Hey all! So sorry for the absence these last few days. Little Butt and I were spending some quality time with The Hubble before he had to take off to play Army.
But I'm here now, and I have a recipe to beat all recipes for you.
So surely, you can't be too mad at me right?? I mean...this may be my "death row meal" if you know what I mean.
Do you know what I mean??
Haha! If you do, then I want to know what your "death row meal" is. Tell me!!!
Anyway. So, last month, since we were moving, I wasn't able to participate with my beloved Daring Kitchen challenges. But now that we are settled it was on.
And there was NO WAY The Hubble was going to let me pass up this challenge...the boy grew up on the Texas coast and LOVES gumbo. Maybe he should marry it??
Our May hostess, Denise, of There’s a Newf in My Soup!, challenged The Daring Cooks to make Gumbo! She provided us with all the recipes we’d need, from creole spices, homemade stock, and Louisiana white rice, to Drew’s Chicken & Smoked Sausage Gumbo and Seafood Gumbo from My New Orleans: The Cookbook, by John Besh.
I am beyond glad I was able to participate this month because this recipe was well worth it.
I'm honestly considering...well...I'm no longer considering. I'm going to buy the book that this recipe came from.
I have never tried gumbo before. I've tried jambalaya and I'm not really a fan. But gumbo...oh gumbo.
Gumbo has stolen my heart and I'm not sure I'll ever go back!!
I can't believe this is what I've been missing out on all this time.
I followed the recipe as given to us since I've never tried it before. I chose the chicken and sausage gumbo because Little Butt can't eat shellfish.
The flavor was amazing! It was just the right amount of heat. It was so freaking good and I can't wait to make it again.
If you have never tried gumbo, I would highly recommend this recipe. Trust me...you will be as enamored with the stuff as I am! I promise!!!
Thanks Denise, for such a delicious challenge this month. I do believe this is my favorite so far!!
Okie dokie. Stretch out your whisking arm and let's get started!!!
Sprinkle some seasoning on the chicken and set it aside. (I used Tony Cachere's but any Creole seasoning will do, or check The Daring Kitchen for an at home recipe).
Dice up all your veggies.
Now...start the roux! Toss your fat/oil and flour in a thick bottomed pan, I used a dutch oven. Now whisk the heck out of it for about 15-20 minutes.
Until it's this deep chocolate brown.
Toss in the onions and stir them up for a bit.
Now put in the chicken, skin side first, until browned on both sides.
Toss in the sausage and stir it up. (I found a jalapeno smoked sausage)
Stir in the veggies and garlic. At this point, add the chicken stock, thyme and bay leaves. Bring it to a boil then reduce heat to medium-low to simmer, uncovered, for 45 minutes. (When adding the broth I had to switch to a stock pot because my dutch oven wouldn't hold it all)
After that 45 minutes, dump in the okra, andouille, Worcestershire, file powder, salt, pepper and Tabasco. Now let it simmer for another 45 minutes. About 20-30 minutes before the gumbo was finished, I fished out all the chicken bones and shredded the chicken meat (not that it needed a lot of help since it was already falling apart!).
While the gumbo is finishing up, let's make that rice! Toss some butter and onion in a skillet. Cook until tender.
Add the rice and stir until slightly browned.
Add the chicken stock, salt and bay leave. Cover and cook until all that chicken juice goodness is soaked up into the rice.
Serve a big bowl of the gumbo with some of that chicken flavored rice in there. Add more file powder and or Tabasco sauce if you so choose and enjoy!!!
Chicken and Sausage Gumbo
Retrieved from The Daring Kitchen
Ingredients:
- 1 cup rendered chicken fat, duck fat or canola oil
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 2 large onions, diced
- 1 chicken (3 1/2 to 4 pounds), cut into 10 pieces
- 2 Tablespoons Creole Seasoning
- 2 pounds spicy smoked sausage, cut into 1/2 thick slices
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 2 green bell peppers, seeded and diced
- 1 tomato, seeded and chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- leaves from 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
- 3 quarts chicken stock
- 2 bay leaves
- 6 ounces andouille sausage, chopped
- 2 cups sliced okra, fresh or frozen
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- salt, to taste
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- File powder, to taste
- Tabasco sauce, to taste
- 4-6 cups cooked Basic Louisiana White Rice (recipe follows)
Directions:
- Season the chicken with Creole seasonings while preparing the vegetables.
- Make sure all of your vegetables are cut, diced, chopped, minced and ready to go before beginning the roux. You must stand at the stove and stir the roux continuously to prevent it from burning.
- In a large cast-iron or heavy-bottomed pan, heat the chicken fat, duck fat, or canola oil over high heat. Whisk the flour into the hot oil – it will start to sizzle. Reduce the heat to moderate, and continue whisking until the roux becomes deep brown in color, about 15 minutes.
- Add the onions. Switch to a wooden spoon and stir the onions into the roux. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Continue stirring until the roux becomes a glossy dark brown, about 10 minutes.
- Add the chicken to the pot; raise the heat to moderate, and cook, turning the pieces until slightly browned, about 10 minutes.
- Add the sliced smoked sausage and stir for about a minute.
- Add the celery, bell peppers, tomato, and garlic, and continue stirring for about 3 minutes.
- Add the thyme, chicken stock, and bay leaves. Bring the gumbo to a boil, stirring occasionally.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, for 45 minutes. Stir occasionally, skimming off the fat from the surface of the gumbo every so often.
- Add the chopped andouille, okra, and Worcestershire. Season with salt and pepper, several dashes of filé powder, and Tabasco, all to taste.
- Simmer for another 45 minutes, continuing to skim the fat from the surface of the gumbo. Remove the bay leaves and serve in bowls over rice. Pass more filé powder at the table if desired.
Basic Louisiana White Rice
Ingredients:
- 1 Tablespoon chicken fat, extra virgin olive oil or butter
- 1 small onion, minced
- 1 1/2 cups Louisiana rice (or other long grain white rice)
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 1 bay leaf
- 1-2 pinches salt
Directions:
- Put the fat, oil, or butter and the onions into a medium saucepan and sweat the onions over moderate heat until they are translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Pour the rice into the pan and stir for 2 minutes.
- Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil.
- Add the bay leaf and salt.
- Cover the pan with a lid, reduce the heat to low, and cook for 18 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the heat, fluff the rice with a fork, and serve.
