How to make a gumbo

When the temperature first drops below 70 degrees, we claim gumbo weather. It is almost a mark of the start of winter even if we know the next week will be in the upper 80’s. Making gumbo is all part of the change in weather and is much more than making any other food. Every family makes it differently both in ingredients and in the way the process they use. It is necessary to set aside an entire day if you are to actually lead this cooking adventure. In actually cooking the gumbo it is necessary to decide which type of gumbo you will make: duck, chicken and sausage, or seafood, to name a few. Next you have to decide to begin with a roux or make your own. For the sake of this paper and because it is my own favorite we will make chicken and sausage, as well as our own roux. The ingredients used in the roux are simple oil or butter and flour. Both should be added in equal parts for example, one cup of oil or butter means you add one cup of flour. It is best to use white flour as it gives you the desired copper penny color. You want to heat the two ingredients stirring constantly until your desired color is reach at least the color of the copper penny but you can go darker as well. It is best to work on this step as a family or around company because you cannot rush the roux and will sometimes take hours to get to the desired color. Some people may argue that a roux will come out just as well if you pop it into the microwave for about seven minutes but by doing this you do not only loose flavor but a feeling of tradition as well. It should be a fairly think nearly toothpaste texture when it is finished cooking down. A darker roux seems to be more popular in the Cajun areas, usually a chocolate milk color, and a lighter. Peanut butter colored roux more popular in a New Orleans style roux.
Gumbo brings people together before they eat it; it is not a dish to make in a little amount of time by one person. Gumbo requires an almost team effort sharing the cutting and stirring since after only making the roux we have already been working for over an hour. This could get very lonely. Now to begin with the actually gumbo you will want to remove the roux and add water until desired thickness. The ingredients to the actually gumbo are far more complicated. A typical chicken and sausage gumbo may include the following:
• large onions, chopped
• bell peppers, chopped
• ribs of celery, chopped
• cloves garlic, minced
• quarts chicken stock
• bay leaves
• teaspoons Creole seasoning, or to taste
• teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• Earls seasoning to taste
• large chicken (young hen preferred), cut into pieces
• pounds andouille or smoked sausage, cut into pieces
• bunch scallions (green onions), tops only, chopped
• cup fresh chopped parsley
• Filé powder to taste
The amount of each ingredient has not been included because I actually have no clue as to how much we use, neither did my mom. It’s always been something just done by feel.
Before adding any ingredients you must season the chicken, it is always more satisfying to use the whole chicken and is my family’s own tradition. Seasoning is another place where family comes into play; some may use salt and pepper, or “Tony Chachere’s”, my family uses “earls” a seasoning only available at a small family owned meat shop in Lafayette. While this is marinating everyone should pick an ingredient and begin to chop. Everything needs to be diced by hand down to nearly unrecognizable pieces; you do not want to have a strange mix in textures. The sausage also needs to be cut into pieces usually between1/2 inch and 2/3 inch thick. In a very large pot should be at least a foot tall, the kind that seem like a small child could be cooked inside, mix the ingredients slowly allowing each flavor to be released into the stew. The entire time ingredients are being added you must keep stirring as to not allow a skin to form on the top. The chicken and sausage should be added last and then brought to a boil. Allow for it to cook at least an hour then remove the fat layer that has formed from the top of the gumbo. A good sign to tell if the chicken is cooked enough is it should be almost in strings and have fallen of the bone. Now it is time to go fishing, use a ladle with holes in the bottom to begin fishing out the bones, the last thing you want is someone getting a bone lodged in their throat. It may be necessary to have more than one person check for bones. Everything should now be in the gumbo, now just wait for it to cook down the longer you can resist the more flavorful it will be.
Eating gumbo is a completely different experience and everyone does it different ways but if you are sure to serve it over good Cajun rice and with plenty of French bread no one is bound to complain.
The conversation of gumbo always seems to be more relaxed than any other meal, perhaps it is that there is often a little bit being spilt on the table or on laps perhaps even running down someone’s face. Whatever it is when the weather gets “cold” it is sure to be a good way to get family together to make it and friends together to eat it. The only way serving size can be restricted is by the size of the pot.