Mumbo Jumbo Gumbo Recipes

VALERIE'S VERY BEST GUMBO

Steps:

• Warm 1 cup oil over medium heat in a large Dutch oven until hot. Add the flour to the pot all at once, whisking until the consistency is uniform. Cook the roux, whisking occasionally, until it is the color of a tarnished penny, about 20 minutes. Do not let it darken any further. Carefully add the celery, bell peppers, onion, chopped scallions and garlic to the pot, working away from you as the hot roux may spatter. Stir with a wooden spoon until the onions begin to soften, about 5 minutes.
• Add enough stock to just cover the vegetables, about 1 quart, and stir to combine. The roux may separate. Add the tomatoes with their juices, andouille and smoked sausages, cayenne, bay leaves, 1 1/2 tablespoons salt, 1 tablespoon black pepper and the remaining stock, about 1 more quart. Partially cover and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a medium skillet over high heat. Add the okra and cook, stirring, until the gel dries out slightly, about 3 minutes. Add to the Dutch oven.
• Taste the gumbo for seasoning and adjust as desired. Add the chicken, cook until warmed through and serve, or simmer up to 2 hours more to concentrate the flavors, adding the chicken 20 minutes before serving.
• Sprinkle with the reserved sliced scallions and serve over rice. Serve with hot sauce and file powder if using.

"BIG EASY" GUMBO

Steps:

• In 4- to 6-quart Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Gradually stir in flour with whisk; cook 5 to 7 minutes, stirring constantly, until flour is chocolate colored. (Do not burn mixture.)
• Reduce heat to medium. Stir in onion, bell pepper, celery, Creole seasoning and garlic. Cook 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Gradually stir in broth. Add chicken, sausage and black-eyed peas. Heat to boiling over medium-high heat; reduce heat to low. Simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Stir in shrimp; cook 5 minutes or just until shrimp are pink.

CAJUN CHICKEN AND SAUSAGE GUMBO

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. When hot, whisk in flour. Continue whisking until the roux has cooked to the color of chocolate milk, 8 to 10 minutes. Be careful not to burn the roux. If you see black specks in the mixture, start over.
• Stir onion, bell pepper, celery, and sausage into the roux; cook 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook another 5 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, and Creole seasoning; blend thoroughly. Pour in the chicken broth and add the bay leaf. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, uncovered, for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Stir in the chicken, and simmer 1 hour more. Skim off any foam that floats to the top during the last hour.

AUTHENTIC CAJUN GUMBO

Steps:

• Place the first 11 ingredients in a stockpot; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1-1/2 hours., Remove chicken and allow to cool. Strain broth, discarding vegetables; skim fat. Remove meat from bones; cut chicken into bite-size pieces and set aside. Discard bones., In the same pan, cook and stir oil and flour over medium heat until caramel-colored, about 14 minutes (do not burn). Add finely chopped onion; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Gradually stir in broth. Bring to a boil., Carefully stir in sausage and reserved chicken. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Stir in okra and oysters. Simmer, uncovered, 10-15 minutes longer or just until okra is tender. Stir in file powder. Serve with rice.

MUMBO JUMBO GUMBO

Steps:

• In a large cast iron skillet or heavy sauté pan, add the oil.
• A high flash point oil will reduce the time needed to make the roux.
• Heat the oil on high heat until the pan is smoking hot, carefully whisk in the flour and reduce the heat.
• Stir constantly to prevent scorching.
• Stir the mixture constantly for 30-45 minutes or until a dark brown color and nutty aroma develops.
• Remove from heat for a few minutes before adding the garlic to prevent burning.
• Fry garlic in this roux.
• Add onions and cook for 10 minutes.
• Add celery, bell pepper, black pepper, salt, Tabasco sauce, and Worcestershire sauce.
• Cook vegetables and then add three quarts of fish stock (recipe below).
• Allow the liquid to come to a boil and simmer while preparing the shrimp, crab and oysters/steamers.
• Using 2 cubes Knorr fish bouillon and 1 ½ tsp.
• Old Bay seasoning, precook the shrimp in a little boiling water.
• Drain, cool and peel the shrimp.
• Again, using the fish bouillon and Old Bay, bring the oysters to a boil in water until they just curl.
• Drain and cool.
• If using steamers (clams) instead of oysters, using the same procedure and seasonings, steam the clams, then shuck and clean before adding to the final boil.
• After cleaning the lump crab for any odd shell fragments, add crab the meat and cook for another ten minutes.
• Add parsley and chopped green onion and cook for another 10 minutes.
• Add the precooked shrimp, oysters/clams and cook for 5 minutes to heat through.
• At the very last add the file gumbo, blend well and remove from the heat and allow it to thicken.
• Allow the gumbo to set and when reheating, simmer gently and serve with cooked rice if desired.
• Fish Stock- Cooking down about 2 pounds of fish scraps or a mess of shellfish scraps can make the fish stock.
• In a small stockpot, add just enough water to cover.
• Add salt to taste and simmer for 20-30 minutes.
• Strain the stock before using.

CAJUN GUMBO

Steps:

• Boil chicken pieces in 1 gallon of lightly salted water for approximately 1 hour, or until done. Reserve the chicken broth for the base of the gumbo.
• Wash okra and dry with a paper towel. Cut off the ends of the okra and slice into round pieces. Saute the pieces in a skillet with 1/2-cup of the butter until all of the slime has left the okra. This takes 1/2 hour to 45 minutes. You must stir the okra throughout this process to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
• Saute the onion, green pepper, and celery in remaining 1/2-cup butter until lightly browned. Place the cooked okra and onion mixture into the chicken broth. Add the basil, thyme, bay leaves, and garlic to the broth. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 15 minutes.
• Remove skin and bones from chicken, and cut into bite sized pieces, and set aside. Add the chicken, sausage, and ham to the broth at the same time. Return mixture to a boil. Add the shrimp and crabmeat, and cook for another 5 minutes. Season with file, black pepper, and hot pepper, to taste.
• Serve with rice.

GUMBO IN A JIFFY

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, cook sliced sausage until browned on both sides. Stir in the tomatoes, broth and water; bring to a boil. Stir in rice and corn; cover and remove from the heat. Let stand for 5 minutes. If desired, top with sliced green onions.