Quick update: I’ve started selling baked goods at the B&A Flea Market in Stuart, FL! I’m at M5 on Main Street between Buildings G and F, and I’m open 8a-3p Saturday and Sunday, or as long as supplies last. If you’re in the area, stop by and see me! A permanent menu of offerings with prices will soon be added to my Cottage Foods page, including information about ordering for local deliveries only (sorry, no shipping allowed for cottage food operators).
So getting all this together has occupied most of my time recently, and though I still have work to do on it, I am getting settled into a schedule that will allow me to get back to posting here on the blog again. And to make my triumphant return to blogging, I’ve decided that my readers are ready for some new challenges…
It’s time to start introducing you to some big-ticket items. These are things that require a lot of skill, patience, intuition, and labor. Luckily, I’m not the type to put a lot of work into fancy one-bite plates. Anything I make will be something to feed an army, because there’s no reason for a home cook to be working with microgreens or an immersion circulator. Today, we’ll be making about two gallons of chicken and shrimp gumbo.
Let’s clear one thing up right now: gumbo without okra is not gumbo, because the word “gumbo” is literally an African word for “okra.” You can’t have gumbo without the “gumbo.” Period. The end.
Also, despite that there is a roux in gumbo, it’s a brick roux, and therefore doesn’t add much thickening power. We need extra thickening from what makes a lot of people dislike okra: the slime (mucilage).
In addition to okra, I also include file powder, which comes from ground sassafras. This is another thickening ingredient, and adds a secondary traditional flavor to our gumbo. If you can’t find file in a general supermarket near you, it is readily available online. Most file powders include ground thyme or oregano, so be mindful of your flavor profile when purchasing your file.
Now there are quite a few steps to producing an excellent gumbo, largely due to the ingredients each requiring a certain amount of time on the heat. I’ve broken up the ingredients list into parts, so be sure to read the steps carefully before trying to make this recipe for the first time. I would also highly recommend watching the video.
In total, it’ll probably take about 2 and a half hours to make this giant pot of gumbo. Most of it is just working in stages and doing prep on things that are added later while other things are already cooking. Once you prep each ingredient, add it to its spot for mis-en-place.
With the basics of gumbo now illuminated for you, let’s dive into the actual recipe!
Ingredients:
Roux-
¼ c. vegetable or canola oil
2 tbsp. bacon grease
1 c. gluten-free all-purpose flour
½ c. 1-to-1 flour
Broth-
Browned andouille & chicken thigh liquid
Shrimp shells (shrimp heads if using whole shrimp)
1 Lemon, halved
Salt
Pepper
2 tsp. ground cayenne pepper
1 ½ tsp. bay seasoning
2-3 bay leaves
1 tsp. dry thyme
Trinity-
1 white or yellow onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
2 jalapeños, seeded, minced
6-8 stalks celery, sliced
Green onions, sliced, white part only (cut green tops for garnish)
Everything else-
1 tsp. minced garlic (2 cloves)
1 28-oz. can diced tomatoes
1 187 mL bottle Pinot Grigio
6-8 oz. okra, sliced
12 oz. andouille sausage, sliced
~32 oz. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into chunks
~36 oz. shell-on shrimp
1 tbsp. ground file powder
Green onions, cut on the bias, for garnish
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350°. Begin thawing shrimp in a strainer under cool, running water.
- Start the roux on the stovetop in your largest pot (at least 8qts.) on medium-low heat (3/10). Whisk all roux ingredients together until a paste forms. Move pot to stove and bake 90 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes.
- While roux is in the oven, make the broth and prep all additional ingredients. Sear andouille in second largest pot on medium heat (5/10). Remove and set aside. Sear chicken thigh chunks in same pot. Moisture and fat from chicken should deglaze any brown bits off the bottom of the pot. When chicken has seared, remove and store in refrigerator. Chicken is not fully cooked at this point, take precautions against cross contamination with salmonella.
- Reduce heat of pot to 3.5/10. Peel shrimp. Add shells to broth pot and store shrimp in refrigerator, again protecting against cross contamination with raw shrimp. If using whole shrimp, add heads to broth pot as well. Cut lemon in half and add to pot along with all broth seasonings. Fill pot with water (about 3qts.) and cover. Simmer until roux is ready, checking for risk of boil-overs.
- While roux and broth cook, prepare all other additives. Dice the onion, bell peppers, and jalapeños (seed and remove ribs from jalapeños). Dice on jalapeños should be small, almost a mince. Slice celery. Combine in large bowl to form the “trinity” addition and set aside.
- Trim green parts of green onions using kitchen shears to cut on the bias. Set aside to garnish the bowl after serving. Slice remaining white and light green solid parts of green onion and add to the “trinity” bowl.
- Rinse and slice okra on the bias, discarding the top and tip. Cutting okra leads to “slime” release, which will help thicken the gumbo later. Set aside.
- When roux is ready, remove broth from heat, strain, and set aside. Place roux over burner and add “trinity” ingredients. Cover and allow aromatics to soften about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. While aromatics cook in the roux, strain broth into a new vessel and set aside.
- Add tomatoes, garlic, and Pinot Grigio, stir, and cover to cook again another 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the andouille, chicken, okra, and broth to the pot, and stir to combine. Increase heat to 4.5/10, cover, and cook 15 minutes.
- Add shrimp and file powder, stir, and cover. Cook until shrimp turn opaque and gumbo thickens.
- Serve over rice and garnish with green onions.
So that is how you make my soon-to-be-famous chicken and shrimp gumbo. The hard parts are peeling the shrimp and cutting so many vegetables. Then it’s just standing around watching, smelling, stirring, waiting to add your next batch of ingredients in the right order.
I hope you enjoy making a big pot of homemade gumbo in your own kitchen. Please leave your thoughts in a comment below, or get in touch with me directly by filling out the form on the contact page.
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