Gumbo!

One of the additional benefits of the cooler weather that Fall and Winter brings to South Louisiana is that it is "GUMBO WEATHER," although I have to admit, we eat it all year long.  Gumbo is a hearty meal that is flavorful, nourishing and is a true comfort food.  Who can't be comfortable eating a big bowl of delicious gumbo?

Gumbo is a dish that originated in Louisiana in the 18th century and it is thought that the word gumbo comes from from the African name for okra, which is used as a thickener for the dish.  Gumbo is so versatile.  We primarily eat chicken and sausage gumbo, but there is seafood gumbo, duck gumbo, dove gumbo, and shrimp and okra gumbo, among any other combination you can imagine.  It merges cooking styles from the African, French, Spanish, and Indians into one unique bowl of deliciousness.

We raise and butcher our own meat chickens.  We'll normally butcher 50 to 100 birds in a day and we process them here at home into an 8 piece cut-up and freeze them individually in gallon Ziploc bags.  When we're ready for a meal, we simply pull one out of the freezer and thaw.  That's what we'll do today to get things hopping for our chicken and sausage gumbo.


Frozen fryer cut up in 8 pieces

In the morning, Tricia will put the chicken in a large stockpot with some water and bring to a boil, she'll cover and turn the heat down and let it cook for 2 - 3 hours.  Then she turns the heat off and lets the bird sit it the warm water for the rest of the afternoon.  This makes the flavor great not to mention the fact that a good bone broth is sooooo healthy and good for you.

Cut up chicken in the pot

Next, it is time to make the roux.  In a lot of Cajun cuisine, the recipe starts with: "First, you make a roux..."  A roux is simply flour and oil that is browned.  We try to make ours as healthy as possible.  Tricia uses coconut oil because coconut oil is good for heating at high temperatures.  In the photo below, you can see she's added 1/4 cup of oil to a heated cast iron dutch oven.  Coconut oil will solidify in cooler temperatures - that's why you see the white lumps melting in the pot.


Heating the oil to make the roux

Once the oil is heated, add 1 cup of flour and stir up the mixture with a wooden spoon.


Adding the flour to the heated dutch oven

Now would be a good opportunity to turn your vent hood on as this process generates a little smoke sometimes.

You'll want to be real attentive making roux.  There is a real fine line between a perfect roux and a burned one.  The secret is to stand by the pot and keep stirring.



The roux is getting close

The roux is closer.  See the smoke?

Now the roux is done.  I like the roux to be a very dark brown.  To me it adds to the color and rich flavor of the dish. 


I like it with almost a dark chocolate color

Now we cut up some vegetables in the gumbo.  Here we will cut up some homegrown peppers from the garden, some onion, and garlic.  The holy trinity of vegetables used in gumbo is celery, bell pepper, and onion.  We've also added garlic today.


Chop these up

Add the chopped vegetables to your roux and stir until the vegetables have cooked down.  This will start smelling real good and will entice everyone in the house and the yard to ask you when supper will be ready.  Remind them that "Patience is a virtue" or "Good things come to those who wait."


Stir in the vegetables and cook

Meanwhile, take your cooked chicken out of the stockpot.  Leave your broth right where it is.


Removing the cooked chicken from the simmering broth

Now we'll add a quart of okra.  In the summer when the okra is producing copious quantities, we blanch, cut up, and freeze okra specifically for winter gumbos.  (It's good to plan ahead!)  Here Tricia has removed a quart from the freezer and is preparing it for adding to the stock.  Okay, add it to the stockpot.


Fresh frozen cut up okra

We try to purchase locally as much as we can for the items that we don't grow ourselves.  Here Tricia is adding about a pound of smoked sausage.  There is a family owned specialty meat market in Jennings that we patronize.  They make sausage to our specifications, with no artificial preservatives.  We see that as serving at least two benefits: we support a local family operated business and consume a healthier product.  Add the cut up smoked sausage to the simmering broth and okra mix.


Adding cut up sausage to the pot

Go ahead and add your roux to the stockpot now.


Adding the roux to the pot

Now Tricia will de-bone the chicken and add to the simmering pot.  Lots of people leave the bones in for flavor.  We've already simmered the chicken for most of the day, so the flavor is already in the broth.  De-boning it just means we can wolf it down quicker.  Yum!  We save the neck and backbone and skin for Promise, the dog, and incorporate the rest of the bones in with the compost.


De-boning the Bird

Finally, at long last, it is time to eat.  Many people put a spoon of potato salad in their gumbo.  We've recently started doing something that I hear people in North Louisiana do - putting sweet potatoes in gumbo.  We like it.  Of course start off your bowl with plenty of rice.  Gotta have rice.  Then ladle the hot gumbo on top of the rice.  I might add a word of caution here.  Watch out for the person with the heavy hand.  You know, the one who dips his or her ladle down to the bottom of the pot and tries to pick out all of the good stuff, the sausage or chicken or shrimp, etc.  Don't be shy in scolding them for this behavior, but I digress.  Then, add a dollop of potato salad or sweet potatoes.  Top with some green onions or fresh parsley.  Some people eat gumbo along with saltine crackers or some good French bread.  Add some gumbo file to it as well.  Gumbo file is made from the ground up leaves of the sassafras tree and adds thickness and a good earthy flavor to a dish already bursting with flavor. 



Dinner is served!

Say Grace as you'll want to thank the Almighty for this meal and sit down and enjoy your gumbo.  The best part is leftovers.  Tomorrow, the gumbo will taste even better - if that is possible.