I'm crossposting this from /r/cooking so if it's spam delete it :)
There are as many gumbo recipes as there are coonasses. Every family has their own recipe, every member of that family nudges it one way or another. They're all wrong: My way is the right way. I'mma explain how I do it, and I'm sure every cajun on Reddit will chip in and explain how he or she does it so you'll get a good idea of how it can be varied. Theirs really are just as good as mine. Don't let them tell you otherwise. Pat them on the shoulder and send them to /r/gatekeepers if they try that crap on you.
This is a basic chicken and sausage gumbo, nothing fancy, just the basics.
tools:
Large cast iron skillet and stewpot or cast iron dutch oven.
Great big wooden spoon. The point is to keep your hands away from the napalm-like roux as you stir. A lot. Making roux requires a good deal of uninterrupted stirring and you can't walk away until it is done. If you splash it on yourself you may as well take it off the stove while you tend your 3rd-degree burn and cry. really. This is hot and sticky and will not just wipe off.
Ingredients:
1 chicken skinned and cut into pieces. You can use plain old debone no skin chicken cut into chunks if you want. The bones add more flavor but require you to dig around them as you eat. Ham hocks have the same problem. Boneless gumbo is just fine, I like the added flavor. and grew up making this in hunting camps so I'm telling you what I do.
1/2 - 1 lb andouille sausage (or any other good smoked pork sausage if you can't find andouille) cut into nickel-sized slices
2 ham hocks (can be left out)
1/2 pound smoked ham cut into chunks (can be left out)
THE TRINITY
1 big onion (fist-sized or bigger)
2 bell peppers
1/2 stalk celery
THE ROUX
1/2 cup white flour
1/2 cup vegetable oil
HERBS AND SPICES
3 tablespoons minced garlic
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper - more if you want but real cajun food does not make your eyes bulge. It's much more subtle than people think it is.
3 bay leaves
1 teaspoon thyme (you can leave this out but it helps round the flavor out)
8 cups water or chicken stock (your choice)
Cut up the veggies into pinkie fingernail-sized bits.
Take the 1/2 cup oil and heat it on medium-high heat until it is lightly smoking. Add the flour gradually about 1/4 at a time and stir as you go. Keep stirring. Stor some more. There is a range of color you can shoot going for. I make what is called a black roux. And that does indeed mean black. Think bitter dark chocolate. You can go lighter than that, but the darker the roux, the thinner it gets, and the nuttier the flavor. At least try for something the color of a Hershey's semi-sweet chocolate bar.
When your roux hits the right color dump all your diced veggies into the skillet or dutch oven with the roux and start stirring again. It will give off its juice and prevent the roux from burning. 5 minutes in, add your spice and herb mix and stir. Eventually, they will become translucent.
Add your minced garlic, bay leaves, and 8 cups water or chicken stock. Bring to a low boil and turn heat down to medium-low.
Add chicken pieces, ham hocks, and ham chunks.
Put sliced sausage on a sheet pan and brown in the oven. I run mine at 350 for maybe 45 minutes but all you're looking for is cooked through and that the fat has rendered out. Pour the fat off and dump it in the gumbo. If you go for a nice crust on the sausage it will be that much better.
Let the whole thing rumble on medium-low for maybe 30 minutes, then turn the heat down to a simmer for two more hours.
You're done. Serve over white rice. If you put it in the fridge overnight, then reheat, you will be happy at the results.
THINGS THAT CAN BE SUBBED FOR CHICKEN:
turkey from Thanksgiving or Xmas rabbit duck (I bake this and render it so I can use the duck fat instead of vegetable oil for the roux but be warned: it's very rich.) Squrriel (takes a lot to make up for the chicken tho) coon, possum, nutria.
THINGS THAT CAN BE SUBBED FOR THE SAUSAGE: nothing. Don't be a simp. It's important, yo.
THINGS THAT CAN BE SUBBED FOR HAMHOCK OR HAM: gator or any other oily meat like dark venison or meat will work.
Like I said: There are many variations on this theme. I'm only telling it the way my Papaw taught me, and how I now make it. I've worked for and known several famous Cajun chefs and picked up tidbits from them. Kpaul used to fry his chicken before putting it in the gumbo but I always thought that was overkill. Justin Wilson used chicken wings in his when he cooked it at home. Way to much work. Emeril makes his lighter than I like. They're all good, they're just not mine. AS LONG AS YOU DON"T USE A RECIPE FROM NORTH OF THE I10, you're fine. Those people are rednecks, not coonasses and put sugar in their cornbread. How can you trust people like that to make gumbo?
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