GUMBO

OK Tad...I mean Todd,

The problem is that I never measure ingredients. I made a pot of gumbo once and measured everything I put in the gumbo but I cannot track it down.

Roux is the foundation for the gumbo. It can be made from scratch by slowly browning 1/3 cup of flower in 3/4 cup of vegetable oil in a heavy iron skillet until it is a rich dark brown. The easy way is to just buy a jar of Savoie's Roux. They have been making it for decades and you will have a hard time making a better roux than Savoie's.

In my opinion, Tony Chachere's is the best Cajun Seasoning. I have a few stories about Tony Chachere's but it will cost you a few rummies. You can use Tony Chachere's on anything from popcorn to eggs to gumbo. It really adds a new dimension to shipwrecked eggs.

You can purchase Savoie's Roux, Andouille sausage, smoked tasso, and Tony Chachere's at Tooks.com. They were neighbors of ours at one time and they stole the best butcher in Louisiana from another grocery store named Veron's. Their store is a small store about a mile from where my mom lived until a couple years ago.

Below are the items I stock up on from Tooks.com when I go back home:
- Tur-Duc-Hen: Turkey stuffed with a chicken stuffed with a Duck. The entire thing is boneless except for the turkey drumbsticks.
- Stuffed pork chops: stuffed with more pork
- Boudin: similar to jambalaya in a sausage format
- Stuffed Quail
- Cafe Du Monde Beignets mix: square donuts with powdered sugar
- Community Coffee: great regular coffee
- Chicory coffee: for making cafe' au lait
- Peeled crawfish: for making Crawfish Etouffee or Crawfish Fettucini

Ingredients
1 lb Chicken Legs with bones and skin
1 lb Chicken Breast boneless and skinless
1 lb Chicken Thighs skinless
2 lb Smoked Sausage (Preferably Andouille)
8 oz Smoked Tasso (Can be ommitted)
2 tbsp oil
2 large Vadalia (yellow) onions
4 celery ribs
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
4 cloves garlic
1 bunch of parsley
1 bunch green onion tops
1 tbsp Worscestershire
3 tbsp Browning sauce
8 oz dark roux (1/2 of small jar or 1/4 of large jar)
2 tsp corn starch disolved in cold water
Tony Chachere's Seasoning (Can use Chyanne Pepper, salt and other spices)

Chicken, Andouille and Tasso CAJUN Gumbo:
Fill gumbo pot pot half full of water and bring to boil. Add Roux. Add the chicken legs. Cube and add the chicken breast and thighs. Chop and add the cajun trinity (Onions, Celery & Bell Pepper) and garlic. Add 2 heaping tbsp Tony Chachere's, Worscestershire, browning sauce, starch. Heat skillet and add oil and two tbsp of water. Cut Sausage in 1/2" slices and once water is gone fry the sausage until browned and slightly burned. Add sausage to pot and top off with water. Bring back to a boil, cover and simmer until chicken is almost about to fall off bone. Chop and add the parsley, green onion tops. Simmer five more minutes then shut off heat. After it starts to cool, use a spoon and skim the oil off the top. Serve in a bowl over a bed of rice. The rice should fill the bowl 1/3.

The gumbo should be tasted using a small cup during the cooking process and seasoning should be added in small amounts. The perfect gumbo is achieved if you start sweating half way through the bowl. Good cajun food is not hot to the taste but hot after the meal is finished. You can always add more Tony's but you can never remove it from the pot.

PS: the waypoints for the next gumbo party after the Jupiter Tybee 500 leg is:
26°47.819'N
80°1.903'W

Well,
Looky here.

Easy with the insults.
Todd

Sorry so late but last year was out of control. Headin out to do some sailing now.

Hi Craig,

you from Lafayette and you don't use filé?

Sweeet...if I don't get in-laws at Jupiter this year, I'm there. And besides, Angel, the waitress we've had at the Outback Steakhouse there for three straight years, was leaving right after the Tybee last year.

Jake

Yikes!

Can't mness with Craig anymore, the eagle has landed.

My wife's family is from Weezyanna and my belle-mere makes her roux in the microwave.

Me, I stink at the roux. It's hard not to burn the flour, which makes it taste so bad. (Yes, buying some ready made is a good idea.) But I got to have some gumbo every so often.

That's a good recipe, cyberspeed. From what I know of Cajun cooking (I am not Cajun), gumbo is just leftovers stew, I believe.

For the gumbo where you don't have to mess wit de roux and you make high speed, I always done dis:

Make two cups each of the small chopped "trinity" -- onion, bell pepper, and celery. Put 3/4 cup oil or margarine in big pot and add the trinity and stir.

Here the good smell starts! Turn the heat on high. Add 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon amounts (to taste) of red pepper, paprika, salt, white pepper, black pepper, thyme, oregano, file, minced garlic, and some Tabasco. Cook about 3-5 minutes, stirring and scraping constantly, not burning. Oh man, it smells good...

Go to medium heat, add 1 1/2 cups or less of tomato sauce (out of can). Cook scraping the bottom of the pot about 3-5 more minutes.

