Dark Gumbo Country Style With Spareribs And Andouille Recipes

UPPERLINE'S DUCK AND ANDOUILLE GUMBO

Steps:

• Prepare the roux: In a large Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high. (A large stockpot works, but a Dutch oven is ideally shaped for whisking a roux.) Slowly shake the flour over the oil with one hand while whisking with the other hand. Continue to whisk until the roux darkens to a glossy, dark red-brown, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Reduce the heat to medium and stir the onion, celery and bell peppers into the roux to prevent it from burning, about 3 minutes. Stir in the sausage and cook until coated, a few more minutes.
• Gradually add the stock, stirring constantly as you add the liquid. Add the thyme, oregano, bay leaves and garlic and simmer over medium-low, stirring and skimming every 20 minutes, until the flavors have melded, about 2 hours. For a thinner gumbo, add water, as desired (up to 2 cups).
• Stir in the duck meat just before serving and cook until warmed, 3 to 5 minutes. (An extended cook time would turn the meat mushy.) Add the salt and hot sauce to taste. Serve over rice or potato salad.

MERWIN'S SHRIMP GUMBO

Steps:

• In a medium skillet, brown the sausage over medium heat. Remove from pan, and drain on paper towels to remove some of the fat. Discard fat in pan.
• In a large skillet, heat vegetable oil over high heat. Brown chicken pieces in hot oil. Turn frequently until golden brown on all sides. Transfer chicken to a dish, leaving oil in pan. Set chicken aside, but keep warm.
• Make a roux by whisking flour into the hot vegetable oil. Turn heat down to low. Continue cooking flour and oil mixture, stirring constantly, until it reaches a dark brown color. This may take 30 to 45 minutes; the darker the roux, the better the final gumbo.
• When the roux is a dark brown color, quickly add the sausage, onion, green onion tops, green pepper, parsley, and garlic. Cook over low heat until the vegetables are wilted, about 10 minutes, stirring constantly.
• Stir in 2 cups water and spices. Add chicken parts. Add rest of the water slowly. Bring mixture to a boil, and reduce heat. Simmer for about 45 minutes, until chicken is done and tender.
• Remove chicken pieces, and save for another use. Add shrimp to gumbo; cook for about 8 to 10 minutes more. Remove bay leaves. Taste, and adjust seasoning. Serve gumbo in deep bowls. Sprinkle file powder over individual servings, and stir in.

DARK GUMBO COUNTRY STYLE, WITH SPARERIBS AND ANDOUILLE

Steps:

• Place the oil in a large, heavy stockpot over high heat. Lightly salt the spareribs and add them to the pot. Sear the meat on both sides until it's golden brown, about 4 minutes per side.
• Add the chicken stock to the pot, scraping the bottom with a wooden spoon to loosen any crusty bits, Add the garlic clove: Bring to a boil, remove any scum on top by skimming with a large spoon, then turn the heat down to medium. Cook at a lightly rolling simmer for 2 hours. When done, the pork should be tender and you should have about 8 cups of stock. Remove the spareribs from the stock with a slotted spoon and reserve. Measure the stock; if there's less than 8 cups, add water to bring it up to 8 cups. Keep the stock hot.
• Start the roux after the pork has simmered for about 1 hour. Place the butter in a large, heavy pot over medium-low heat. When it's melted, add 1/2 cup of flour all at once, stirring vigorously into the melted butter with a wooden spoon. When it's incorporated, repeat with another 1/2 cup of flour. When that's incorporated, gradually add the remaining 1/2 cup of flour; you will need most of it, but you may not need it all. Stop adding flour as soon as the roux begins to clump up and is on the verge of turning solid; it should remain a very thick, but runny, paste. Continue to cook the roux over medium-low heat, stirring often and monitoring its color, for about an hour. It will darken as it cooks, finally reaching a color like dark mahogany or rich fudge. Don't let the roux get too dark (as dark as black coffee, say), because it can burn.
• When the roux is cooked, stir the green peppers into the roux and cook for 30 seconds. Immediately add the jalapeños, onion, 3 scallions, and celery. Stir into the roux, and cook for 30 seconds.
• Add the hot stock all at once to the roux. Turn the heat up to medium-high. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until the roux melts entirely and thickens the stock. Reduce the heat to medium.
• Add the thyme, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, crushed red pepper, black pepper, allspice, and bay leaf. Remove the pork meat from the bones; break it into walnut-sized chunks with your fingers. Discard the bones and add the meat to the gumbo. Simmer for 20 minutes, partially covered.
• Add the andouille. Cover the pot, and turn the heat to low. Simmer for 15 minutes more. You can make the gumbo to this step a day ahead.
• When you're ready to serve, add the gumbo file, taste for seasoning, and adjust. Fill a small teacup with hot white rice and invert it into a wide, shallow soup bowl; the rice should sit in a mound in the center of the bowl. Ladle the hot gumbo with chunks of pork and slices of andouille around the rice, garnish with a little chopped scallion, and serve immediately. Keep plating until 12 bowls altogether are served.

