Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

I tasted this Gumbo just before Christmas, we'd been invited over to a friends for dinner and it was so good.   (people have been known to invite me over, I don't do all the cooking around here)

I love Gumbo anyway, but have to admit I've never made it from scratch, well, I now have a new recipe in my arsenal.    In fact, I made it the other day for dinner.   I did make a few minor changes to the original recipe, but hey, I'm the cook.   And don't you forget it!    Sorry, I got carried away there.

I didn't cook as much chicken as the recipe called for, but I did use the full amount of vegetables.   Veggies are good for you, aren't they?

And this is more a note to myself, that when I put chicken stock in the freezer, to label it better.   I accidentally put some of my super charged (highly concentrated) stock into the gumbo by mistake, but was able to correct it.     And on the whole, the recipe was good.   Next time I make it I will try to use a some red or yellow bell peppers, more for the contrasting color than anything else.   I also didn't make the full recipe of Roux either.  Something about a half cup of oil and a full cup of flour, I thought it would be too much for the three half breasts of chicken and one link of Andouille sausage I used.
Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

Start with browning the chicken in a little oil, then set the chicken aside while you cook the roux.  
Cooking a roux
This will take you a good half hour or so,  until it turns a rich dark brown.
Rich brown roux

You need to pay attention, cooking this over a low heat and stirring, and stirring and stirring.    I think next time I make this I will use a little butter in with it, just to add another layer of flavour. 
But while it's cooking you can chop up the vegetables, for that you need three of my fav's, a green pepper, an onion and celery, or if you're not into multi-tasking, just chop the veggies first and set them aside. 
Veggies for gumbo
Chop up the celery, and onion quite finely, then rough chop the green pepper, and don't forget the clove or two or three of garlic.  Especially since I forgot to get a picture of that.   And then the very important chile pepper.   I threw in a couple of Chile de Arbol peppers, but next time, I think I'll add a couple more.   Not too sure where this Danish girl got her love of spice, but I do like me some spicy food.

Chopped veggies for gumbo
Chop up the onion, mince the garlic and slice the sausage.   I used one link of the Andouille Sausage here.


Andouille Sausage and onions

Smoked Andouille Sausage
Next, dump the chopped up veggies and sausage into the pan with the roux and stir it around, coating the veggies.  It will look a little odd at this point.

Parcooking the veggies in the roux for gumbo
Pour in the stock while stirring, otherwise it kinda glops together.  
Adding stock to Gumbo mixture
Place the chicken into the veggies and stock, add a bay leaf and let simmer for about 30-45 minutes, or until the chicken and veggies are done.  And next time, I'll cut the chicken into smaller pieces when I serve it.  These were a little unwieldy.   Even though I'd cut each piece of chicken into three. 
Add either some fresh okra or some canned okra at the end, let that simmer for a few minutes, and then serve over rice. 
We had enough for dinner and three lunches for me.  *giggle*, so I threw the rest into the freezer and now I have lunches. 

Here is the full recipe.

Chicken Gumbo 
3 lb Chicken, cut into 6-8 pieces
1/2 cup oil
1 cup flour
2-3 dried red chili peppers or 1-2 fresh chili peppers
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 large green pepper, roughly chopped
3 stalks celery, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
8 oz andouille sausage or garlic sausage, diced
4 cups chicken stock
1 bay leaf
Dash Tabasco  (I use Crystal Hot Sauce)
Salt and pepper
4 oz fresh okra  (I used one can of okra, could also use frozen here)
Cooked rice

Heat the oil in a large saute' pan or frying pan and brown the chicken on both sides, 3-4 pieces at a time.  Transfer the chicken to a plate and set it aside.
Lower the heat under the pan and add the flour.  Cook over a very low heat for about 30 minutes, stirring constantly until the flour turns a rich dark brown.   Take the pan off the heat occasionally, so that the flour does not burn.   Add the chili peppers, onion, green pepper, sausage and garlic to the roux and cook for about 5 minutes over low heat, stirring continuously.  Pour on the stock and stir well.   Add the bay leaf and dash of Tabasco if desired, and return the chicken to the pan.   Cover and cook for about 30 minutes, or until the chicken is tender.
Top and tail the okra if using fresh, and cut each into 2 or 3 pieces, if okra is small, leave whole.   Add to the chicken and cook for a further 10-15 minutes.
Remove the bay leaf and serve over rice. 



Sidsel Munkholm - Author
Sidsel Munkholm - Author

Sid loves to cook, feed people and have fun in the kitchen. She shares her successes and the involuntary offerings she sometimes gives the kitchen goddess as well. And she's still looking for the mythical fairy to help her clean the kitchen after a marathon cooking session. Currently working on a cookbook showcasing the recipes from her Danish heritage.

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