Add stock, about 5 cups or so. Chicken stock from a box is good. I am never into the work of making seafood stock, but that works too. Reduce to simmer.

What's in the pot is just soup at this point. At this point is where you are supposed to add all the leftover meats. I always add pieces of already cooked, boned, no-skin chicken and simmer for an hour.

I usually add crab (if good is available)and raw shrimp during the last fifteen minutes or so and let it cook until it's done but not overcook.

Goes over rice, with the jar of file (pronounced "feel-lay" not file) you can shake some on.

Oh, man. Good stuff. Walk down memory lane. I guess you could call this recipe the blue collar version. While yours is the white collar, four-star one.

I will check out Tooks.com...

The Gumgo is great! Justin Wilson would approve - MMMmmm that be good. Get the beads ready and somebody tie Jeff down.

I don't use file' either. Thats for when its too thin and you sort of missed the mark . But thats my opinion.

Clayton

Sorry but thats not correct. Stew is Stew, gumbo is gumbo. A lot of restaraunts outside of Louisiana sell "gumbo" that is actually stew or soup. That ain't it.

[/quote]
I will check out Tooks.com...
[/quote]

Not a bad place to start. Also look here... http://www.savoiesfoods.com/products_roux.html

Few people make roux now a days. I'm still old fashioned. If I make it, gotta use a black iron pot to get it right and don't take your eyes off of it, it will burn then you start over.

Qualifications; family was some of the "acadians" thrown out of Canada and settled here in South Louisiana (Not New Orleans thats Creole country), parents and grandparents had french as a first language. Down here you can cook waaaay before you can drive. They say some of us got webbed feet from walking in the marsh...

Clayton

Aw lawd,

In Louisiana, discussin' gumbo is like discussin' politics, don't it?

I never thought to put filé in whilst cooking, I put it on the table to put on the gumbo when serving it up. Like you put sherry onto turtle soup. I'm not the only one to do that... around New Iberia way that's how they do it too.

Me, I make roux with real butter... cook it VERY slowly cause it will sure burn.

Clayton, I did notice that neither you nor Craig put okra into y'all gumbos. Hell, I've always thought that the thing that makes gumbo 'gumbo' was okra. Isn't the word 'gumbo' from the, um, native word for okra? We should ask Tilley, he's from Africa...


For those of you who aren't from Louisiana:
1. Justin Wilson is from Texas, I believe it's actually Beaumont;
2. Emeril Lagasse is from Fall River Massachusetts, but he did marry a girl from Gulfport MS;
3. Paul Prudhomme (from Opelousas)'s sister Enola runs a low-calorie Cajun restaurant, LOL, but she did come up with a way to brown roux without using fat or oils...

So, if you take cookin' serious, can you do it right with store bought tomatoes?

I'm not about to take up farming, but have been thinking about a tomato plant or two. If you got room for tomatoes, there's room for herbs, yes? This can easily get out of hand, so where do you stop?

For a serious cook, what are the essentials for home veggies?

Whatever you like and whatever works for you is what's good.

I remember one time I made some red beans and rice for a potluck thing. I didn't have time to soak and deal with dried beans, so I used some cans of Trappey's (which is pronounced trah-pay, not trap-pee, btw) and added lots of meat and flavouring as usual.

This very schnotty woman come up to me and accuse me of using Camellia brand beans, and she was quite offended when I told her it was canned Trappey's. I about died laughing at her, but that's another long story...

I didn't mention the okra 'cause most people only see okra in a jar (pickled) not in bushels like we get 'em (I could be wrong haven't been looking much). But Shrimp and Okra with sausage is hard to beat when its cold out. Too many variations to try to discuss in a short time.

Hmmm, I'm starting to think gumbo is more wide spread than originally believed (by me). Sort of like Clam Chowder. A northern dish that I personally love. You can get it down her but there is something different than what you'll find up north. I guess its a matter of prefference. For that matter, anyone care to share a good recipe that even a cajun would get right? I know we can't get fresh clams but we'll use what we can find.

Clayton

Why not do clams like oysters and make an oyster stew type thingie?

this fella I worked with had a pretty damn good oyster stew recipe:

Jeff's Oyster Stew
3 cloves garlic
1/2 cup fresh parsley
1 cup green onions (shallots)
2 tbsps green peppers
1 quart oysters with juice
1 cup half-and-half
2 sticks butter
1/2 lb bacon, cook and drain fat off
1/2 lb mushrooms

Sauté veggies and bacon in butter to wilting point
Add oysters and juice, bring to boil
Simmer 10-15 min
Season to taste. Add half-and-half at the very last, so as not to curdle it.

btw you can eat road clams and I think you can get quahogs in MS so yall need to come visit

My thoughts:

Tami is right, discussin a mans (or womans) gumbo is like discussin politics. The only reason I posted the recipe is because I promised Todd I would give it to him and each time I make a post he reminded me by doing a "Gumbo?" post.

A gumbo is what the chef wants to put into it. There is is also a big difference between Cajun Gumbo and Creole (New Orleans) Gumbo. My favorite is rabit andouille gumbo.

My wife used to like my moms gumbo better than mine but as she gets used to my cooking, she now prefers mine. Taste is all what you are used to.

