re: Gumbo and Jambalaya Threads / Board Demographics

Ah Chauvin - practically in the Gulf of Mexico. No telling what they're doing down there...

I'm from more of the country, west of Baton Rouge. My wife is from south of New Orleans.

I grew up on Chicken and Sausage, she grew up on seafood gumbo.

Thanksgiving is where it gets interesting.

I grew up on Rice Dressing, cornbread dressing.
She grew up on oyster dressing, and stuffed mirlitons.

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But the idea that most in Terrebonne Parish don't use Roux is some weird dream by the author. Never been to someone's home that made a roux-less gumbo and I went to HS there and worked there in my late 20s and early 30s years later. Have plenty of extended family still there. This is not a common thing in Terrebonne parish. At least not in Houma.

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You must be from the west side. No-roux gumbo was/is the predominant method DTB.

So maybe don’t come in here and act like you know everything?

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So maybe don’t come in here and act like you know everything?

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Chauvin makes up less than 3% of Terrebonne Parish...I'm very familiar with all other areas of the Parish. Not so much Chauvin.

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I'm very familiar with all other areas of the Parish

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Then maybe you should know that this type of gumbo is cooked on all the bayous. Montegut, Chauvin, Dulac, and Dularge.

From the F&D board recipe collection (pt 1):

Chauvin-Style Chicken File' Gumbo (No Roux)

This type of gumbo is not supposed to be thick. file' gumbos are more watery....however the file' will thicken it a bit. if anyone asks why its not thick just tell them that's how file' gumbo is. as far as the color, the finished product should be a dark greenish-brown. if you need to have a darker color, add some Kitchen Bouquet while your onions are smothering.

On a side note. the gumbo should have it's file' flavor before it's served to anyone. in other words you shouldn't have to put out extra file' on the table. just be careful not to overdo it.

Also, if you substitute the chicken for 150 ct shrimp and some pre-smothered okra.....voila, you've got shrimp and okra file' gumbo. in which case you can sub the chicken stock for some good home made shrimp head stock, but its not necessary.

1 1/2 lb thin-cut chicken breast
1 1/2 lb boneless chicken thigh
olive oil
salt and pepper
2 medium-large onions, chopped
2 medium bell peppers, chopped
1 bunch short-stalk celery, halved and chopped
12 cups chicken stock
1/2 bunch parsley, chopped
file’, to taste
seasoning of choice

Preheat oven to 415º. Lightly coat chicken with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Lay out on a flat oven pan and cook until done, but still moist, about 20-25 minutes. Remove chicken, cool, and pull apart into medium-size pieces with two forks. Set Aside.

In a 5 1/2 qt. enameled dutch oven or magnalite, bring a small amount of oil to medium and brown onions for 15-20 minutes. After onions are soft and browned (but not burnt), add just enough water to cover the onions. Lower the fire to simmer and smother for 1 hour, adding small amounts of water periodically as needed.

After one hour of smother, add bell peppers, parsley and celery and simmer for another 20-30 minutes, or until all vegetables are soft. Add the chicken stock and bring back to a simmer for 30 minutes. Halfway through, add the chicken meat to the pot.

Season the gumbo to taste, using:

-either your favorite all purpose creole seasoning, or black pepper/kosher salt/cayenne

-file’ powder. This is a file' gumbo, so remember this is a key component (just don't go overboard)

Tips
*do not use a bare cast iron pot for this type of gumbo

Source: Honky Lips


Chauvin-Style Seafood Gumbo with Smothered Okra

vegetable oil, as needed
all-purpose flour, as needed
1 large onion, chopped
1 large bell pepper, chopped
3 stalks celery, halved and chopped
1 lb (or more) okra, pre-smothered (directions below)
12 cups homemade shrimp stock (hot)
1 1/2 lb 150-200 ct. shrimp
1 1/2 lb lump crabmeat
2 bay leaves
seasoning: kosher salt, black pepper, garlic powder, cayenne, to taste
1 bunch onion tops, chopped

In a cast iron or magnalite pot, add about 1/4 inch of vegetable oil and heat to medium-low. Whisk in the flour. Stir the roux until a dark caramel color has been reached, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Add the onions, bell peppers and celery and raise temperature to medium, cooking until soft (about 20 minutes). Add the shrimp stock, okra, and bay leaves and bring to a simmer for another 30 minutes to an hour, leaving a crack in the lid.

Add the shrimp and crabmeat. Bring back to a simmer and add seasoning to taste. Simmer for 5-10 minutes, shut the fire off and add onion tops. Serve over rice.

Smothered Okra

In a good size heavy bottom pot, bring a little oil to medium-high. Add chopped onion and sliced okra and sautee for about 10 minutes. Next, Add about an inch of water and a small amount of vinegar and back the fire down to low. If you want diced tomatoes now is the time to add them.

Cover the pot and smother for a few hours, periodically adding small amounts of water. Never let the pot dry out. When you are done the okra should be completly broken down into a pourable texture. Also make sure there's no standing water in the pot when you are finished....let any water cook out towards the end.

Source: Honky Lips

I remember seeing John Folse on his show doing this style gumbo. He and the guest said that the no roux gumbo was from the Native American influence. Any thickening is provided by flie or okra.

always love seeing these threads.

I grew up in Chalmette and our normal jambalaya was red with shrimp and cubed ham, while our gumbo was seafood (usually shrimp with okra...sometimes if we got lucky we had gumbo crabs). File was added based of individual taste

I didnt know what brown jambalaya or chicken and sausage gumbo was until college