SPICY RED FILE-THICKENED GUMBO WITH CRAWFISH AND ANDOUILLE

Steps:

• In a bowl blend together the crawfish seasoning mixture. Add the crawfish tails, and reserve in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 hours. Make the gumbo: Place the vegetable oil in a heavy skillet over high heat. When it's smoking, add the flour, about 1/3 at a time, whisking well after each addition. Cook over fairly high heat, whisking constantly, until the roux reaches a dark, reddish brown, about 10 minutes. If the roux seems about to burn (you'll start to notice a burning smell), move the pan off the heat for a few minutes continuing to whisk. When the roux is ready, add the garlic, onions, celery, bell peppers, and scallions. Place the pan over low heat, and cook the vegetables in the roux for 5 minutes. Bring the stock to a boil in a large soup pot. When the vegetables have cooked in the roux, add the roux-vegetable mixture to the boiling stock by 1/4 cupfuls, blending well. Crush the tomatoes in your hands, and add them, along with the liquid in the cans, to the soup pot. Add the bay leaves, thyme, oregano, allspice, cayenne, cloves, hot sauce and lemon juice. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat to a simmer, and cook for20 minutes, partially covered. Add the andouille and simmer the gumbo for another 20 minutes, partially covered. Add the seasoned crawfish tails, and simmer for 5 minutes. Off the heat, blend in the file powder, blending until the desired thickness is reached. Taste for seasoning. Serve immediately over rice. Garnish with the whole, boiled crawfish.;

SHRIMP AND ANDOUILLE GUMBO

Steps:

• Heat 3 Tbsp vegetable oil over medium high heat. When the oil is hot add about two tablespoons of flour and mix it in quickly. When it's incorporated add a third tablespoon and blend into the roux. The idea is to quickly brown the flour without burning it. You want the roux rather thick and may need to add small amounts of flour to thicken during the mixing process if it thins out a lot.
• Continue cooking until it's very dark. When you think it's dark enough - it should be a very dark brown - add the veggies and spices. Continue cooking over medium heat until vegetables start to soften and then add the garlic and andouille.
• Simmer for 5-10 minutes and slowly add in the wine, clam juice, tomato sauce and chicken stock. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Raise heat to medium high until gumbo starts to bubble and thicken and then reduce heat to medium or medium low.
• Add the shrimp and stir a few times as they cook, simmer just until shrimp turn pink. Spoon over rice and garnish with green onions.

SEAFOOD & ANDOUILLE GUMBO

Steps:

• Combine onions, bell peppers, and celery in medium bowl. Set aside.
• In small bowl, combine bay leaves, salt, peppers, thyme and oregano. Set aside.
• In a heavy skillet, heat oil over high heat until it begins to smoke.
• Gradually add the flour, whisking constantly. Continue cooking & whisking constantly until the roux is a dark red-brown (about 2 to 4 minutes). If it scorches, dump out & start over.
• When roux is ready, add half of vegetables and stir well with wooden spoon or spatula. Stir and cook for ONE minute. Add remaining vegetables. Stir and cook for TWO minutes.
• Add seasoning mixture and stir to incorporate well. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
• Add the garlic, stir well.
• Cook and stir for one more minute. Remove from heat.
• In a large Dutch oven or Stock Pot, cook the andouille sausage over a medium heat. Set aside in separate bowl.
• Place Seafood Stock into the large Dutch Oven and bring to boil.
• Once the stock is at a rolling boil, add the roux mixture by the spoonful, stirring until dissolved between each addition.
• Bring mixture to a boil.
• Add the precooked andouille and return to a boil; continue boiling 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes more.
• Add the shrimp, undrained oyters, and crabmeat.
• Return to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally.
• Remove from heat and allow to stand for a few minutes without stirring. Gently skim and remove any oil from the surface of the gumbo.
• Serve immediately over rice.

