Hearty Louisiana Seafood Gumbo (Print Version)
# Ingredients:
→ For the Roux
01 -
1 cup of regular all-purpose flour
02 -
1 cup of neutral canola oil
→ Vegetables and Aromatics
03 -
2 cups of chopped yellow onions
04 -
1 cup of diced celery
05 -
1 cup of chopped-up green bell peppers
06 -
½ cup of minced parsley
07 -
⅔ cup of chopped-up green onions
08 -
2 tablespoons of finely minced garlic
→ Meats
09 -
2 links of smoked sausage, sliced into rounds
10 -
2 links of Andouille sausage, sliced into pieces
→ Seafood
11 -
2 pounds of large shrimp
12 -
2 pounds of whole blue crabs
13 -
8 ounces of fresh lump crab meat
→ Spices and Seasonings
14 -
4 whole bay leaves
15 -
1 tablespoon of Creole-style seasoning
16 -
1 tablespoon of garlic powder
17 -
1 tablespoon of onion powder
18 -
1 teaspoon of dried thyme leaves
→ Liquids
19 -
5 cups of chicken broth
20 -
5 cups of seafood stock
# Instructions:
01 -
Pour the canola oil into a big, heavy pot or Dutch oven, heat it up on medium. Drop in the flour once it's hot, then keep stirring non-stop. Keep cooking the mix (this is your roux) until it deepens into a rich brown, similar to dark chocolate. It might take up to 30 minutes, so take your time.
02 -
Stir the celery, green bell peppers, and onions into the hot roux. Let it cook for 5 to 7 minutes until the veggies are soft and the onions are just see-through.
03 -
Toss the sliced smoked sausage and Andouille into the pot. Stir and cook for around 3 minutes to let some flavors escape from the sausage.
04 -
Sprinkle in the Creole seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, and thyme. Mix everything very well so the blend is spread out evenly.
05 -
Slowly pour in the broth and stock while stirring, mixing with the roux as you go. Add in the minced garlic and the bay leaves. Turn up the heat to bring it to a boil, then lower it to a gentle simmer and pop on a lid. Let it simmer for about an hour and a half, giving it a quick stir now and then.
06 -
While the gumbo cooks, cook rice or any sides you’d like with it, like French bread or potato salad.
07 -
Once the gumbo simmers for an hour and a half, drop in the crab meat, whole crabs, shrimp, parsley, and green onions. Let it cook at a gentle simmer for another 15 minutes or so, just until the seafood is done.
08 -
Take the pot off the heat and scoop out the bay leaves. Let everything settle for about 5 minutes before dishing it up. Gumbo is best served hot over a pile of rice, maybe with some potato salad if that’s your thing.
# Notes:
01 -
For more heat, swap the smoked sausage for two more Andouille links and toss in another tablespoon of Creole seasoning.
02 -
If you’ve got picky eaters, cut the smoked sausage into rings but dice the spicier Andouille into smaller bits. Kids can skip the small spicy pieces easily.
03 -
Peel about 70% of your shrimp before cooking. This gives the gumbo flavor from the leftover shells while keeping the rest easy to eat.
04 -
Feel free to mix the stock base. You can stick to just chicken or seafood if that’s what you have. Shrimp stock works great too!