Bushs Louisiana Chicken Gumbo Food

LOUISIANA CHICKEN FILE GUMBO

Steps:

• Season chicken with salt, thyme, pepper, and cayenne.
• In an iron soup pot, heat oil over medium high heat until hot, then fry chicken until golden brown.
• Pour excess oil out of pot, and reserve for roux.
• Add onions, celery, and garlic to the pot with the chicken, and cook, uncovered, over low heat until onions are wilted.
• Season flour with Creole seasoning.
• In a heavy iron pot, heat the reserved oil over medium heat to make roux.
• When oil is hot, stir flour in gradually.
• Lower heat to very low, and cook to desired darkness - golden brown to chocolate brown, stirring constantly (It is VERY important that you continue stirring constantly).
• Pour excess oil off the top to prevent the gumbo from being too rich.
• Slowly stir in water, dissolving roux.
• Add the water to the chicken mixture.
• Allow to boil over medium low heat until meat is tender.
• Serve in soup bowls with rice.
• Just before serving sprinkle parsley and a dash of file on each serving.

LOUISIANA GUMBO

Steps:

• In a large (I mean large) stockpot boil chicken (completely covered by 2 inches of water), chopped okra, celery, sage, bouillon, oregano, black pepper until chicken is done. Remove chicken and set aside to cool, leave the stock in the pot. When cool debone the chicken and shred the meat. Set aside for now.
• Crumble sausage and fry in a skillet. Remove sausage and set aside. Reserve 1/2 cup of the drippings. Add flour and make a very dark roux (dark brown). Add the sausage and roux to the chicken broth and let simmer 10 minutes.
• Chop bell peppers and cayennes at this time. Add to pot and let simmer 10 minutes.
• Add shrimp, clam juice, crawfish tails to the pot and let simmer 15 minutes.
• Add the chicken and gumbo file to the pot and bring to a boil.
• I like to let this gumbo rest for a few hours and then reheat it before serving. Serve over rice with crackers and Louisiana hot sauce.
• This gumbo only gets better the next day. It freezes well to make a quick simple meal anytime.

LOUISIANA CHICKEN AND SAUSAGE GUMBO(THE REAL STUFF)

Steps:

• Melt some butter in your heavy bottomed pot.
• Sprinkle your chicken with a lil bit of flour.
• Brown in the butter (about 5 minutes?) Remove.
• In the same pot, using equal parts butter and flour, make your roux.
• (see my recipe list, if you don't know how to do this, it is posted under gumbo base, aka roux) Once the roux has reached the dark chocolate stage, add the onion, bell pepper and celery.
• In Louisiana, this is known as the Holy Trinity, almost every cajun/creole dish begins with this.
• Add some salt, some pepper and a lot of garlic and saute all the veggies for a little while.
• It doesn't matter how long of a little while as long as you don't let it burn.
• Add chicken back into the pot.
• Start adding your water or broth slowly, stirring the whole time.
• You will know when you have enough by how thick or thin your gravy is.
• If you want thinner gravy, more stock, if you want thicker gravy, less stock.
• Season with more salt, more pepper and the cajun seasoning blend.
• Bring just to a boil and lower heat to a simmer.
• Add sausage.
• Allow to cook long enough for the chicken to began to fall of off the bones or until people are hovering over you trying to snitch spoonfuls of it behind your back.
• (about an hour and a half?) Serve over rice.

LOUISIANA CHICKEN GUMBO

Steps:

• Combine flour and salt in a plastic or paper bag.
• Add chicken pieces, close bag, and shake to coat well.
• Heat oil in a large, heavy Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
• Shake excess flour from chicken and place in hot oil, cook until browned on all sides, about 10 minutes.
• Remove chicken from pot and set aside.
• Add onion, celery, green onion, and garlic to pot and cook 5 minutes, stirring often.
• Return chicken to pot.
• Stir in broth, tomatoes, bay leaf, and TABASCO Sauce and bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add okra and cook 10 minutes longer.
• Serve in bowls and top each serving with a scoop of rice.