SHRIMP & ANDOUILLE SAUSAGE GUMBO

Steps:

• Make roux by heating oil in a large dutch oven over high heat until almost smoking. Add flour & stir until dark red-brown, about 8 minutes. Immediately add celery, onions, & bell peppers. Cook 5 minutes, stirring & scraping the bottom of the pan often. Mix in bay leaves, salt, oregano, & cayenne. Add & stir together stock, canned tomatoes, sausage,& filet seasoning . Boil 15 minutes. (To add okra: reduce heat & simmer until okra is tender, about 15 minutes). Add shrimp to gumbo & simmer until just cooked through, about 3 minutes.
• Serve in bowl & add 1 mound of freshly cooked long-grain rice on top.
• Optional:.
• 1/2 lb. okra, cut into 1/4-inch thick slices.
• Note:.
• Salt & pepper is not added during cooking as the natural salt in the ingredients is more than enough to season it. (Please taste prior to seasoning before eating.).

LOW COUNTRY GUMBO

Steps:

• Prepare the vegetables. Remove sausage from the casings and crumble. Set aside.
• Season the diced chicken with 3-4 tablespoons of Creole Spice Mix, either homemade or a high-quality store-bought mix. Dredge the chicken in ½ cup all-purpose flour.
• In a large pot over medium-high heat, heat ½ cup of lard. When melted, add the andouille and slightly flatten to an even layer; brown on both sides, just cooking through. (Do not overstir, or meat will not sear.) Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon so oil remains in pan, and drain on a paper towel-lined plate. Set aside.Add the chicken to the hot pan. Allow the chicken to brown and cook through in two batches, being careful not to overstir, about 7 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside with the sausage.
• Roux: Turn the heat to low. Scrape food bits from the bottom of pan (also known as "fond") so they are loose in the melted fat. Add the remaining ½ cup lard and allow it to melt. Dust in the remaining ¾ cup flour in several small additions, whisking constantly. Simmer on low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon so roux does not stick, for 30-45 minutes, until the roux is the color of peanut butter.
• Raise the heat slightly. When the roux has just begun to bubble, add the onions and stir well to coat them. Then add the celery and bell pepper and cook for 5 minutes, stirring, to just soften. (The goal is to "stew," not sear.) Add the garlic. Slowly add the stock in several additions, stirring and scraping constantly to deglaze and mix well. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Add the bay leaves and the filé, and stir. Simmer for 20-30 minutes, until "nappe consistency"-thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
• Add the chicken and sausage pieces and simmer.
• Heat a dry cast-iron skillet. Toss okra lightly in oil, then grill in the hot pan, stirring occasionally, until seared and aromatic. Remove, cool slightly, and chop into ½-inch pieces. Add to the pot and stir.
• Adjust seasoning to taste with salt and pepper. Season with hot sauce, lemon, and some of the spice mix to taste. Serve with rice.
• Combine all the ingredients for the Creole Spice Mix in a bowl and mix well to combine. Set aside.

TURKEY & ANDOUILLE GUMBO

Steps:

• To make the roux:.
• In a large heavy stockpot or cast iron skillet, combine flour and oil over low heat and cook, stirring constantly until mixture reaches a nice dark pecan-brown color. (Here is a great tutorial on making a roux, http://www.recipezaar.com/bb/viewtopic.zsp?t=225104&sid=378ee16fc9829f21e4454a60406c07ce.
• Next add your onions, bell pepper and garlic to the pot. Let cook, stirring often, until veggies are tender. (If you used a skillet to cook your roux you will need to transfer this mixture to a large stockpot at this point.).
• Add all remaining ingredients except rice, okra and file (pronounced Fee-lay).
• Allow gumbo to come up to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and let cook for 1 to 3 hours.
• It is my experience that the longer you let it simmer the better the flavor. Some folks around here even go so far as to cook gumbo a day ahead because they believe a good gumbo is at least 24 hours old.
• About 1 hour before you want to serve the gumbo you can add the okra and file, and let the mixture return to a boil. Reduce heat again and let it continue to simmer until you are ready to serve.
• Meanwhile, prepare rice according to the package directions.
• Extra file should be placed in a small bowl and served alongside the gumbo for those who want to add some to their bowl. Gumbo file is a thickening agent that comes from ground sassafras leaves and gives gumbo it's distinctive flavor.
• Serve Gumbo over rice and us hot French rolls.