Email to Cat      

Seafood Gumbo

Source of Recipe

From "Southern Living: A Southern Gentleman's Kitchen"


Recipe Introduction

"Gumbo is my king of all kings when it comes to soaking in the flavor of the Deep South in one bite. I have been honing this recipe for more than 10 years, and I'm proud of the result. In fact, I would challenge any Cajun grandma to come up with a better version. Full disclosure: I add tomatoes to my gumbo — I prefer the rich, acidic bite. I also use okra, therefore I do not finish with filé powder. It's one or the other, in my opinion; never both. The key to perfecting this dish is to be patient when it comes to making the roux. You'll need to keep a close watch on it throughout the cooking process, stirring it constantly over low heat to prevent it from burning. The darker the roux, the better the gumbo. This recipe is the incredibly simple culmination of several regional adaptations that I've worked on throughout the years. Enjoy!"

List of Ingredients

◦  6 cups seafood stock
◦  1 pound andouille sausage, cut into 1/4-inch slices
◦  4 cups fresh sliced okra
◦  1 cup vegetable oil or melted shortening
◦  1 cup all-purpose flour
◦  1 large Vidalia or sweet onion, finely diced
◦  1 large bell pepper, finely minced
◦  3 celery ribs, finely diced
◦  1 teaspoon kosher salt
◦  1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
◦  ¼ teaspoon ground red pepper
◦  ½ teaspoon Creole seasoning
◦  2 bay leaves
◦  6 cloves garlic, minced
◦  1 (28-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes, undrained
◦  1 pound fresh oysters, undrained
◦  1 pound fresh lump crabmeat
◦  2 pounds unpeeled, medium-size raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
◦  1 (12-ounce) package frozen cooked, peeled crawfish tail meat, thawed and drained
◦  Hot cooked rice
◦  Garnish: thinly sliced green onions


Recipe

Heat seafood stock in a large saucepan over low heat until thoroughly heated. Keep stock warm.

Heat a large Dutch oven over medium heat 1 minute or until hot. Add sausage, and cook, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes or until browned; transfer to a plate, reserving drippings in Dutch oven. Reduce heat to medium-low; add oil and flour to reserved drippings in Dutch oven. Cook, stirring constantly, until flour is a dark peanut butter color (about 25 to 30 minutes).

Stir in onion, bell pepper, and celery. Add salt and next 4 ingredients, increase heat to medium, and sauté 5 minutes. Add garlic, and sauté 3 to 4 more minutes. Add tomatoes and cook, stirring to loosen browned bits from bottom of Dutch oven, 1 minute. Add warm stock, 1 cup at a time, stirring constantly, until thoroughly blended. Bring to a light boil, stirring occasionally.

Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes. Return cooked sausage and okra to Dutch oven; cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, 20 minutes.

Drain oysters, reserving oyster liquor. Stir oysters, reserved liquor, crabmeat, shrimp, and crawfish into sausage mixture, making sure seafood is immersed completely in mixture; cook 2 minutes. Turn off heat; cover and let stand 10 to 15 minutes. Add Creole seasoning to taste; remove and discard bay leaves.
Serve gumbo in bowls; top each serving with hot cooked rice.


Makes 22 cups