Mamas Gumbo Recipes

MAMA'S SEAFOOD GUMBO

Steps:

• Fry okra in oil for 30-45 minute.
• Add onions and celery and cook until soft.
• Stir in tomato sauce, parsley, bay leaf, thyme and water. Simmer 30 minute.
• Add shrimp, crabmeat and oysters. Simmer another 30 minute.
• NOTE: This is better if cooked in the morning and allowed to stand. Serve over rice.

MAMA'S SEAFOOD GUMBO

Steps:

• In a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour, stirring slowly and constantly, and cook to a medium-brown roux, about 30 minutes.
• Add the onion and bell pepper and stir to combine. Cook until the vegetables have wilted and are lightly golden, about 5 minutes. Add the water and tomato paste and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil over high heat. Decrease the heat to low and cover. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until flavorful and thickened, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• Add the shrimp and crabmeat and stir to combine. Continue cooking over very low heat until the shrimp are cooked through, an additional 10 minutes. Season with hot sauce and stir in the filé powder, if using. Taste and adjust for seasoning with salt and pepper. Serve with rice pilaf.
• Seafood soup, stew, and gumbo all taste better when prepared with homemade stock as opposed to bottled clam juice, the favorite stand-in to freshly made stock. When you peel the shrimp, save the shells (heads also, if you are fortunate enough to have them), and rinse with cold running water. Place the shells in a pot and add enough water to cover. Add a few fresh bay leaves, sprigs of parsley and thyme, a quartered onion, chopped carrot, and chopped celery, and bring to a boil. Decrease the heat to low and simmer until fragrant and flavorful, about 30 minutes. Strain the stock in a strainer layered with cheesecloth, discarding the solids. If I don't need to make shrimp stock every time I peel shrimp, I save the shells for later in a sealable plastic bag in the freezer. For fish stock, it's the same principle, but use bones instead of shells. Do not use oily or heavy fish such as mackerel, skate, mullet, or salmon; their flavor is too strong and heavy. Use approximately 4 pounds of fish bones to 10 cups of water to make 8 cups of stock.

TEXIANA GUMBO (FOR THE MASSES!)

Steps:

• Cook sausage in a large skillet over medium heat until evenly browned, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Whisk olive oil and flour together in a large stockpot over medium heat until mixture is thick and smooth. Cook and stir until mixture is browned and bubbling, 10 to 20 minutes. Add garlic; cook and stir until garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Slowly whisk chicken broth and beer into flour mixture; bring to a boil. Mix sweet onion, bell pepper, celery, okra, green onions, Creole seasoning, and parsley into broth.
• Stir shredded chicken, shrimp, and sausage into vegetable-broth mixture; bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover the pot, and simmer, stirring often, until flavors blend and vegetables are tender, about 60 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper.

MY GRANDMOTHER'S GUMBO - AS NEAR AS I CAN REMEMBER

Steps:

• Place the Chicken, water, onion, celery, carrot, parsley, bay leaves and salt and pepper into a large stock pot. Bring almost to a boil. Cover and turn the temperature very low. Allow to cook, skimming off the froth occasionally, for about an hour.
• Cool the broth slightly and then strain - pressing out as much water from the meat as possible. Remove the chicken meat and reserve for later. Set the broth aside for later. Discard all of the remaining solids. These steps can be done early in the day or the day ahead.
• Make a roux: Melt the 5 tablespoons of butter in a very large soup pot over medium low heat. Stir in the flour and continue stirring until the roux is a deep coppery color - this takes up to 15 minutes. If you burn it, throw it away and begin again. The scorched taste will ruin your gumbo.
• Add the onion to the roux. Cook 2-3 minutes until soft, stirring almost constantly.
• Add the green pepper and celery. Cook 2-3 minutes, stirring almost constantly.
• Add the okra and parsley. Cook 3 - 5 minutes, stirring frequently. If it sticks to the pan too much, toss in 1/4 of water.
• Add the tomatoes, garlic, salt and pepper, and bay leaves.
• Add the reserved chicken broth back to the pot. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Lower the temperature and simmer for 1 1/2 hours.
• At this point I let the gumbo cool down and then set the whole thing in the fridge at least over night.
• Return the soup to the stove top. Add in the reserved chicken and the shrimp. Heat through and serve over rice.

'MOMMA MADE EM' CHICKEN AND SAUSAGE GUMBO

Steps:

• Fill a large pot partially with lightly salted water, and place the chicken in the pot. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook the chicken until the meat is no longer pink and the juices run clear, about 1 hour. Remove the chicken from the broth, and crack open the carcass to allow the chicken to cool. Reserve the chicken broth. After the chicken has cooled enough to handle, pick the meat from the bones, and set aside.
• While the chicken is simmering, make a roux by whisking together the flour and vegetable oil in a large, heavy saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook and stir the mixture, watching constantly to avoid burning, until the roux is a rich chocolate brown color, 20 to 30 minutes.
• As soon as the roux has reached the desired color, stir in the onions, bell peppers, celery, Cajun seasoning, and bay leaves, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, about 45 minutes. Pour in the reserved chicken broth, diced tomatoes, and beef sausage, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the mixture has thickened, about 1 hour.
• Mix in the reserved chicken meat and okra, bring back to a simmer, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the okra is tender and the flavors have blended, 30 to 40 minutes.