re: Old faithful: Chicken and Sausage Gumbo (pics included and updated with recipe!)

Damn that looks good. I'm making some Tuesday now thanks to those pics.

Like someone mentioned, I cut my veggies a little finer and I am an okra fan, but I loved the color of yours.

I also like my gumbo insanely thick, almost pudding like so it looked a tad too soupy for me, but damn good job outside of that!

Looks amazing

Dammit. I want it.
I've never made gumbo. But with all these threads lately (good and bad) I really want to try.

I second this request

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Dammit. I want it.
I've never made gumbo. But with all these threads lately (good and bad) I really want to try

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I feel the same way.

i can tell you guys that bc of this board, i've perfected 'my' take on pastalaya, and will be trying to do the gumbo thing this weekend because of this thread.

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You need to clean your cooktop.

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Grease from the rendered andouille fat splashed out the pan when I first started. Got a bit messier as the gumbo went along.

I'm not a clean freak but i do keep my kitchen in decent shape.

Very nice color and texture. I'm in agreement with you on keeping the flavors simple because the roux, stock,meats and trinity do the job.

I've never thought of simmering the sausage in the roux. Interesting, but I don't add it until the last 30 minutes so it doesn't get too over simmered. You probably didn't need to simmer it for 2 hours, but on low, that shouldn't have obliterated anything. It doesn't take as long as folks think for the flavors to develop when everything is put together. Bet it was REALLY good the next day.

I'd nix the bay leaves. Otis will disagree and suggest sage, rosemary, cilantro and all manner of others unnecessary herbs.

Mighty find job! Well done.

Gumbo just is not difficult to make for you folks in the thread who've said you've never made it. If you can stir, chop and simmer, you can do it. And, you should. When you've done it once, you'll wonder why in the heck you waited so long.

If you're afraid of the roux, try the oven version (cue BayouBlitz to come in and harass me), but truly anyone can make a good roux unless you have zero patience.

Gris Gris has spoken.

Ingredients:

1lb andouille sausage
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs or breast (i prefer thighs)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup flour
2 med onions
1 bell pepper
1 celery stalk (not a big fan of celery so didn't do a lot)
3 cloves of garlic
4 bay leaves
9 cups chicken stock
1 bunch green onions
salt, pepper, cayenne, parsley, and file powder to taste

Directions:

Start with browning your chopped andouille in a heavy duty (or cast iron) skillet. No need for oil cause the sausage will render tons of fat. Cook until well browned and set on paper towels to drain.

Season chicken with salt and pepper (i added some garlic powder and cayenne) and brown in the same pan you cooked the andouille using some of the rendered fat. I'd say 4 mins per side. Remove chicken onto plate to rest.

In same pan, add 1/2 cup oil and 1 cup flour. Stir consistently until well combined and roux begins to turn color. This is the time consuming part. You want it as dark as possible without burning it. Think the color of chocolate. I did mine on low heat so it took me about 45 mins but if you're risky, crank the heat up a bit and it'll take less time. Once your roux is the color of chocolate, you're done. (Be sure to have onions, bell pepper, and celery chopped prior to finishing the roux.)

Add veggies to the hot roux, sauteeing for about 5 mins. Then throw in your garlic, bay leaves, cayenne, and sausage and stir for another minute. Transfer what's in your pan to a stock pot and turn heat up. Slowly, begin to pour in the chicken stock, whisking/stirring constantly. Be sure to also splash some stock in the pan you used to deglaze what's left in the pan and pour into pot. Once all 9 cups are added, bring mixture to a boil then lower heat and simmer for an hour.

After an hour, chop your thighs and add to pot. Cook for another 2 hours, again on low heat. Really wanna melt all these flavors together. As the 2 hour mark nears, chop your green onion and add to pot, along with file and parsley. Taste for seasoning, may need more salt, cayenne, etc.

Turn off heat and serve over rice. My pic was taken as soon as I turned off heat so was a tad thin. If you wait 30 mins or so it'll thicken as it stands (even more so the longer you wait). As good as it was when I first ate it, it was even better at 11pm as a late night snack.

Hope this helps the gumbo newbs out there. Send pics of your attempts!

Great looking gumbo.