Seafood Gumbo Stock

SEAFOOD GUMBO

Steps:

• In a large, heavy saucepan or dutch oven melt butter and whisk in flour until smooth. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until roux is a peanut butter color, about 20 minutes.
• Immediately add onions, celery, bell pepper, garlic, and bay leaves and cook until vegetables are very soft, about 8 minutes. Add stock and whisk to combine. Bring to a boil, skim surface, and reduce heat to a simmer. Add crabs and cook for 1 1/2 hours, until thickened and flavorful. If gumbo seems too thick, thin with water or seafood stock.
• Add shrimp and fish and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, or until shrimp turn pink and fish is cooked through. Add oysters (with their liquor), parsley, and green onions, and cook until edges of oysters curl, about 5 to7 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary, and serve in large bowls over hot white rice.

SEAFOOD GUMBO STOCK

Steps:

• Bake shrimp shells at 375 degrees F (195 degrees C) until dried and starting to brown on edges.
• In an 8-quart pot, combine water, carrots, onions, celery, bay leaves, garlic, parsley, cloves, pepper, basil, thyme and shrimp shells. Bring slowly to a boil.
• Reduce heat, and cook 5 to 7 hours. Replace water as needed, 2 or 3 times, by pouring more water down the inside of the pot.
• Remove stock from heat, and strain. Press all liquid from the shells and vegetables, then discard them. Return liquid to heat, and reduce to 2 to 3 quarts, or to taste.

SEAFOOD GUMBO

Steps:

• Combine the red, white, and black peppers, paprika, thyme, oregano, bay leaf, and salt; set aside.
• In a heavy pot, 5 quart or larger, heat oil over medium heat, warming the pot first. Add onions, celery, and green pepper. Turn heat to high. Stirring frequently, add garlic, file, hot sauce, and the pepper-herb mixture. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
• Add tomato sauce, and stir as it reduces over high heat. Add fish stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
• When ready to serve, add shrimp, oysters, and crabmeat. Cover, and wait 5 minutes. Turn off heat, and let stand for 10 minutes. Serve.

SHRIMP STOCK FOR GUMBO

Steps:

• Melt shortening in a stockpot over medium heat. Add all remaining ingredients. Cook, stirring often, 10 minutes. Add 3 quarts water, and cover; bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low; simmer, uncovered, 1 hour. Strain; discard solids. The stock may be kept in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, or frozen up to 3 months.

SEAFOOD GUMBO

Steps:

• To make a roux, heat oil, add flour and cook over medium heat until VERY dark but not scorched, stirring constantly. If using butter, be very careful because it burns easily. Set aside.
• In large dutch oven, saute onion, celery, and okra until limp.
• Add roux, broth, tomatoes, garlic, bay leaves, crab boil packet, and salt and pepper. (NOTE: If you can't find Crab Boil at your grocery, please refer to recipe # 3252 by Candie Yoder or # 34801 by Miller)
• Simmer for 2 hours.
• 10 minutes before serving, add all raw fish and seafood and the file powder.
• Simmer until done, but do not boil.
• Serve over bowls of rice.

NEW ORLEANS SEAFOOD FILé GUMBO RECIPE BY TASTY

Steps:

• Make the seafood gumbo stock: In a heavy-bottomed 5-quart pot, heat the canola oil over medium heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add the crabs and cook until the shells turn bright orange, 2-3 minutes. Add the shrimp shells and heads and cook until the shells turn pink, 2-3 minutes more. Smash the crab and shrimp shells, similar to mashing potatoes, to release any juices.
• Add the bell pepper, onion, and celery scraps, green onion, parsley, thyme, garlic, bay leaves, black pepper, and water. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 30-35 minutes.
• Strain the stock through a large fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl. You should have 12 cups. Set aside until ready to use in the gumbo (if not using immediately, the stock can be cooled, then stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 1-3 days).
• Make the Creole seasoning: In a small bowl, whisk together the salt, white pepper, black pepper, cayenne, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, thyme, and oregano until well combined.
• Make the gumbo: Heat 6 tablespoons canola oil in a heavy-bottomed 6-quart pot over medium-high heat until faint wisps of white smoke come off the oil (if thicker, darker smoke appears, remove the pot from the heat and let cool for 3 minutes). Add the okra and fry for 2 minutes, until army-green in color. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the okra to a paper towel-lined plate to drain, leaving any remaining oil behind in the pot.
• Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil to the same pot. Heat the oil over medium-high heat until faintly smoking again (do not let it overheat, or the flour will burn). Whisk in the flour to make a roux and cook, whisking constantly, until it turns a dark cocoa brown, 5-6 minutes. (If the roux is browning too quickly, remove the pot from the heat while continuing to stir and reduce the heat to medium-low.)
• Reduce the heat to medium, then add the onion, bell pepper, celery, and 2 tablespoons of the Creole seasoning. Cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes, until onions have softened. Add the garlic, bay leaves, and remaining Creole seasoning.
• Increase the heat to medium-high heat. While whisking or stirring constantly to prevent lumps from forming, add the seafood gumbo stock, 4 cups at a time. Add the okra, smoked sausage, crabs, thyme, and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer uncovered for 1 hour, skimming off any foamy flour residue that rises to the surface. The gumbo should thicken and reduce by one quarter.
• Season the gumbo with the salt and pepper to taste, then add the shrimp. Remove the pot from the heat, cover, and let the residual heat cook the shrimp for 10 minutes.
• Ladle the hot gumbo into bowls. Serve with rice and garnish with parsley, green onions, and filé powder, if using.
• It's important to properly cool and store leftover seafood gumbo, otherwise it will spoil. Fill a clean 2-liter bottle or plastic juice jug with water and freeze until solid. Once finished eating, place the ice bottle in the pot of gumbo and let cool, stirring occasionally to release heat. Transfer the gumbo to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days. 11. The gumbo can also be frozen for up to 3 months.
• Enjoy!

SEAFOOD GUMBO

Steps:

• In a heavy Dutch oven, combine flour and oil until smooth. Cook over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium. Cook and stir about 10 minutes more or until mixture is reddish brown. , Add the onion, celery, green pepper and green onions; cook and stir for 5 minutes. Add the chicken broth, water, okra, paprika, salt, oregano and pepper. Bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. , Add shrimp and parsley. Simmer, uncovered, about 5 minutes more or until seafood is done. Remove from heat; stir in Cajun seasoning.