remember to use a non-reactive (non-cast iron) pot for any gumbo (or any dish, for that matter) that includes okra or tomatoes, as they will discolor.

These recipes can be cut in half if you don't want to feed an army.

Do NOT under any circumstances use imitation crabmeat, or surimi, in any crab gumbo dishes. If you tried that in Louisiana, you'd be shot on sight. If you try it elsewhere ... I'll know. And I'll come into your dreams and haunt you and you'll be slowly devoured by dull-toothed alligators.

This gumbo uses a very small amount of roux, so that it remains light. You may omit the okra if you like, and thicken the gumbo with filé powder instead -- it'll still be good, but will have a quite different flavor.

Seafood Gumbo

1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup flour
2 medium onions, diced
2 green bell peppers, diced
3 ribs celery, finely diced
4-6 cloves garlic, minced
4 tomatoes (or 8 Roma tomatoes), seeded and diced (if you like tomatoes in your gumbo)
1 cup tomato purée (see above)
2 pounds okra, chopped
4 quarts shrimp stock, crab stock or fish stock
1 tablespoon Creole seasoning blend
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
2 bay leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 dozen oysters, freshly shucked, liquor reserved
4 blue crabs, cleaned (optional)
1 pound fresh lump crabmeat, picked over for shells and cartilage
1 tablespoon filé powder (if okra isn't used)
8 cups cooked long-grain white rice
In a large, heavy pot, heat the oil and add the flour. Stir constantly until a light brown roux is formed, then add the onions, bell pepper, celery and garlic. Sauté until the onions become translucent and the vegetables are tender. Add the tomatoes and tomato purée, if you wish, and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes. (I know I sound like a broken record, but I'm not one of those people who likes tomatoes in my gumbo, but lots of people do. Your mileage may vary.)
Add the seasonings, and about 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper, and continue to cook another 10 minutes. Add the okra, and cook for another 10 minutes, then add the stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer and cook another 30 minutes.

(If you wish a more rustic gumbo, you may add whole blue crabs. Remove the hard top shell from the crabs (reserving for stuffed crabs or for shellfish stock), and break each crab in two down the middle. Remove the claws. Add to the stock.) With the gumbo on very low heat, add the shrimp 10 minutes before serving, the oysters and oyster liquor 5 minutes before serving, and the crabmeat just before serving (don't cook the crabmeat, just stir until it is heated through). Taste and correct seasonings.

If you don't like okra, or if you just prefer to make a filé gumbo, remove from heat and sprinkle the filé powder on the surface of the gumbo, then cover and let stand for 15 minutes. Then uncover and stir to mix. Be careful if there are leftovers -- filé doesn't reheat all that well, and you must be careful to reheat gently. If the gumbo comes back to a boil after the filé has been added, it will get stringy.

Place about 1/2 to 2/3 cup of rice in each bowl and ladle the gumbo over and around it. Serve with plenty of french bread and good beer or white wine.

YIELD: About 10-12 entrée servings or 20-24 appetizer servings (omit hard shell crabs if serving cups of gumbo as an appetizer).

I don't use the tomatoes.

Did you know file' is made from ground sassefrass leaves.

I hope you enjoy, we sure do!!!

nfd♥
born and raised in Louisiana

Answer 2

Louisiana Gumbo

This recipe rocks!!!!!!!! Ive made it a few times, but I leave out the okra because I dont like it, and I use sausage(Andollie), chicken, and shrimp but the recipe is great! And I use store bought seafood stock.



Olive oil, for sauteing
1 1/2 medium-sized onions, coarsely chopped
1 cup celery, cut crosswise into 1/3 (use the middle 1/3 only) and coarsely chopped
8 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, coarsely chopped
6 cups baked okra, sliced 1/4-inch thick and baked for about 10 minutes in baking pan
Roux, recipe follows
6 tomatoes, roughly chopped
Stock, recipe follows
1 pound shrimp heads reserved for stock
2 or 3 crabs, cleaned,and chopped into chunks
Lemon slices
Chopped green onions
Serving suggestion: with rice or as a soup


Coat a large heavy-bottomed saucepan with oil and cook the onions until translucent. Add the celery, garlic, bell peppers, and okra. Add the roux and mix thoroughly to pick up all the excess oil in the pot.
Next add the tomatoes and bring the mixture to a boil. When mixed, strain the stock and add it to the pot, mixing thoroughly to prevent lumps. Cover with lid, bring to the boil and cook for 20 minutes. Clean the shrimp and saute in a separate pan to get rid of any excess moisture. When they have turned pink add the shrimp and crab to the gumbo. Cook for 10 minutes. Lastly, add lemon slices and chopped green onions

Roux:
1/2 cup flour
Olive oil

Combine the ingredients in a separate pan. Brown on a medium high heat until it turns light brown.

