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Started By
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re: Louisiana peeps: Is gumbo traditionally spicy?
Posted on 11/26/17 at 12:04 pm to BigPerm30
Posted on 11/26/17 at 12:04 pm to BigPerm30
quote:
it must have tomatoes
Two places that tomatoes do not belong: gumbo and jambalaya
A well seasoned gumbo should have a hint of spice with a decent amount of salt and pepper and a good balance of flavors coming from the smoked meat, vegetables and roux
0
Posted on 11/26/17 at 1:24 pm to Champagne
The key here is traditionally. Back in the day Cajun food was well seasoned but not spicy. Sadly the rest of the world thinks to make something Cajun ya gotta pour on the Cayenne pepper. "Traditionally" Gumbo was very well seasoned maybe smokey and served with a jar of peppers on the table. Mama usta say spice to the smallest child or mildest persons taste. You can always add but cant take away. That being said the wife and I cook lots spicier than most folks cause das how we like it and make it very mild for family and company.
Posted on 11/27/17 at 8:27 am to PrimeTime Money
quote:
Is gumbo traditionally spicy
It has andouille in it, so yeah.
Posted on 11/27/17 at 9:14 am to PrimeTime Money
Seasoned not spicy. No place in a gumbo for habaneros and what not.
Posted on 11/27/17 at 9:28 am to PrimeTime Money
No gumbo should not be spicy hot, that’s what Tabasco is for to top it off at your own preference
Posted on 11/27/17 at 1:01 pm to PrimeTime Money
Gumbo is spicy in the way of seasoning, but not pepper hot. It may have a little kick, but I don't think I've ever had gumbo that was pepper hot. I sometimes add a little hot sauce, but not necessarily for heat. I also like the vinegar hit it provides.
Posted on 11/27/17 at 2:17 pm to Gris Gris
yep, spicy doesn't have to mean HOT.
Posted on 11/28/17 at 7:34 am to PrimeTime Money
quote:
I'm using the word spicy to mean hot like a jalapeno.
The French have a good word to use for this, "piquant." Seems appropriate to use for just this situation.
Posted on 11/28/17 at 11:23 am to PrimeTime Money
I was staying with some friends one time and I offered to cook some authentic La. food for them. But the catch is that this family is extremely averse to hot food.
So I made grillades and grits for brunch one morning. They were very hesitant to taste it, thinking it was going to light them up. I kept trying to explain that most Cajun & Creole food is well-seasoned but not necessarily hot (sauce piquant is a different story). To them, spicy == hot so I wasn't getting my point across.
Then they tasted it and understood.
So yes, I agree with the OP that La. food has gotten a bad reputation for being flaming hot. And the most misunderstood of all is blackening (which of course isn't even traditional). People think blackened just means to coat something in Tony's.
So I made grillades and grits for brunch one morning. They were very hesitant to taste it, thinking it was going to light them up. I kept trying to explain that most Cajun & Creole food is well-seasoned but not necessarily hot (sauce piquant is a different story). To them, spicy == hot so I wasn't getting my point across.
Then they tasted it and understood.
So yes, I agree with the OP that La. food has gotten a bad reputation for being flaming hot. And the most misunderstood of all is blackening (which of course isn't even traditional). People think blackened just means to coat something in Tony's.
This post was edited on 11/28/17 at 11:25 am
Posted on 11/28/17 at 12:31 pm to MountainTiger
quote:
most misunderstood of all is blackening
i remember back a long time ago. I'm thinking at the beginning of the whole "blackening" craze. I went to a place on Elysian Fields. (name escapes me) ordered blackened redfish. it was almost like they just caked it with cayenne and fried it. 2 bites and i couldn't eat any more.
Posted on 11/28/17 at 1:14 pm to Jibbajabba
quote:
My gumbo recipe doesn't have any cayenne added directly to it but as mentioned earlier, the smoked sausage I use does have some in it and it is noticeable.
What sausage do u use?
Posted on 11/28/17 at 1:27 pm to Champagne
quote:
But, on the whole, the American Impression of what real Cajun cooking really is is inaccurate because real Cajun cooking does not mean "really hot with cayenne pepper."
Some mistake spicy (hot) for flavorful, no substitute, I have a north LA cousin in law that once poured the Tony’s to my gumbo grrrrr after I spent half the day building up those flavors
My favorite is a good southwest LA (plains) chicken & sausage gumbo
Posted on 11/28/17 at 1:33 pm to Pussykat
quote:
hat sausage do u use?
My favorite is from guillory's in pine prairie or pineville. Close runners up from t-bays (basile) and superette (Eunice) and lejeunes (eunice). Guillorys usually has a fair amount of cayenne. The rest do have some but not as much.
Posted on 11/28/17 at 1:42 pm to PrimeTime Money
A seafood gumbo should have a little kick.
Regular gumbo should be a perfect balance of red, white, and black pepper.
Regular gumbo should be a perfect balance of red, white, and black pepper.
Posted on 11/28/17 at 2:33 pm to Jibbajabba
thanks, will give them a try
Posted on 11/28/17 at 5:04 pm to MorbidTheClown
quote:
i remember back a long time ago. I'm thinking at the beginning of the whole "blackening" craze. I went to a place on Elysian Fields. (name escapes me) ordered blackened redfish. it was almost like they just caked it with cayenne and fried it. 2 bites and i couldn't eat any more.
I was having lunch with a guy I work with one day and he told me that had found some beautiful tuna steaks and that he was going to blacken them. I said that's a great way to prepare tuna just make sure you do it outside. He looked at me like I had sprouted another head. I told him you'll set off every smoke alarm in the house and probably develop lung cancer if you try to do it inside. He got even more confused. I told him that it creates LOTS of smoke. After a minute or two of us having two separate conversations, I finally understood that he was not really talking about blackening. So I explained to him what blackening was and he said oh, yeah...I'm not doing that.
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