I do not use a recipe to cook from. I will use a cookbook as a guide but I never follow it to the letter. My gumbos differ by what I find in the store, my particular mood and who I am cooking for. My wife would not be able to eat a gumbo I cook for myself. My "sweat level" is a lot higher than hers and she refuses to eat rabbit.

Filé (ground sasafras) should never be put into the gumbo while cooking. It makes the gumbo too thick and stringy. You should have Filé available for those that want it. It was after midnight when I made the post and I forgot to put a note about Filé in it. I only use file' about 25% of the time depending on my mood.

The only way I like okra is fried, hence no okra in my gumbo recipe. I don't mind Okra so much in a Seafood Gumbo.

Lafayette Gumbo does not have a tomatoe base. I never had a gumbo with a tomatoe base until I left Louisiana. I was born and raised in Lafayette, went to college in Baton Rouge and spent many long weekends (Mardi Gras is tomorrow byt the way) in New Orleans and have never had a red gumbo. My general rule is to not order cajun food outside of Louisiana especially gumbo.

PS: If you go hunting and do not shoot anything. NEVER ask what is in the gumbo. Just be glad the food is on the table.

And Craigs gumbo at last years Tybee was incredible,that's why I've pestered him for a year about some tips on how to make it. I'm no cajun food expert but, it was the best I've ever had. I was a little concerned about what the effect of it might be the next day,(remember, this is during the Tybee and we were sailing the next day) so I laid back on the spice more than I normally would.
On the clam chowder thing, it's a regional thing,I'd rather have Hatteras clam chowder(clear broth) than anything else,go figger.You taste the clams better, I think.
I like Okry the best fried ,myself.
Craig,Thanks again.

Tawd

I think Craig said it well enough. BTW my wife is a lot like yours, some things she won't eat, rabbit is one of them. And she'll always ask what my mom is putting in the gumbo before having some and my sister in law no longer looks in the pot since she saw chicken feet in it (mom used the WHOLE chicken in her gumbo!) FWIW I don't eat the feet either!

Clayton

Pete,

Home vegetable gardens are great, but the soil around here is ill-equipped for anything other than commercial (with high inputs of nutrients).

Best bet would be to pick up a couple of 5 gallon nursery containers, buy some good mulched soil, and plant away. I've got a tomato plant with "street cred" growing in my garden. It's tough because I've not paid any attention to it (other than wrapping it around the saw palmetto tree to 'train' it vertically). It's been through two cold snaps (near freezing), a mild drought, and whatever else happens out there in the garden. Strangely enough, there are about a dozen green tomatoes on there. I'll bet they taste like jalapenos, but there they are!

If you've got good soil, pretty much anything you want to eat can grow down here in the fall/spring. Winter too if you pay attention to the cold fronts. Summer is pretty hot/muggy, but watermelons work with that...

If you've got a 10'x10' plot, you could probably grow 75% of your own food. Just not all at the same time..

The first time I took my wife to Lafayette, we went to a Local seafood resturant and after reviewing the menu she stated: "There is nothing on the menu I can eat." You don't realize how different Cajun Culture is until you bring someone in from the outside. Her mouth was part open for most of the trip.

The recipe I use is a shortened version of one from a Paul Prudhomme (before he went diet) book in which he adds file during the cooking. I guess it just depends on your tastes. I am aware that you use it as a thickener. The first time I went after some feel-lay in the grocery stores here, a store clerk looked puzzled and then said, "Oh yeah, you want some of that file." He pronounced it like the tool. To which I said, yeah, I need some file, like he said it.

BTW, I never could get a recipe from mother-in-law, who makes killer gumbo. She'd just say a little of this and a little of that. The best gumbo I ever had was at Mandinas on Canal Street -- which I think is closed now?? Or maybe it moved. Ended up there on the spur of the moment late at night. It was either that or the turtle...

I went to Wikipedia and looked up 'gumbo' and it was interesting reading.

I travel a lot with work and always try the gumbo. Craig makes great gumbo for a coon butt. But I've not got the craw daddy thing down yet, especially suckin head. I'm not cagin enough.

It will have to be lobster for me.

I cook and eat alot of 'mudbugs' (crawfish), and everyone seems to like it well.

I use my version of the 'boil' spices and ingedients like new potatoes and corn, etc.

Thanks for all the recipes and opinions, especially on the gumbo. My wife (chinese- even eats the chicken feet dish at authentic chinese restaurants- says it's a delicacy in her parts of China)made Gumbo recently, I couldn't tell her everything it needed. These recipes will be put to good use. I'll call it 'catsailor forum .com' gumbo.

Thanks

So I married a chef born and raised in Red Stick who at this moment has about 3 gallons of the worlds best Seafood Gumbo on the stove to celebrate Mardi Gras tonight.

Tami - there is Okra in it (gotta have the okra), the Roux is dark and there is Filé on the table.

Aaayyyeeeeeeeee.

Now, about that weigh in for the ice pick regatta...

Happy Fat Tuesday! My father in law taught me that a good roux was stirred for 2 beers....

Being cajun myself... if is slows down enough... it's food.