(Ok, I admit it; over time this has evolved a bit from Darrell's recipe. Kielbasa instead of andouille sausage, sear the chicken in its own pan, small evolutions. Still, the inspiration and joy come straight from Darrell. Thanks, dear friend!)
3-4 T | butter or oil (I use butter) | |
~1/3 c | flour | |
4-5 | onions, diced (about 1.5 lb) | |
1 | rib celery, diced | |
1 | green pepper, seeded and diced | |
1 | bunch green onions, sliced | |
4 | eggs, hard-boiled and peeled | |
1 lb | good quality Kielbasa sausage, sliced | |
Either | 3-lb | chicken, cut up |
OR | 2-3 lb | boneless chicken parts, cut up |
OR | 2 lb | small (45-60 count) shrimp, cleaned |
1/2 T | gumbo file (in the spice section, optional. It's a thickener and to my mind makes the taste more complex. I always use it.) | |
6-7 c | water, chicken stock or seafood stock (I use stock) | |
1 T + | Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning to taste (I have found it at the Hanover-Lebanon Coop and at Price Chopper. It can also be purchased on the web at the the Tony Chachere's website) | |
hot cooked rice |
Prep
- dice onions
- slice celery
- seed and dice green pepper, if using fresh
- slice green onions
- remove fat and skin from chicken parts, if using
- peel shrimp, if using
- hard boil eggs
- slice Kielbasa
Cook
- (optional) Cook sausage in non-stick frying pan or microwave to remove some of the fat; drain.
- Make brown roux: Over medium high heat in a metal dutch oven or large saucepan, melt butter or heat oil, twirling in pan to avoid burning. Immediately add most of the flour and blend. The mixture should be thick but still stirrable. Adjust amounts of flour or butter (oil) to get right texture. Stir constantly until roux turns dark brown, just before burning. You will be tempted to stop too soon. It should be really dark, almost exactly the color of peanut butter. (If you burn the roux on the first attempt, don't panic -- now you'll know how far to push the browning envelope the next time)
- Add onions, stir to coat with roux. Cook, stirring almost continuously, until onions have reduced to just about half their volume. This takes a while. Add green pepper, celery, and green onions, and continue cooking and stirring to again reduce the volume by half. The amount of cooking at this stage will determine how soft or firm the vegetables will be in the gumbo, so you can adjust to taste.
- Toss the shrimp or chicken with a few generous shakes of Tony Chachere's. The more TC, the spicier your gumbo will be.
- If using chicken, add to a hot frying pan and sear it on both sides. Add chicken to gumbo pot as each piece is finished.
- Add sausage to gumbo pot. Cook until a bit puffy.
- Add water or broth to within 1 or 2 inches of the rim. Scrape sides and bottom of pan and stir to mix the residual roux into the water. Bring to a boil. If using shrimp, add now and bring to a boil again. Reduce heat to simmer, cover. Cook at least 30 minutes but 90 minutes is better, especially if you are using a whole chicken that has been cut up. Taste for seasoning, add more Tony Chachere's if desired.
- Add gumbo file, if using
- Add eggs. Cook 10 minutes or so to heat through. Serve over hot rice.