This is my favorite gumbo recipe! The flavors are complex with a good bit of heat, but not over the top.
The trick to the incredible depth of flavor is in cooking the roux. You can’t rush it, and need to bring it all the way to a chocolate color. The flavors will get deeper and more complex as the roux cooks, so feel free to take the roux from milk chocolate to dark chocolate, just be careful to not burn it. Roux cooks much more quickly towards the end. It might take 15 minutes to go from “raw” to “coffee with cream,” another minute to go to “dark chocolate” and seconds to go to “burnt”.
Note that a lot of the flavor and heat comes from the Andoulli Sausage, and the sausage varies greatly by brand, so you may want to cook up a small piece first, taste it, and adjust the other seasonings accordingly.
This gets even better if stored overnight in the refrigerator, and will keep for hours in a crock-pot on “low” or “warm.”
This recipe originally appeared in “Louisiana Real and Rustic” by Emeril Lagasse with Marcelle Bienvenu, 1996, William Morrow & Co., New York, NY, and is used here with permission. I’ve made some changes, but this is still mostly Chef Lagasse’s recipe, and it’s definitely his spice blend.
Many thanks to Emeril & Company for allowing me to post it.
| Ingredients: | ||
| 1 | Cup | Vegetable Oil |
| 1 | Cup | Flour |
| 2 | Cups | Chopped Onions |
| 1 | Cup | Chopped Celery |
| 1 | Cup | Chopped Bell Peppers |
| 1 | Lb. | Andouille Sausage cut crosswise into 1/3-inch slices |
| 1 1/2 | t | Kosher Salt |
| 1/4 | t | Cayenne Pepper |
| 3 | Bay leaves | |
| 4 – 6 | Cups | Water (to cover) |
| 2 | Lb. | Chicken Thigh meat, cut into 1-inch chunks. |
| 3 | T | Rustic Rub, recipe follows |
| 2 | T | Chopped Parsley |
| 1/2 | Cup | Chopped Green Onions |
| Cooked White Rice (Medium or Long Grain) | ||
- Preheat oven to 400° F
- Combine the oil and flour in a large heavy-bottom pot and heat over medium-high heat.
- Stirring slowly and constantly for 20 to 25 minutes, make a dark brown roux, the color of chocolate.
- Add the onions, celery, and bell peppers and continue to stir for 4 to 5 minutes, or until wilted.
- Add the sausage, salt, cayenne
- Continue to stir for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add the water. Stir until the roux mixture and water are well combined, then add the bay leaves.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low.
- Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour.
- Season the chicken well on all sides with the rub; Don’t be stingy! Cover all the sides of the chicken chunks. Add to the pot along with the remaining rub and bring to a simmer
- Place in oven and simmer slowly until the liquid is thickened and reduced, generally around 1-2 hours, depending on how much water you added and how dark you made the roux. Darker roux adds more flavor, but has reduced thickening ability.
- Remove all the bay leaves. Count them! They’re horribly sharp even when cooked, and you don’t want to feed any to your guests.
- If possible, refrigerate overnight, then skim off the fat in the morning. If you’re going to use immediately, remove from oven, let sit for a few minutes and use a fat-skimmer to remove the fat before serving.
- Garnish with parsley and green onions.
- Serve in deep bowls over white rice.
Rustic Rub:
| 4 | T | Paprika |
| 1 1/2 | T | Cayenne Pepper |
| 2 1/2 | T | Freshly Ground Black Pepper |
| 3 | T | Garlic Powder |
| 1 1/2 | T | Onion Powder |
| 3 | T | Salt |
| 1 1/4 | T | Dried Oregano |
| 1 1/4 | T | Dried Thyme |
Combine all ingredients and store in an air-tight container.