Stock:
9 cups water
Shrimp heads
1 stalk celery
1/2 lemon
1 bay leaf
3 basil leaves
Creole seasoning (recommended: Dash)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Combine ingredients in a large heavy bottomed saucepan. Bring to the boil and simmer for 1 hour.
Yield: 6 servings



Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Medium
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
User Rating:

Answer 3

Ingredients
oil for frying
275g/10oz onions, chopped
225g/8oz green peppers, chopped
2 sticks celery, chopped
25g/1oz andouille or other spicy sausage, sliced
25g/1oz smoked pork or bacon, cubed
1 tsp crushed garlic
½ tsp dried oregano
½ tsp dried thyme
1 bay leaf, crumbled
1 tsp salt
1½ tsp cayenne pepper
1½ tsp paprika
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
½ tsp freshly ground white pepper
3 tbsp filé powder (optional)
1 tbsp Tabasco sauce
300ml/10fl oz puréed fresh tomatoes, strained
crab shells to flavour (optional)
450g/1lb large prawns (reserve the shells and heads for the stock)
1 dozen oysters
225g/8oz crab meat
6 freshwater crayfish
2 boudins (fish sausage) (optional)
200g/8oz cooked rice to serve
For the fish stock:
fish heads, tails and trimmings
1 onion
2 carrots
1 stick celery
1 leek
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs parsley
black peppercorns
prawn shells and heads



Method
1. Place all the ingredients for the stock in a large saucepan and cover with about 1.7 litres/3 pints cold water. Simmer for as long as possible - 4 hours if you can manage it - and strain. Set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a large pan, add the onions, green peppers and celery and let them sweat for a few minutes. Add the spicy sausage and smoked pork.
3. Stir in the garlic, herbs, salt, spices and finally the filé powder, if using. (Some people like to add filé at the end, but to my European way of thinking it should go at the beginning.)
4. Add the Tabasco sauce, puréed tomatoes and 1.1 litres/2 pints of the fish stock. Simmer for at least 45 minutes.
5. Add crab shells, if you have them, to give a little extra flavour and colour, the prawns, oysters, crab meat, crayfish and finally the boudins. Simmer for another 10 minutes.
6. To serve as a main course, place a quarter of the rice in each bowl and top up with Gumbo.

Answer 4

REAL CAJUN GUMBO

1 onion chopped
1 green bell pepper seeds removed and chopped
1 cup of chopped celery


Prepare the trinity first (above ingredients) and set aside. Prepare preferred meat sausage, chicken, etc, or if choosing seafood, shrimp, oysters, crab meat, crawfish, etc. Prepare and set aside.

1 cup cooking oil or shortening
1 cup flour
2 quarts warm water
2 teaspoons Tabasco brand pepper sauce
1 tablespoon Zatarain's Creole seasoning or Tony Chachere's
2 cups okra, cleaned and sliced
3 to 4 cups rice

An authentic gumbo is prepared with a dark Re-aux, as are most all Cajun dishes. In a 6 or 8 quart stew pot (black iron is preferred but whatever you have will suffice) mix 1 cup of oil and 1 cup of flour. Place over medium heat and stir continuously.
NOTE: If you stop stirring it will stick and you will have to start over. Be sure to go over the entire bottom of the pot while stirring. The flour will begin to change color from white, to tan, to orange, to red, to light brown, to dark brown, then finally to black.

For this recipe, medium to dark brown is what is needed. This takes 10 to 15 minutes.

At this point, dump in the onion, celery and bell pepper and cook till the onion starts to clear. Add the meat at this time, but not your seafood.

Cook until meat starts to brown, then stir in warm water and seasonings. You are looking for a thicker-than-soup consistency but not as thick as stew. Add more or less water to achieve this. Bring to a simmering boil.

Add the okra and seafood of your choice. Cook for one hour.

Prepare rice and serve over rice in a bowl. Salt and pepper to taste and the Cajuns would add a little dash of File' (Ground sassafras) or you can use thyme, finely ground (but not as good).

For a Creole Gumbo add tomatoes.

Answer 5

Chicken Andouille Gumbo

INGREDIENTS
12 cups water
3 pounds chicken parts
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/2 pounds okra
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 pound andouille sausage, sliced
1 (28 ounce) can Italian-style whole peeled tomatoes
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon file powder


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DIRECTIONS
Combine water and chicken in large pot. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until chicken is tender, about 1 hour. Using tongs, transfer chicken to strainer and cool, saving cooking liquid. Remove meat from bones in pieces.
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy skillet over medium heat. Add okra and cook until no longer sticky, stirring frequently, about 20 minutes; set aside.
Stir flour and remaining 1/2 cup oil in heavy large Dutch oven. Cook over medium heat until deep golden brown, stirring frequently, about 6 minutes. Add 4 cups reserved chicken cooking broth, okra, andouille sausage, tomatoes with their juices, bell pepper, celery, garlic, bay leaf, salt, thyme, basil, cayenne, and pepper. Cover partially and simmer until thickened, about 1 1/2 hours.
Spoon off any fat from surface of gumbo. Add chicken and file powder to gumbo and simmer gently 15 minutes. (If preparing ahead, cover and refrigerate. Bring to simmer before serving.) Mound rice in shallow bowls if desired. Ladle gumbo over and serve.

happy eating.

Answer 6

Go to foodnetwork.com & Emril & Paula Deen have 2 awesome recipes with a variation on each! I think The Barefoot Contessa had one on too............I love that channel & website! Only a true southerner knows the "Gumbo Secret". Best of luck & hope this helps!