Shrimp and andouille sausage gumbo recipe

Answer:  A Southern recipe incorporating near burnt flour, random pieces of protein, scrap vegetables, and stock.

What is gumbo, Alex?

A dish incorporating the many cultures and cooking techniques of Louisiana, each individual ingredient in gumbo is rather far from assuming.  And that?s why kudos is in order for whomever accidentally (or intentionally) created this tasty, filling, and soupy/stewy delight ?all the ingredients have a specific role building layer after layer of flavor.  And flavor is good.

Being a born and raised Yankee who for better or worse dabbled in a Mason Dixon border state for a few years, I?m stepping into unchartered and unwelcoming waters here.  Not packing much (any) credibility on the topic, my recipe is well studied and tested.  Really.  Give this a whirl, but don?t tell em? the recipe is from a Yankee.

Ingredients:

3 ozs by volume of vegetable oil

3 ozs by volume of white flour

1 lb of unpeeled shrimp

2 quarts of water

1 large onion, diced

3 stalks of diced celery

1 large green bell pepper, seeded and diced

1 jalapeno pepper, diced

1 habanero pepper, diced (optional)

6 cloves of minced garlic

1 large tomato, peeled, seeded, and cut into small chunks (not traditional, but I?m a Yankee)

1 TBS dried thyme

2 bay leafs

1 TBS old bay seasoning

1 cup of okra, cut into 1 inch pieces (a slimy pod shaped vegetable from Africa that?ll help thicken things up)

.75 lbs of andouille sausage, cut into .3 inch pieces and browned in a skillet

Pre browned andouille

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

To create the shrimp stock remove the shells from the shrimp and add to a pot.  Mix in the water, 6 cloves of garlic, old bay or similar seasoning salt, 1 tsp of thyme and a pinch of salt.  Simmer for an hour or until about half of the liquid has evaporated.  Strain to remove the solid stuff and set aside.

Boiling stock

To create the toasted roux (which will add thickening prowess and much of the flavor) add the oil and flour to a large pot over medium/medium low heat.  Stir this CONTINOUSLY until it reaches a nice medium to medium dark brown color.  Don?t leave, answer the phone, do your business in the bathroom, or anything like that.  NOTE:  you may need to turn the heat down otherwise it?ll burn leaving you back at the drawing board.

Roux after 2 minutes

3 minutes later...

4 minutes later...

3 minutes and a hand cramp later

3 minutes later and just about done

Once the roux is the proper color add the onion, remaining garlic, celery, peppers, and a pinch of salt.  Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring continuously.

Roux and veggie party

Add the tomato, thyme, bay leafs, salt and pepper to taste, and the shrimp stock (I like my gumbo on the thicker side and don?t always use all the stock?adjust the amount of stock you add accordingly).

Decrease the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 1.5 hours.

Add the browned andouille sausage and okra, cover, and cook for another half hour.

Just add shrimp

Turn the heat off, add the shrimp (the remaining heat will cooking em?), and taste and adjust accordingly for seasoning.  Top with scallions.

Serve with:

White rice, Abita beer, Mofro?s Country Ghetto on the music box, and a nap (esp. after typing this ever long post).

Worth the effort