Chicken and Sausage Gumbo
Ingredients
- ½ lb andouille sausage, cut into ¼" pieces
- Creole Seasoning
- 3 chicken breasts
- 2 oz oil
- 2 oz flour
- butter, as needed for the roux
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 green pepper, chopped
- 2 ribs celery, chopped
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ c peeled, seeded and chopped tomato
- 2 qts chicken stock
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 t dried thyme leaves
- 1 bunch scallions, chopped
- ⅔ c fresh parsley, chopped
- hot red pepper sauce to taste
- 1 T Filé powder (to taste)
Instructions
Brown the sausage. Season the chicken with salt and Creole seasoning and brown quickly. Pour off fat. Chop the chicken into bite sized pieces. (The chicken shouldn't be fully cooked. In fact, it should be mostly raw, with just the surface nicely browned. If it is close to being done, it will be tough when the Gumbo is done. Use a high heat to brown the meat.) Reserve the meats.
In a large, heavy pot, heat the oil and additional butter, if necessary, and cook the flour in the oil over medium to high heat (depending on your roux-making skill), stirring constantly, until the roux reaches a dark reddish-brown color, almost the color of coffee or milk chocolate for a Cajun-style roux. If you want to save time, or prefer a more New Orleans-style roux, cook it to a medium, peanut-butter color, over lower heat if you're nervous about burning it.
Or, if you have no mad roux skillz, do it Alton Brown's way: In the same pot you browned the meat (which in this case should be a dutch oven), whisk in the flour. Put uncovered in 350 oven for 1 ½ hours, whisking 2 or 3 times during the cooking process.
Add the vegetables and stir quickly. This cooks the vegetables and also stops the roux from cooking further. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, for about 4 minutes.
Add the stock, seasonings (including more Creole Seasoning!), and sausage. Bring to a boil, then simmer for at least 10 minutes.
Add the chicken and cook until chicken is just done - don't overcook it.
Add the chopped scallion tops, parsley, and filé. Briefly heat.
Season with hot pepper sauce to taste.
Remove from heat. Remove bay leaves. Skim off any oil that has risen to the surface.
Serve over rice.
Times
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 1 ½ hours
Note that two parts of this recipe are crucial for a great Gumbo: a good roux and filé powder. Without both of these it just isn't Gumbo.