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| REAL CAJUN GUMBO | |
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1 onion chopped 1 green bell pepper seeds removed and chopped 1 cup of chopped celery Prepare the trinity first (above ingredients) and set aside. Prepare preferred meat sausage, chicken, etc, or if choosing seafood, shrimp, oysters, crab meat, crawfish, etc. Prepare and set aside. 1 cup cooking oil or shortening 1 cup flour 2 quarts warm water 2 teaspoons Tabasco brand pepper sauce 1 tablespoon Zatarain's Creole seasoning or Tony Chachere's 2 cups okra, cleaned and sliced 3 to 4 cups rice An authentic gumbo is prepared with a dark Re-aux, as are most all Cajun dishes. In a 6 or 8 quart stew pot (black iron is preferred but whatever you have will suffice) mix 1 cup of oil and 1 cup of flour. Place over medium heat and stir continuously. NOTE: If you stop stirring it will stick and you will have to start over. Be sure to go over the entire bottom of the pot while stirring. The flour will begin to change color from white, to tan, to orange, to red, to light brown, to dark brown, then finally to black. For this recipe, medium to dark brown is what is needed. This takes 10 to 15 minutes. At this point, dump in the onion, celery and bell pepper and cook till the onion starts to clear. Add the meat at this time, but not your seafood. Cook until meat starts to brown, then stir in warm water and seasonings. You are looking for a thicker-than-soup consistency but not as thick as stew. Add more or less water to achieve this. Bring to a simmering boil. Add the okra and seafood of your choice. Cook for one hour. Prepare rice and serve over rice in a bowl. Salt and pepper to taste and the Cajuns would add a little dash of File' (Ground sassafras) or you can use thyme, finely ground (but not as good). For a Creole Gumbo add tomatoes. Submitted by: A Real Cajun | |
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recipe reviews #7277
Anne says:
This recipe sounds delicious!! How much meat do you use in this recipe?
#7285
Cooks.com replies:
Hi Anne,
It's really up to you!
-- CM
It's really up to you!
-- CM
#8107
Fasshon says:
wow I looked at numerous recipes for gumbo and none them gave instructions for the re-aux. some people listed it as an ingredient which lead me to believe I should go to the store to buy this "product" and man did I get the run around. Most people don't know how to make gumbo it's expensive too at least the seasonings are especially if you have not 1 of them any ways what I'm trying to say is thanks.
#189609
Carol (Texas) replies:
The roux is as simple as making gravy for breakfast. Only you don't add the milk. you slowly cook the oil & flour mixture until it is just past a dark golden brown & not burnt. Once you reach this point you take it off the burner & slowly stir it into your pot of HOT to low boiling water that you the meat in stirring until its mixed well. Then continue following your recipe. After a while you can do this in your sleep. You can also buy roux in a glass jar. But I prefer home-made. You can add just about any kind of meat you want to Gumbo. Be aware that certain sea foods you can cot reheat. Although my nephew makes an amazing sea food gumbo beyond shrimp or crayfish I shy away. So look into that so you don't waist a pot of GOODNESS.
#12861
Tom says:
I'm making a huge pot for a party for my son on Saturday. I have used this recipe before and its the best tasting gumbo I have ever had. Everyone loved it
#29115
Jennifer (Oklahoma) says:
I have cooked this several times for my friends and family and I have a uncle who lives in Louisiana and he makes an amazing gumbo and he tasted this one. I make a few alterations in it to make it my own and he says it is just as good as his, and coming from him that is quite the compliment. This is a very good recipe and I will continue to use it.
#34458
BH (Washington) says:
Being from Louisiana, I used to watch my grandparents make a gumbo every Sunday. When I finally married (and moved to another state), I got asked how to make a gumbo. I cannot tell you how happy I am to see a gumbo WITHOUT tomatoes! Thank you very much, "A Real Cajun"!
#60314
Crazy Cajun (Louisiana) replies:
First off a "real cajun" would know how to spell roux! 2nd fillet is used in a gumbo as a thickener . It is used in the place of okra, not with it.
#59224
Terry (Louisiana) says:
can u use broth instead of water and can i make this without the okra and have it still taste good???
#59244
Cooks.com replies:
Hi Terry,
Use broth, if you have it, for added flavor. Without the okra the texture will be different and it won't really be gumbo!
-- CM
Use broth, if you have it, for added flavor. Without the okra the texture will be different and it won't really be gumbo!
-- CM
#63655
John Livingston (Texas) says:
This recipe is as authentic as any gumbo you could ever taste. I make only two variations in the recipe. My wife makes chicken salad quite often and I save the broth and freeze it. I use it in place of water. You'll be amazed at the difference in taste. The other variation is I add one large bay leaf or two small ones when I add the broth. I've had many certified Louisiana Cajuns rave over it. Thank you cooks.com.
