Breakfast Gumbo Recipes

GOOD NEW ORLEANS CREOLE GUMBO

Steps:

• Make a roux by whisking the flour and 3/4 cup bacon drippings together in a large, heavy saucepan over medium-low heat to form a smooth mixture. Cook the roux, whisking constantly, until it turns a rich mahogany brown color. This can take 20 to 30 minutes; watch heat carefully and whisk constantly or roux will burn. Remove from heat; continue whisking until mixture stops cooking.
• Place the celery, onion, green bell pepper, and garlic into the work bowl of a food processor, and pulse until the vegetables are very finely chopped. Stir the vegetables into the roux, and mix in the sausage. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-low heat, and cook until vegetables are tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat, and set aside.
• Bring the water and beef bouillon cubes to a boil in a large Dutch oven or soup pot. Stir until the bouillon cubes dissolve, and whisk the roux mixture into the boiling water. Reduce heat to a simmer, and mix in the sugar, salt, hot pepper sauce, Cajun seasoning, bay leaves, thyme, stewed tomatoes, and tomato sauce. Simmer the soup over low heat for 1 hour; mix in 2 teaspoons of file gumbo powder at the 45-minute mark.
• Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons of bacon drippings in a skillet, and cook the okra with vinegar over medium heat for 15 minutes; remove okra with slotted spoon, and stir into the simmering gumbo. Mix in crabmeat, shrimp, and Worcestershire sauce, and simmer until flavors have blended, 45 more minutes. Just before serving, stir in 2 more teaspoons of file gumbo powder.

VALERIE'S VERY BEST GUMBO

Steps:

• Warm 1 cup oil over medium heat in a large Dutch oven until hot. Add the flour to the pot all at once, whisking until the consistency is uniform. Cook the roux, whisking occasionally, until it is the color of a tarnished penny, about 20 minutes. Do not let it darken any further. Carefully add the celery, bell peppers, onion, chopped scallions and garlic to the pot, working away from you as the hot roux may spatter. Stir with a wooden spoon until the onions begin to soften, about 5 minutes.
• Add enough stock to just cover the vegetables, about 1 quart, and stir to combine. The roux may separate. Add the tomatoes with their juices, andouille and smoked sausages, cayenne, bay leaves, 1 1/2 tablespoons salt, 1 tablespoon black pepper and the remaining stock, about 1 more quart. Partially cover and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a medium skillet over high heat. Add the okra and cook, stirring, until the gel dries out slightly, about 3 minutes. Add to the Dutch oven.
• Taste the gumbo for seasoning and adjust as desired. Add the chicken, cook until warmed through and serve, or simmer up to 2 hours more to concentrate the flavors, adding the chicken 20 minutes before serving.
• Sprinkle with the reserved sliced scallions and serve over rice. Serve with hot sauce and file powder if using.

AUTHENTIC NEW ORLEANS STYLE GUMBO

Steps:

• Make the Roux*: In a large, heavy bottom stock pot combine flour and oil. Cook on medium-low heat, stirring constantly for 30-45 minutes. This part takes patience--when it's finished it should be as dark as chocolate and have a soft, "cookie dough" like consistency. Be careful not to let it burn! Feel free to add a little more flour or oil as needed to reach this consistency.
• Brown the sausage. In a separate skillet on medium-high heat place the sausage slices in one layer in the pan. Brown them well on one side (2-3 minutes) and then use a fork to flip each over onto the other side to brown. Remove to a plate.
• Cook the vegetables in broth. Add 1/2 cup of the chicken broth to the hot skillet that had the sausage to deglaze the pan. Pour the broth and drippings into your large soup pot.
• Add remaining 5 1/2 cups of chicken broth. Add veggies, parsley, and roux to the pot and stir well.
• Bring to a boil over medium heat and boil for 5-7 minutes, or until the vegetables are slightly tender. (Skim off any foam that may rise to the top of the pot.) Stir in cajun seasoning, to taste.
• Add meat. Add chicken, sausage, and shrimp.
• Taste and serve. At this point taste it and add more seasonings to your liking--salt, pepper, chicken bullion paste, garlic, more Joe's stuff or more chicken broth--until you reach the perfect flavor. Serve warm over rice. (Tastes even better the next day!)

BANG! GUMBO

Steps:

• First, get the roux started, it will take about 20 minutes to cook. Melt the butter in a heavy skillet over medium-low heat. Add the flour and stir often, cooking until the roux becomes a dark chocolate color.
• Preheat a grill or grill pan to medium-high heat.
• Meanwhile, toss the chicken breasts in 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons minced garlic and 1 tablespoons spice mix. Grill the chicken until cooked through, taking care not to overcook and dry out the meat. Cool, dice and set aside.
• In a large stockpot, saute the celery, onions, red pepper and the remaining 2 tablespoons garlic in the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken stock, sausage, okra, green onions, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, salt, spice mix, tomato paste, black pepper and bay leaves and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes. Add the roux and simmer 5 more minutes, stirring gently. Taste for seasonings and adjust. Add the shrimp just before serving, heating just until the shrimp are cooked through. Serve over white rice.

BBQ GUMBO

Steps:

• For the roux: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Mix flour and oil well in a wide, flat-bottomed oven-safe pot such as a cast-iron skillet. Bake, stirring every 15 to 20 minutes, until it reaches a dark brown color and has a strong nutty smell, up to 2 hours. Pour off and reserve excess oil that is left on top of the finished roux.
• For the broth: Meanwhile, using a large stockpot, heat the stock to a low boil and place in smoked rib bones and chicken bones. Simmer on low for about 2 hours to enrich broth with smoke flavor and collagen from the bones.
• In a large stockpot over medium-high heat, add 1/2 cup of the leftover oil from the roux and heat until it is shimmering.
• Add the celery, green peppers and onions, and sweat them until tender, fragrant and translucent. Add the garlic and continue to cook briefly until fragrant. Add the roux and stir to combine with the vegetables until it forms a well-amalgamated paste. Add about three-quarters of the broth. Bring to a low boil, then add the Cajun seasoning, rib meat, chicken meat and pork sausage. Simmer on low heat for 45 minutes.

GUMBO

Steps:

• In a large pot, heat the oil. Fry the okra, stirring constantly, for 10 to 12 minutes or until most of the slime disappears. Season with Essence. Add the tomatoes, onions, and celery, stirring occasionally, cook for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are wilted. Season with salt and cayenne. Add the bay leaves, thyme, garlic and water. Stir and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Add the shrimp and cook for 30 minutes. Serve with rice and garnish with green onions and Essence.
• Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight jar or container.
• Recipe from "New New Orleans Cooking", by Emeril Lagasse and Jessie Tirsch. Published by William and Morrow, 1993.