CHICKEN AND SEAFOOD GUMBO

Steps:

• Combine the oil and the flour in a heavy stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. With a wooden spoon stir the mixture slowly and constantly. After about 5 minutes the mixture will begin to foam. Keep stirring. As the roux cooks, the color will darken and the flour will have a nice nutty aroma. It should take about 15 minutes to fully develop a nice dark brown roux.
• When the roux is ready add the celery, onions and peppers (the Trinity) and cook for about 10 to 15 minutes. Once the vegetables have softened, add the bourbon and stir for 2 minutes, add chicken broth a little at a time to make sure the roux mixes well and is incorporated. Add the remaining ingredients, diced tomatoes, chicken, okra, bay leaves, Hot Sauce and season with salt and pepper.
• Bring to a boil then lower heat and simmer uncovered for 1 1/2 hours, skimming off any fat that rises to the surface and stirring occasionally. In the last 7 minutes, add the shrimp and cook until no longer pink. At the very last minute add the fresh cilantro. Season with more salt and pepper, if necessary. Remove bay leaves and serve with rice and crusty flat bread.
• Roughly chop the chiles and jalepenos discarding the seeds. Add to a food processor, along with the tomatoes, apple cider vinegar, garlic, sugar and salt. Process until desired consistency. If it's too dry add a little water. Pour mixture into a small saucepan and simmer for about 10 minutes. At this point you can strain it for a loose hot sauce or leave it as it is for a chunky hot sauce. Season with more salt, if necessary.
• In a medium covered saucepan bring salted water to a boil. Add the rice, cover and lower the heat. Cook for 20 minutes until water is absorbed.

REAL CAJUN GUMBO (FROM A LOUISIANAIAN)

Steps:

• Using a sharp boning knife cut the stewing hen into 8-10 serving pieces.
• Remove as much of the fat from the chicken as possible.
• Cut andouille into ½-inch slices and set aside.
• In a 2-gallon stockpot, heat oil over medium-high heat.
• Whisk in flour, stirring constantly until golden brown roux is achieved. Do not scorch. Should black specks appear, discard and begin again.
• Add onions, celery, bell pepper and garlic. Sauté 3-5 minutes or until vegetables are wilted.
• Blend in chicken and andouille. Sauté approximately 15 minutes.
• Add chicken stock, one ladle at a time, stirring constantly until all is incorporated.
• Bring to a rolling boil, reduce to simmer and cook approximately 1 hour.
• Skim any fat or oil that rises to the top of the pot.
• Add green onions, bay leaf, thyme and basil.
• Season to taste using salt, pepper and hot sauce.
• Cook an additional 30 minutes or longer if necessary, until chicken is tender and falling apart.
• Add parsley and adjust seasonings if necessary.
• Serve over hot, steamed white rice.
• NOTE: You may wish to boil the chicken 1-2 hours prior to beginning the gumbo to tenderize the meat. Reserve this stock, bone the chicken and use the meat and stock in the gumbo.

CHICKEN GUMBO

Steps:

• In a large soup pot, add all ingredients.
• Bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat and simmer until all vegetables and rice are tender.
• Remove bay leaf and serve.

SOUTH LOUISIANA CHICKEN AND SAUSAGE GUMBO (NO OKRA!)

Steps:

• For the Roux.
• Heat bacon grease in large skillet.
• Add flour when melted.
• The mixture should be liquidy, If not add a bit more bacon grease.
• Stir mixture constantly over a med-high heat, be careful not to scorch.
• Stir until the mixture is the color of peanut butter.
• For Gumbo.
• Add chopped vegetables to roux in skillet, stir and allow to cook until onions are clear.
• Meanwhile in a large sauce pan, warm 3 cans of broth.
• Once onions are clear, stir in one can of broth, stir until smooth.
• Add roux mixture to saucepan of broth.
• Use the roux skillet for the chicken,cook sausage and chicken until chicken is no longer pink, add to broth.
• Pour the 2 remaining cans of broth into the skillet, bring to a boil, stirring, cleaning the remaining roux and the flavors from the skillet.
• Add skillet broth to sauce pan.
• Stir in Cajun seasonings and bouillon.
• Let simmer on low for 2 hours.
• Serve over cooked white rice.