re: Recommendations for soup making contest

Redfish Grill Courtbouillion

I use chicken stock in lieu of fish fumet and I make a much larger batch. Use any firm whitefish-pike or walleye in your area would work well. I like this one because it is a bit thinner than most. I normally make it when I clean my redfish and trim them up. I use all the trimmed pieces. Might make a fish stick but normally don't bother. Chicken stock is pretty neutral and works well.

Love me some good courtbouillion.

If OP wants to stretch the rules slightly beyond soup (but not all the way to jambalaya!), how about a sauce piquante or etouffee?

Not to hijack the thread, but I think this is on topic. Buddies and I entered a gumbo cook-off at a bar in Houston for this weekend. Check in is from 8-11, and judging isn't until 330.

If we prep the night before and start cooking at 830, we can be done in a few hours. Would bringing a bunch of ice and putting the pot in a cooler for a few hours, and then reheating, simulate a "next day gumbo"?

Or is that too far of a reach and we should just cook that gumbo down for hours?

I would not attempt to properly chill & store a large pot at a bar unless you have sufficient food-handling experience to do it safely. A big steaming pot of liquid is pretty much the ideal bacterial growth medium, and a cylindrical pot has plenty of volume & little surface area, so it's difficult to quick-chill. (Of course, if it's a not so large pot, and you have ice wands, and you have an accurate thermometer, etc, you can pull it off. But it's a PITA.)

If you want "next day flavor", try making an extra-rich stock a week in advance. Use the frozen stock in the gumbo in place of water. Then you can get some oomph without resorting to chilling/reheating, and you can start cooking a bit later in the competition as well.

It's a pretty loose deal. I liken it more to a tailgate. We're bringing a TV out for LSU Oklahoma game.

Planning to make the stock, maybe chop the veggies and sausage. Bringing a propane double burner and probably a rice cooker to make it easy. And we want to fry some wild turkey breast tenders to drop on top for final presentation.

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Turkey stock makes an excellent chicken & sausage gumbo FYI

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I know it wouldn't be bad. I love turkey stock and turkey gumbo, but I think turkey has a more distinct flavor, so I keep them separate. If I'm out of chicken and not going to make it, I'll try it if I'm making a small batch on your recommendation.

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I know it wouldn't be bad. I love turkey stock and turkey gumbo, but I think turkey has a more distinct flavor, so I keep them separate. If I'm out of chicken and not going to make it, I'll try it if I'm making a small batch on your recommendation.

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I could always make turkey and sausage gumbo. Also, have you ever used smoked chicken or turkey in your gumbo? If so, have you ever smoked the andouille for a bit too? I made gumbo once with leftover smoked turkey and loved the taste. I'm not sure though, if want to go through all the work, especially in the dead of winter.

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If so, have you ever smoked the andouille for a bit too?

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Andouille is a smoked sausage; any (actual, honest to god andouille as made & consumed in LA) andouille sold to a consumer is already heavily smoked....it would be pointless to smoke it again.

Good stuff