New Orleans Gumbo Food

AUTHENTIC NEW ORLEANS STYLE GUMBO

Steps:

• Make the Roux*: In a large, heavy bottom stock pot combine flour and oil. Cook on medium-low heat, stirring constantly for 30-45 minutes. This part takes patience--when it's finished it should be as dark as chocolate and have a soft, "cookie dough" like consistency. Be careful not to let it burn! Feel free to add a little more flour or oil as needed to reach this consistency.
• Brown the sausage. In a separate skillet on medium-high heat place the sausage slices in one layer in the pan. Brown them well on one side (2-3 minutes) and then use a fork to flip each over onto the other side to brown. Remove to a plate.
• Cook the vegetables in broth. Add 1/2 cup of the chicken broth to the hot skillet that had the sausage to deglaze the pan. Pour the broth and drippings into your large soup pot.
• Add remaining 5 1/2 cups of chicken broth. Add veggies, parsley, and roux to the pot and stir well.
• Bring to a boil over medium heat and boil for 5-7 minutes, or until the vegetables are slightly tender. (Skim off any foam that may rise to the top of the pot.) Stir in cajun seasoning, to taste.
• Add meat. Add chicken, sausage, and shrimp.
• Taste and serve. At this point taste it and add more seasonings to your liking--salt, pepper, chicken bullion paste, garlic, more Joe's stuff or more chicken broth--until you reach the perfect flavor. Serve warm over rice. (Tastes even better the next day!)

GOOD NEW ORLEANS CREOLE GUMBO

Steps:

• Make a roux by whisking the flour and 3/4 cup bacon drippings together in a large, heavy saucepan over medium-low heat to form a smooth mixture. Cook the roux, whisking constantly, until it turns a rich mahogany brown color. This can take 20 to 30 minutes; watch heat carefully and whisk constantly or roux will burn. Remove from heat; continue whisking until mixture stops cooking.
• Place the celery, onion, green bell pepper, and garlic into the work bowl of a food processor, and pulse until the vegetables are very finely chopped. Stir the vegetables into the roux, and mix in the sausage. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-low heat, and cook until vegetables are tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat, and set aside.
• Bring the water and beef bouillon cubes to a boil in a large Dutch oven or soup pot. Stir until the bouillon cubes dissolve, and whisk the roux mixture into the boiling water. Reduce heat to a simmer, and mix in the sugar, salt, hot pepper sauce, Cajun seasoning, bay leaves, thyme, stewed tomatoes, and tomato sauce. Simmer the soup over low heat for 1 hour; mix in 2 teaspoons of file gumbo powder at the 45-minute mark.
• Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons of bacon drippings in a skillet, and cook the okra with vinegar over medium heat for 15 minutes; remove okra with slotted spoon, and stir into the simmering gumbo. Mix in crabmeat, shrimp, and Worcestershire sauce, and simmer until flavors have blended, 45 more minutes. Just before serving, stir in 2 more teaspoons of file gumbo powder.

SEAFOOD GUMBO - NEW ORLEANS STYLE

Steps:

• In a large, heavy-bottomed pan, over medium heat, heat oil until hot.
• Add flour, whisking constantly.
• As roux turns from sand colour to light brown to caramel colour, turn down heat.
• Continue cooking and whisking constantly until roux is a dark brown colour.
• Increase heat to medium and add garlic, yellow onions, celery and bell peppers to roux.
• Cook 10 minutes.
• Add oregano, thyme and cayenne.
• Add clam juice, water, green onions and parsley, stirring until combined; bring to a gentle boil; Reduce heat to low, and simmer.
• Add white fish and shrimp, cook for 10 minutes.
• Add salt, pepper and Tabasco.
• Reduce heat to extremely low and simmer covered, for 1 hour- stirring frequently to prevent flour from burning.
• Remove from heat and serve over white rice.

NEW ORLEANS PORK GUMBO

Steps:

• Cut pork into 1/2-inch cubes.
• Spray large Dutch oven with cooking spray.
• Heat over medium heat until hot.
• Add pork; cook and stir 4 minutes or until pork is browned. Remove pork from Dutch oven.
• Melt butter in same Dutch oven. Stir in flour.
• Cook and stir until mixture is dark brown but not burned.
• Gradually whisk in water until smooth.
• Add pork and remaining ingredients.
• Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; simmer 15 minutes.
• Remove bay leaf before serving.