Mobile Bay Seafood Gumbo Recipes

ULTIMATE GULF COAST GUMBO

Steps:

• Peel and devein the shrimp and place in the refrigerator. Place shrimp heads and shells in a large pot, and cover with 2 quarts of water. Cover, and simmer over medium-low heat until liquid is reduced by half. Strain out and discard shrimp heads and shells. Reserve shrimp broth.
• Heat oil in a very large stockpot over medium-high heat. Stir in flour with a long-handled spoon. Cook and stir for several minutes until dark brown and flour is puffing and absorbing the oil. Slowly stir in chicken broth and an equal amount of water. Place chicken in the pot. Add onions, celery, bell pepper, tomatoes, garlic, bay leaves, red pepper flakes, Old Bay seasoning, and salt. Boil until chicken is no longer pink and the juices run clear, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Remove chicken from the pot, and set aside until cool enough to handle. Remove and discard bones, and chop chicken into 1 inch pieces.
• Return chicken back to the pot, along with reserved shrimp broth, crab meat, sausage, and shrimp. Add the file powder, and stir from the bottom of the pot. When the gumbo comes to a boil, remove from heat. Continue to stir from the bottom for 1 minute. Serve.

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.

WINTZELL'S GUMBO

Steps:

• Sift flour; brown in lard to a golden-brown color, stirring constantly to prevent burning or lumping.
• Add half of the chopped onion, garlic, bell pepper, and celery and saute for one minute. Add this mixture to the boiling water and mix thoroughly.
• Add remaining onion, garlic, bell pepper, celery, and the bouillon cubes, and boil for 10 minutes.
• Add oysters and simmer for at least 30 minutes.
• Add salt and pepper to taste, bring to rapid boil and add filé powder. Mix well and remove from heat. Let sit for at least 15 minutes and serve over rice.

BAYOU SEAFOOD GUMBO

Steps:

• Combine stock, bay leaves, red pepper, ham and 2 teaspoons salt in large pot. Bring to boil over high heat. Reduce to medium. Cover and simmer 45 minute.
• Meanwhile, make roux by heating bacon drippings in skillet over medium heat. Add flour. Stir until absorbed. Do not let it burn. Stir constantly until flour is light brown.
• Add oil, okra, onions, garlic, green pepper. Sauté until tender. Add tomatoes. Cook another 5 minutes.
• Add sautéed vegetables to beef stock. Add 1 tsp salt, thyme, catsup, hot pepper sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Cover and cook over low heat for one hour.
• Add shrimp, crabmeat and green onions. Cook 40 minutes. Add gumbo file during last 30 minutes. Serve with rice.

YUMMY BILOXI SEAFOOD GUMBO

Steps:

• In a large Dutch oven pot, fry the bacon until crispy.
• Remove bacon and set aside.
• In the bacon grease, fry down and Onion, celery, Bell-pepper, and garlic.
• Add salt, pepper, thyme, Cajun seasoning, white pepper, Tabasco, and garlic salt.
• Cook until reduced.
• About 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, go through all of your thawed frozen okra and remove the hard okra tops.
• Add your cornstarch to your onion mixture and stir to remove any lumps.
• Stir until nice and thick.
• Add your okra to the pot and simmer on low heat until all the slime is gone.
• (1 ½-2 hours).
• Stir occasionally to prevent burning.
• Fry your sausage in a separate skillet and drain.
• Take a hand mixer and mix the okra mixture until all the okra is broken up into small pieces.
• Add sirloin steak, ham, sausage, tomato sauce, and chicken broth.
• Stir well and let simmer on low heat for another hour.
• Be very careful not to burn.
• Add shrimp and crab meat (cook for 30 more minutes until fishy smell is gone and shrimp is thoroughly cooked) Serve over rice (or alone if you can't eat rice).