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Started By
Message
What makes a great gumbo?
Posted on 2/11/12 at 3:46 pm
Posted on 2/11/12 at 3:46 pm
I'm making my first gumbo tonight. I've eaten it all my life, but always in restaurants or made by my grandmother or mother. I've got a good recipe, but what is the ONE thing that I should know? It is seafood gumbo and I want a real good flavor. I have shrimp stock already made and I'm using shrimp, quartered blue crab, and some smoked sausage.
Thoughts?
Thoughts?
9
Posted on 2/11/12 at 3:52 pm to AlaTiger
Meet the concept of a good roux. Generally equal amounts of oil and floor mixed together. This concoction is browned/blackened/carbonized on the stove top of your house. When the appropriate darkness is reached the Trinity is added to the pot to stop/retard the process. When the onions are visibly clear looking the stock is added to the mixture.
Posted on 2/11/12 at 3:52 pm to AlaTiger
Proper roux to stock ratio is important.
Posted on 2/11/12 at 4:35 pm to AlaTiger
quote:
smoked sausage.
I am not an advocate of sausage in "Seafood" or "Shrimp and Crab" gumbo.
Also...it must have okra or its a stew.
Finally...bake your roux. 3/4 cups flour, toasted over med high heat for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and Add, 1/2 cup veg. oil. Wisk in until smooth. Cover and put in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes.
This post was edited on 2/11/12 at 4:36 pm
Posted on 2/11/12 at 4:40 pm to LSUPHILLY72
quote:
Also...it must have okra or its a stew.
Posted on 2/11/12 at 4:42 pm to LSUPHILLY72
quote:
Also...it must have okra or its a stew.
LOL. Fail.
Posted on 2/11/12 at 4:47 pm to DEANintheYAY
quote:
Gumbo is often categorized by the type of thickener used: the African vegetable okra, the Choctaw spice filé powder (dried and ground sassafras leaves), or roux, the French base made of flour and fat. The dish likely derived its name from either the Bantu word for okra (ki ngombo) or the Choctaw word for filé (kombo).
Without okra...it is a stew.
Without its name sake, its something different. My example are the people that order a Caesar salad with ranch dressing. That's impossible since the caesar dressing is what makes a "caesar" salad.
That would be a "salad with romaine lettuce with ranch dressing"...not a "caesar salad with ranch."
Posted on 2/11/12 at 4:50 pm to LSUPHILLY72
quote:
Also...it must have okra or its a stew.
Umm...no.
Posted on 2/11/12 at 4:57 pm to LSUPHILLY72
quote:
it must have okra or its a stew.
quote:
.bake your roux.
agree to disagree..
Posted on 2/11/12 at 5:03 pm to Mike da Tigah
Yes, I Like okra, but not in chicken gumbo. To say it's not gumbo without its namesake okra, is like saying its not jambalaya without ham.
A gumbo is a chain of flavors, each ingredient is important, the right roux, fresh seafood, proper technique, the biggest mistake I see outsiders make is in the seasoning. I was invited to a tailgate party in Tuscaloosa a few years ago, they wanted me to taste the gumbo, it was beautiful, dark brown, lots of shrimp, crab, oysters, okra, the first taste was very disappointing, no gumbo flavor, none. They had a shaker of Tony's on the side for seasoning. The bay leaf, the thyme, the cayenne, the salt, the pepper, all crucial. If you put Tony's in gumbo, you are a rookie.
A gumbo is a chain of flavors, each ingredient is important, the right roux, fresh seafood, proper technique, the biggest mistake I see outsiders make is in the seasoning. I was invited to a tailgate party in Tuscaloosa a few years ago, they wanted me to taste the gumbo, it was beautiful, dark brown, lots of shrimp, crab, oysters, okra, the first taste was very disappointing, no gumbo flavor, none. They had a shaker of Tony's on the side for seasoning. The bay leaf, the thyme, the cayenne, the salt, the pepper, all crucial. If you put Tony's in gumbo, you are a rookie.
Posted on 2/11/12 at 5:04 pm to Ole Geauxt
quote:
agree to disagree..
I am curious to what others thinks...I am going to start a new thread asking what separates a soup from stew from gumbo.
Just curious to what other's think.
As for baked roux...it is awesome. Try it, you will never go back.
Posted on 2/11/12 at 5:09 pm to LSUPHILLY72
The Geauxt may agree to disagree, but I would be carrying Teddy Roosevelts big stick form of diplomacy to the kitchen.
Posted on 2/11/12 at 5:13 pm to LSUPHILLY72
quote:it may be awesome,, but, come hell or high water, i'm gonna stand there sipping a George Dickel and stir..
As for baked roux...it is awesome.
Posted on 2/11/12 at 5:20 pm to AlaTiger
I can tell you what makes the one I just made great. 
Andoullie and seasoned chicken from the Best Stop in Scott, La.
Andoullie and seasoned chicken from the Best Stop in Scott, La.
Posted on 2/11/12 at 5:21 pm to AlaTiger
Peanut butter mxed in with the roux
Started one about 11 this am, just ate a bowl. Good stuff.
Not a fan of okra in gumbo.
Started one about 11 this am, just ate a bowl. Good stuff.
Not a fan of okra in gumbo.
This post was edited on 2/11/12 at 5:25 pm
Posted on 2/11/12 at 5:24 pm to BT
quote:i put that in my last big pot of chili..
Peanut butter
Posted on 2/11/12 at 5:34 pm to CITWTT
Two friends of mine that live in Houston (one from Laffy, the other from nola) swear there's no difference between using store bought roux. They are also talking big game about cooking and perfecting gumbo. One of the guys I don't know as long, the other guy I lived with for 5 years in college and I never once saw him try and cook a gumbo (or red beans, which he puts a roux into, which I don't understand at all either). I just went with it and kept eating crawfish and drinking beers. This is all only surprising to me because otherwise he's a better than average cook (which I suppose isn't saying much all things considered).
This is all only surprising to me because otherwise he's a better than average cook (which I suppose isn't saying much all things considered).This post was edited on 2/11/12 at 5:35 pm
Posted on 2/11/12 at 5:38 pm to kfizzle85
I make both ways.
Sometimes I'll make a homeade roux other tmes I'll buy a base.
The ingredients and preparation are still the same.
Honestly it comes out fricking awesome both ways.
Every person on here would eat it and say its above avg.
Sometimes I'll make a homeade roux other tmes I'll buy a base.
The ingredients and preparation are still the same.
Honestly it comes out fricking awesome both ways.
Every person on here would eat it and say its above avg.
Posted on 2/11/12 at 5:46 pm to Ole Geauxt
quote:
it may be awesome,, but, come hell or high water, i'm gonna stand there sipping a George Dickel and stir..
Yep...might taste the same but I love making a roux and drinking beers while it cooks.
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