re: 5 gal pot gumbo question

I season, then brown the chicken. As for the sausage, I add the sausage the last hour or so of cooking. That way the pieces still retain some of their flavor and remain pretty firm. I've found if cooking the sausage from the very start, it loses it's flavor and can become very soft to the bite.

I don't worry about skimming until the gumbo has been cooking for at least an hour and then near the end of the cooking cycle and get the rest of it out at that time.