#72022
Mark (California) says:
This recipe is a little off in places. The roux part is fine, but it's batter thick by the time you add the trinity, and then to add meats to brown? It's a really glommy mass by then. I'd recommend browning the chicken and sausage in the oil, remove, and then add the flour to make the roux. That would mean the oil that came off the sausage would be absorbed into the roux instead of floating on top the way I did it. The water is much more than needed. I think slightly less than six cups is about right. I used six and it seemed a bit thin. Two teaspoons of hot sauce and a tablespoon of cajun seasoning isn't enough. I doubled the sauce, and since I don't like overly salting things (Tony Chacheres is really salty), added some habanero sauce (about five shakes), about a teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper, and about a quarter teaspoon of cayenne. It was spicy, but not hot.
#81300
Kim holt (Utah) says:
This is the real deal! I used poblano peppers instead of bell, jalepenos instead of tabassco, and omitted the celery. My husband said it was the best thing i ever cooked!
#99491
Cooking RN (North Carolina) says:
I wanted some Gumbo & asked a coworker from the Bayou to make some but she was waiting to get her supplies from Louisiana later in the month. So I made an attempt using this recipe & some additions of my own (beef & chicken broth, adobo seasoning & garlic & 2 packages Splenda). When I asked her her opinion of it she asked ME to make her some, lol lol.
#105091
Kk (North Carolina) says:
I never made gumbo myself and I chose this with some little extras I did baby shrimp, andouille and chicken. I made my own chicken broth by boiling my chicken first. I stewed my own tomatoes and added that. Plus one fresh jalapeno pepper for a kick. 2 tsp of old bay seasoning and creole. And all the ingredients in the list above my family loves it!
#110918
Chuck (Alabama) says:
wow... its funny how many people say they know how to make GUMBO when they know nothing about it.... wow.... seems being I'm from Louisiana and i read some of these comments and see some people THINK they know how to make it... just to through it in there... fillet is not needed if you really know how to make it from scratch
#113252
Roxie (Wisconsin) says:
I love the gumbo's that I have had in the past, but they have all been at restaurants. They have always had the rice in them when served, not underneath. Can it be prepared that way or is that "just wrong"?
#122591
Cajun (Louisiana) says:
A few suggestions:
Use stock or broth, not water. Typically you cook your chicken in the water first, then take it out and use that water.
However I like to cook the chicken on the grill, and remove the meat. (don't over cook it, it's going to cook some more in the gumbo, you don't want it to fall apart too much) I often cheat here and buy a rotisserie cooked chicken at the store, just don't get something with like Italian seasonings.
I also like to use prepared roux, the powdered kind is easier to get out of the jar, otherwise put the jar in some warm water for a while. (most folks may not be able to find this and will have to make the roux as above)
Mark from CA is right on. Don't add your trinity and meat to the roux. Cook them in the oil then remove them. Save some of the trinity to add at the last minute because your veggies will cook down to nothing. I like adding some at the end.
Don't add your seasonings until the end, taste, add a little, taste, add some more, don't ruin the whole pot.
Use stock or broth, not water. Typically you cook your chicken in the water first, then take it out and use that water.
However I like to cook the chicken on the grill, and remove the meat. (don't over cook it, it's going to cook some more in the gumbo, you don't want it to fall apart too much) I often cheat here and buy a rotisserie cooked chicken at the store, just don't get something with like Italian seasonings.
I also like to use prepared roux, the powdered kind is easier to get out of the jar, otherwise put the jar in some warm water for a while. (most folks may not be able to find this and will have to make the roux as above)
Mark from CA is right on. Don't add your trinity and meat to the roux. Cook them in the oil then remove them. Save some of the trinity to add at the last minute because your veggies will cook down to nothing. I like adding some at the end.
Don't add your seasonings until the end, taste, add a little, taste, add some more, don't ruin the whole pot.
#122605
Kylie (Illinois) says:
Having grown up just outside Gonzales, LA., it's funny reading these no no no THIS is the real way. Well the REAL way to make gumbo is the way YOU make it. There are as many gumbo recipes as there are gators in the swamps, it's all how you like it.
One thing we have always done IS to add the trinity to the roux, it cools it down right off. We do add our meat after water/broth though.
And never use Tony's seasonings, way way too salty.
The *rule* is either okra or file, however, we have always used both, i like the flavors.
One thing we have always done IS to add the trinity to the roux, it cools it down right off. We do add our meat after water/broth though.
And never use Tony's seasonings, way way too salty.
The *rule* is either okra or file, however, we have always used both, i like the flavors.
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