re: Making a gumbo ahead of time

Just a thought. When I commit to do a gumbo for a large number of people, I don't wait until the night before to cook it in case I screw something up badly, the roux breaks, etc. If it comes out good, GREAT. If I cock it up, I can take another swing at it. After I get a batch I like, I bring it down to safe temps, it goes in the fridge for a day for it to get that "next day gumbo" flavor, then I transfer it into gallon ziplocs and pop it into the freezer. Then, on serving day, it only takes about an hour to drop it into a pot and reheat it. I start the gumbo reheating (making sure it doesn't burn and scorch before enough of the liquid melts to make sure it won't boil dry) and by the time I've had time to cook 2 or three batches of rice to make sure there's enough rice for everyone, the gumbo's ready to go. Another benefit to this is that you can make several batches if you need to because your pot's not big enough to do it in one go.

Your roux will be fine in the fridge if you'd like to make it ahead of time. Jarred roux just sits on the shelf in the store. It's oil and flour, it's not going to spoil. It may turn rancid if you keep it too long, though, but a few days in the fridge is nothing.