And no, it's not SUPPOSED to taste like roux-based gumbo, i'ts supposed to taste like OKRA, which for me is one of my favorite flavors in the world when done well.
Don't worry about the color so much. I am sure that if you cooked it a couple of hours, you reduced it and eliminated the slime altogether. It's gotten to where I can do it in just over an hour, stirring every few minutes, but that's with practice.
Nice job! You have a new flavor for your pallete. Try it with shrimp in the future. I have never seen it with sausage before. But I'll try anything.
Ah, it makes sense to my palette to do it with shrimp and tomato, onions and peppers. It's funny, I never even considered putting celery in it, now that I think of it, and I ALWAYS put celery in. Oh well . . .
Don't attempt gumbo for the first time for a bunch of folks! BUT IF YA GOTTA Dude... it's not a dish to get right on the first go-round. (I wouldn't do it without some LA sausage or tasso in it) There's two things that are major issues with gumbo that if you don't get right, will not come out as planned. First, one is stock. Gotta have a chicken, a whole chicken to make that happen with some onion, garlic, bay leaf, celery, thyme stems, salt and pepper, all that fresh stuff for stock. That's just one burner on your stove. Second is that roux, homes. Gotta use some high temp oil like peanut or canola and all purpose flour to get that yaya. More or less half-and-half in quantity but make sure it's about a cup equivalent to 6 servings -- that a good judgment, mon. Combine that together with a prayer on the bayou. Gumbo is savory and salty, (and ultimately smoky) however you choose to make it -- just remember dat. I ride my roux with a spoon of stock at times to keep it on the course. I learned my gumbo from the best cook in the world; Warren Ceasar from Basile, LA (R.I.P), trumpet player and hype man of Clifton Chenier's Band. Dude had a cooking TV show in Lafayette on PBS -- legit and legendary.
Warren used to play in Texarkana from time to time. His first stop when he arrived at the joint was the kitchen. He'd cook up a gumbo early in the afternoon, and then eat and party until gig time.
Ok,
I've printed the recipe from WF, read and absorbed the input from all. It all makes sense. Funny, my assistant at the office is an African from Senegal. She did confirm that Gumbo = Okra = Kanjia in Senegal (French country where they speak Wallof).
So getting back to the recipe I will use, I will keep it simple.
I have a full free range chicken in the freezer that I will thaw out tomorrow. I have ordered some spicy home made saucages from my butcher (I haven't confirmed how many? So for meat, so far I'm using spicy saucages and a full chicken. How many saucages would you recommend for a big pot that can feed 30 people?
I'm considering adding a bag of shrimps, or a pre-cooked lobster that I will dismantle? What do you think of that?
For Okra: not decided yet, but If I add some, it will be very little, and I will grill it on the side first and add it later.
For a pot to feed 30 people, what quantities would you use?
Saucages:
Onions including tops:
Garlic:
Rice (how many cups):
Don't add shrimp or lobster if you are using sausage. Seafood gumbo is a different dish . I would recommend simple chicken and sausage gumbo. Brown the meat before putting in for more flavor.
Thanks all again for your valuable input. My gumbo was a definite success, and my Gumbo & Music a blast.
In cas you wonder how I ended up doing it (to feed 30 people):
Ingredients:
Two big red onions
One white onion
One big green pepper
3-4 cloves of garlic
Two stems of celeri
One big chicken
10 good size fairly spicy saucages
Fresh parley & two green onions (to add on top at the end
4 cups of canola oil
4 cups of multi pupose flour
8 cups of chicken broth
Tony's Chachere's
Tabasco
Salt & Pepper
Rice (about 3/4 of a 2KG bag)
1) To make the roux:
Pour 4 cups of canola oil in a cast iron pot. Heat it up until it is pretty hot. Add the 4 cups of flour gradually while stirring. Stir non stop for about 45 minutes until the stuff changes colour to a light brown. Be careful not to burn it! (I almost did it).
2) Cut all the veggies in small pieces. Sear them a bit, add the roux, stir, trip to get the veggies to cook & caramelize a bit at a fairly low temp to avoid burning the roux. Gradually and slowly add the chicken broth and about 24 cups of hot water. You should count about one cup of liquid (water + chicken broth) for each serving. Therefore, 30 minus 8 cups of chicken broth = 24 cups of water. Let the whole thing simmer a bit, and add your seasoning slowly to your taste (salt pepper tony's & tabasco).
3) Cut your chicken in small pieces, and saucages in 2 inches pieces. Sear them in a frying pas separately. After that, add them to the gumbo. Let the whole thing simmer for about 1.5 hour, until the chicken seem well cooked. Let cool off for a couple of hours. Before serving, remove the excess oil on top.
4) Cook rice.
5) Before serving, add the finely chopped green onions & parsley and sprinkle them on top of the gumbo.
The April 2011 Dewey Balfa Cajun & Creole Heritage Week
