Texiana Gumbo For The Masses Recipes

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.

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.

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.

GRAVY FOR THE MASSES

Steps:

• One note I can't stress enough.
• If you are making a gravy with pork juices, use the melted butter, not the bacon fat, or you'll get a gravy that's way too salty.
• Gravy base: When you are done preparing your poultry or roast, remove the meat from the roasting pan.
• skim the fat from the remaining juices and discard.
• Reserve the juices separately by simply pouring them into a cup or bowl.
• Do not use a scraper.
• Add the butter or bacon fat directly into the pan.
• Sprinkle the flour evenly over the pan.
• Using a whisk, whisk the flour into the liquid until evenly blended (the mixture should be the consistency of batter).
• Using a wooden spoon, carefully and with as much strength as you can manage, scrape up as much of any burnt on pieces as you possibly can.
• Using a rubber scraper, scrape the mess into a medium to largeish saucepan (the heavier the better).
• Turn the heat on medium and continue to whisk for a few minutes.
• Add liquid as described below for each meat type.
• Add any optional ingredients you may have.
• Increase the heat to high and bring the gravy to a boil, whisking often and scraping up any of the flour paste that has congealed.
• Lower to a simmer and cook about 5 to 10 minutes, or until the consistency of the gravy is just a tad runnier than you'd expect.
• At this point feel free to improvise with spices.
• I add a pinch of freshly ground black pepper and occasionally 2-3 Tbsp freshly minced parsley to the beef and pork.
• The chicken I leave alone.
• Let the gravy cool for about 5 minutes, it should thicken a little on cooling, and serve.
• Liquid Combinations (the'body' of the gravy).
• For Poultry (Chicken or Turkey) gravy: Use a combination of the reserved juices, chicken stock or chicken broth, and chablis (optional), making 2 cups of liquid total.
• The giblets AND the mushrooms go wonderfully with this gravy For Beef gravy: Use a combination of the reserved juices and beef stock or beef broth (I'm too scared to add wine to this one, I don't know much about red wines, maybe try a dash of merlot) to make 2 cups.
• The mushrooms go great with this one For Pork gravy: First off, use melted butter instead of bacon for the gravy base or the gravy will be too salty.
• Otherwise, proceed as with beef gravy above.