eatbensmeat

The best thing about cajun food.  Which is saying something because there’s a lot of good things there.

Ingredients

1 pound andouille sausage, sliced

3 pounds chicken, thighs preferred

1-2 pounds shrimp or other seafood

1-2 tablespoons cajun seasoning (I use the spice house blend. Emeril’s essence is also highly recommended.  You can find the recipe online.  Otherwise, use whatever)

8-10 cloves garlic, smashed

1 large onion, diced

1 large green bell pepper, diced

6 ribs of celery (about half a bunch) diced

1 pound okra, chopped

1 large (25 ounce) can crushed tomatoes (optional)

Water or stock to cover (6-10 cups)

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup vegetable oil

salt to taste

Directions

First, we make a dark brown roux.  Mix the flour and oil in a saucepan with a fork or whisk until blended.  Put it on a burner at medium-high heat and let it sit for a bit.  It will eventually start boiling.  At this point, start stirring it frequently.  I used a fork, you can use a spoon if you like.  But use a metal one.  It can melt plastic spoons.

Keep stirring, making sure the scrape the bottom and corners of the pan frequently to keep it from burning.  It may start to give off some smoke or steam, that’s normal.  As you stir, the roux should go from a light blonde color to brown.  You eventually want it to be around the same color as milk chocolate.  It should smell smoky and…sort of burnt, but in a good way.  Remove it from the heat and immediately pour it in to your gumbo pot.  Don’t let it sit in the saucepan, if you do it will continue to cook because of the heat from the pan, but now that you aren’t stirring it, it will totally burn.  So get it out of that saucepan as soon as possible.

Add your holy trinity – the onions, bell peppers, and garlic – to the big pot that has the roux in it now.  Add some more oil (a few tablespoons) and stir everything together.  Let the vegetables saute on medium heat until they soften, maybe 15 minutes.  Stir a few more times as it cooks to keep the roux from burning.  If you see it start to stick to the bottom of the pot, add a splash of water.

Now, add the garlic, sausage, chicken, okra, optional tomatoes, and garlic to the pot, and add either water or stock until everything is just covered.  You can just add half the cajun seasoning for now and add the rest later, if you like.  Taste it after an hour to season it again with more of that, if you want, and salt.

Anyway, bring to a boil, reduce to a medium-low simmer, cover, and let it cook for 3-4 hours, until the chicken completely falls apart.  Stir it periodically to see if it’s sticking to the bottom of the pot.  If it is, add another cup of water.

Remove any chicken bones or skin from the pot.  Add the seafood, bring back up to a boil, then kill the heat completely and cover the pot.  Let it sit for maybe 10 minutes and the seafood will be cooked.

Serve with rice, or just with a good crusty bread, and hot sauce.