Seafood & Sausage Gumbo Recipe
Ingredients
4 ounces vegetable oil
4 ounces all-purpose flour
1 1/2 pounds raw, whole, head-on medium-sized (16-20 count) shrimp
2 quarts water and 2 quarts more
1 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup diced green peppers
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1/2 cup peeled, seeded and chopped tomato
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 bay leaves
1 pound andouille or smoked sausage sausage, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1 tablespoon file powder
I fell in love with gumbo years ago, and my love affair only intensified living in New Orleans for nearly ten years. I feel the same way about gumbo as I do about pizza. There’s no such thing as a bad cup of gumbo.
Shrimp boats at rest
If you read last week’s posts, you’ll know I was back in the Big Easy, and drove down to where the shrimp fleet parks and bought pounds and pounds of fresh shrimp right off the boat, which I toted home in an ice chest. The shrimp were very good size (about 16-20 to a pound), and very cheap compared to what I am used to paying. Fresh gulf shrimp is so much better than the frozen shrimp imported from Asia found in most supermarkets, tho my favorite of all are shrimp from off Key West, large, pink and sweet.
Arriving at home, I snapped off all the heads of the shrimp, remove shells, and dropped them in two quarters of boiling water to make the liquid base for the gumbo. This gives the ‘soup’ a lot of extra body. If you’re in a hurry or lazy, use chicken stock.
Once the broth has been reduced by half, remove from the stove and set aside.
Raw, head on shrimp
The next component you have to deal with is the “roux” (roo) which is essentially a thickener. Here again, I vary from conventional wisdom, and take four ounces of quality vegetable oil, combined with four ounces of flour in a dutch oven and put into a 350 oven for 1 ½ hours, stirring two to three times during the cycle. The longer you cook, the darker your roux will become and thus the darker your gumbo. Some people prefer a light roux, but my preference is for a darker end product.
When the roux is done, put on low heat and add the “holy trinity” of vegetables (green pepper, onion, celery), and the garlic, stirring constantly for about ten minutes until the vegetables start to take on a clear state).
Add the tomatoes, salt, pepper, thyme, cayenne and bay leaves and stir to mix.
Broth and roux cooking
Drain the solids out of the shrimp broth and slowly add the liquid to the roux/vegetable mix, whisking non-stop while adding. Add another two cups of water (or stock) and stir in.
Lower the heat to low and cook for 35 minutes. Turn the heat off and add the shrimp and sausage. Add the file powder (another flavor, but also a thickener) and stir constantly while adding. Cover the pot and allow to rest for 5 – 10 minutes.
Serve in a deep bowl over a mound of rice. Enjoy.
Plated
Shrimp Gumbo Recipe
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