Fumbo Faux Gumbo Recipes

HUSBAND'S GRANDMOTHER'S SHRIMP GUMBO

Steps:

• Brown the sausage in a skillet over medium heat, discard the fat in the skillet, and drain the sausage slices on paper towels to absorb any excess grease. Set the sausage aside. Cook and stir the chopped bacon in the skillet until crisp, 6 to 8 minutes, remove the bacon, and set aside. Stir the okra into the hot bacon drippings, and cook and stir until the okra is tender, about 5 minutes. Drain the okra in a colander, and discard bacon drippings.
• Place the okra and diced tomatoes in a saucepan over medium heat, and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer the okra mixture for about 10 minutes.
• In a large soup pot, melt the butter over medium heat, and cook and stir the onion, green onions, green pepper, celery, parsley, and garlic until the onion begins to turn brown, about 10 minutes. Remove the vegetables but leave the butter in the pot. Stir in the flour, reduce heat to low, and cook the roux, stirring constantly, until it turns the color of milk chocolate, 30 to 45 minutes. Do not let the roux burn.
• When the roux reaches its correct color, whisk in 2 cups of water. Raise the heat to medium; stir in salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, thyme, and bay leaves, bring the mixture to a boil, and stir in the sausage, bacon, okra-tomato mixture, and 6 more cups of water. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer the gumbo, stirring occasionally, until the soup has thickened and the flavors are blended, about 45 minutes. Stir in the shrimp, and simmer until they turn pink and opaque, 6 to 8 more minutes. Discard bay leaves and adjust the seasonings, if desired, before serving.

SMOKED SAUSAGE GUMBO

Steps:

• In a large skillet, saute the celery, onion, green pepper and carrot in oil until tender. Stir in flour until blended; gradually add broth. Bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened., Transfer to a 3-qt. slow cooker. Stir in the sausage, tomatoes, oregano, thyme and cayenne. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours or until heated through. Serve with rice. Freeze Option: Freeze soup and rice, if desired, in freezer containers. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Transfer to a saucepan. Cover and cook over medium heat until heated through, adding a little water if necessary. Serve gumbo with rice.

FUMBO (FAUX-GUMBO)

Steps:

• Saute onion, peppers and celery for 3 minutes.
• Add garlic and sautee 1 more minute.
• Pour in diced tomatoes, chicken broth and potatoes. Stir, bring to a low boil, then reduce heat and let simmer for 30 minutes.
• Add chicken, rice, cayenne pepper (the amount you use depends on your family's tolerance for spicy food - I usually give about 4 dashes), salt & pepper and sugar.
• Let cook for another 20-30 minutes to bring flavors together. Enjoy!

FILE GUMBO

Steps:

• Heat some vegetable oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat and cook the chicken in batches until it is golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add the flour to the chicken juices and stir continuously. Add the butter and cook the roux until it is brown.
• Add the peppers, onion, garlic, parsley, salt, pepper, cayenne, bay leaves, thyme, and 1 quart of water. Stir well and bring to a boil. When the vegetables are soft, put the chicken back into the pot and add the remaining water. In a skillet over medium heat, cook the sausage and ham until they are browned. Add them to the pot along with the shrimp and stir well. Let the gumbo simmer for 1 hour, then add the okra. After 20 minutes, turn off the heat. Ladle a couple of cups of the liquid into a mixing bowl. Add the file powder and whisk until well blended. Pour back into the stock pot and mix well. It's ready to serve!

GUMBO FILé

Steps:

• In a kettle blanch the crabs in boiling water for 2 minutes, drain them, and let them cool until they can be handled. Discard the top shells, the aprons, the gills, the sand sacs, and the mouths and reserve the crabs.
• In a heavy skillet, preferably cast-iron, melt the shortening over moderately low heat, add the flour, and cook the roux, stirring constantly, for 30 minutes, or until it is the color of cocoa. Stir in the onion and cook the mixture, stirring, until the onion begins to brown. Add the okra and cook the mixture over moderate heat, stirring frequently, until the okra is golden. In a kettle bring 8 cups water to a boil, add the roux mixture, the ham, the tomatoes with the juice, the bell pepper, the garlic paste, the bay leaf, the parsley, the thyme, and the celery leaves, and simmer the mixture, stirring occasionally, for 50 minutes. Stir in the reserved crabs and simmer the gumbo for 5 minutes. Stir in the shrimp and the lump crabmeat, if used, simmer the gumbo for 5 minutes, or until the shrimp are firm, and season it with the cayenne and salt. Discard the bay leaf and serve the gumbo sprinkled with the filé powder.