Erick Ericksons Gumbo Recipes

CHICKEN AND SMOKED SAUSAGE GUMBO

Steps:

• Combine the oil and flour in a large cast iron or enameled cast iron Dutch oven over medium heat. Stirring slowly and constantly for 20 to 25 minutes, make a dark brown roux, the color of chocolate. Add the onions, celery, and bell peppers and continue to stir for 4 to 5 minutes, or until wilted. Add the sausage, salt, cayenne, and bay leaves. Continue to stir for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the chicken broth. Stir until the roux mixture and water are well combined. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour.
• Season the chicken with the rub and add to the pot. Simmer for 2 hours. Skim off any fat that rises to the surface. Remove from the heat. Stir in the parsley, green onions, and file powder. Remove the bay leaves and serve in deep bowls.
• Combine all ingredients and store in an air-tight container.

EVERYTHING GUMBO

Steps:

• In bowl, mix the paprika, coriander, cumin, cayenne pepper, thyme, and bay leaves. Reserve the seasoning blend.
• Chop and reserve the Trinity-Plus-Two mix of onion, peppers, celery, and garlic.
• Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and dredge in flour. Add about 2 tablespoons oil and when hot, add chicken pieces, turning occasionally. When browned, remove to a plate. Remove the casings from sausage and slice on an angle in large chunks. Brown the andouille in a drizzle of oil and remove to plate. Pour off the fat, then add the remaining 1/2 cup oil and 1/2 cup flour, whisk constantly until medium-golden brown in color. Cook's Note: think peanut butter.
• Add the vegetables and seasoning blend to the pot, salt, and pepper and stir 6 to 8 minutes, to soften the vegetables a bit. Add the tomatoes and beer to the pot and reduce beer by half, 2 minutes. Add the stock, chicken, and andouille back to the pot, simmer to combine the flavors, then cool completely and store for a make-ahead meal.
• To reheat the gumbo: Place the gumbo in a covered pot over medium heat, stir in the crab or shrimp and heat through or cook shrimp, until pink and firm. Top with scallions and serve with scallion rice, if desired.

EARL CAMPBELL'S HOT LINK GUMBO

Steps:

• Start by making the roux. In a heavy bottomed pan, preferably a cast-iron skillet, melt the bacon fat and stir in the flour. It's important to keep stirring this until it turns a deep dark brown. Usually about 30 minutes. Also remember once it is brown to remove it from the burner and it will continue to cook as the pan is still really hot.
• For the gumbo: Melt the butter in a large pot. Add the celery, onions and green and red bell peppers. Let simmer for 5 minutes. Cut the hot links in 1/4-inch half-moons and add to the pot. Add the water, clam base, chili powder, thyme, oregano, garlic, paprika, cayenne, chicken base, hot sauce and bay leaf. Bring to a boil and turn down to a simmer. Let simmer for 30 minutes.
• Take 1 cup of the liquid and stir it into the still hot roux; it will expand to double the size. Add this to the gumbo and stir it in well bring it back to a boil. Once it has thickened, turn off the heat and stir in the okra and gumbo file. (At this point you have a nice base that you can add your choice of proteins to, anything from crawfish, shrimp, crab, chicken or a combination.)
• Serve in a bowl with steamed rice, soda crackers and Louisiana hot sauce.

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.

EMERIL'S COUNTRY FILE GUMBO

Steps:

• Heat the roux in a medium-sized heavy stockpot over medium-high heat. When hot, add the onions, celery and bell pepper. Stir mixture until onions begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and continue to cook for 1 minute. Slowly pour in stock, whisking constantly to prevent lumps from forming. Add the browned sausage, bay leaves, Worcestershire, hot sauce, cayenne, salt, and pepper.
• Bring gumbo to a boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer until gumbo is slightly reduced, about 50 minutes. (Gumbo should cook long enough for the roux flavor to mellow and for any floury taste to dissipate.)
• Season the shrimp with the Essence in a small bowl. Stir in the seasoned shrimp, crabmeat, green onions, parsley, thyme and basil. Cook until shrimp are cooked through, about 5 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary. Sprinkle in file powder and cook, stirring, 2 minutes more, or pass file at the table for guests to thicken as desired. Remove bay leaves before serving.
• Serve in warmed soup bowls over steamed white rice.
• Place a heavy, iron Dutch oven, (or iron skillet with deep sides) over medium heat and heat the oil until just smoking. Whisk in flour, a little at a time and cook, whisking constantly, until roux becomes smooth and thick. Continue to cook, constantly stirring with a wooden spoon and reaching all over bottom of pan, until roux darkens to desired color. Be careful not to produce specs of black. The roux must remain an even color throughout process. If specs appear you must start over.
• For a Light Brown Roux, cook the mixture, over medium heat for 1 1/2 hours, or until the color of peanut butter. Remove about 1 cup of the light colored roux, cool completely, and set aside for the Delmonico's Seafood Okra Gumbo.
• For a Medium Brown Roux, cook the mixture, over medium heat for an additional 30 minutes, or until the color of a copper penny when ready. Remove about 13/4 cups of the medium colored roux, cool completely, and set aside for Emeril's Country File Gumbo.
• For a Dark Brown Roux, cook the mixture an additional 35 to 45 minutes. The color should resemble dark chocolate when ready. Remove all of the remaining dark roux from the pan and cool completely. Set aside for the Chicken and Sausage Gumbo. (See Cook's Note)
• Combine all ingredients thoroughly.
• Recipe from "New New Orleans Cooking", by Emeril Lagasse and Jessie Tirsch, published by William and Morrow, 1993.

TONY GARNIER'S GUMBO

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Season duck with salt, black pepper and cayenne to taste. Place in a deep roasting pan, and roast until the meat releases most of the fat, about an hour. Reserve the duck meat (cool, cover, and refrigerate) and allow the pan juices to settle. Carefully pour 1 1/2 cups clear duck fat from the pan into a large measuring cup. If there is less than a cup of duck fat, add enough vegetable oil to make 1 cup. Discard fat and juices remaining in pan. Duck meat and fat may be prepared a day ahead, and stored, covered, in the refrigerator.
• Prepare a roux: In a heavy 4-quart saucepan over medium-low heat, warm the duck fat. Slowly add flour, stirring constantly. After about 10 minutes, mixture will have the consistency of thick gravy. If it is too thick, add a small amount of vegetable oil. Continue to stir, adjusting heat (or removing pan from stove, if necessary) to prevent flour from burning. Continue to stir constantly as the mixture gradually darkens to the color of milk chocolate, about 30 minutes. Remove from flame, and let mixture settle for about 10 minutes. Pour off and discard oil that has separated from roux. Roux may be prepared a day ahead, and stored, covered, in the refrigerator.
• Place pan with roux over medium heat. Add onions, celery, 1 tablespoon garlic, and half the bell pepper. Cook about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add okra. Cook, stirring, an additional 15 minutes.
• In a large stockpot, bring chicken or vegetable stock to a full boil. Pour about 4 cups of stock into roux mixture, and stir well. Pour all of roux mixture into stockpot. Bring to a boil, and add celery salt, cloves, allspice, bay leaves and Worcestershire. Boil uncovered for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Add duck to stockpot, and return to a simmer.
• Slice sausage into rounds. In a small skillet over medium heat, brown sausage until the fat is cooked out. Remove sausage from fat, and add to stockpot. Continue simmering for an additional 1 1/2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Season chicken with salt, black pepper and cayenne. Place in a roasting pan, and bake until juices run clear when meat is pierced, about 40 minutes. Add chicken to stockpot. Simmer an additional 45 minutes.
• About 15 minutes before serving time, place a large skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil, remaining garlic, remaining bell peppers and shrimp. Saute briefly, about 2 minutes. Add to stockpot. Add scallions and parsley, and adjust seasonings if necessary. To serve, ladle over bowls of rice. Sprinkle about 1/4 teaspoon file powder in each bowl, and stir. Serve immediately.

THE BEST LEFTOVER TURKEY GUMBO

Steps:

• Make the roux.
• In a large Dutch oven, over medium heat, combine the oil and flour.
• Cook, stirring constantly until dark brown (chocolate colored) for 20-30 minutes.
• Add all the chopped veggies to the roux, along with the chopped sausage.
• Cook, stirring occasionally, until the veggies are very soft, about 10 minutes.
• Add the salt and cayenne pepper.
• Add the broth and water, combining well.
• Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 1 1/2 hrs.
• Add the turkey and sliced sausage to the gumbo.
• Cook 15 minutes more.
• Remove from heat, let sit for 5 minutes, then skim any fat that has risen to the surface.
• Stir in green onions and parsley.
• Serve over rice, with hot french bread!