Don’s Fall/Halloween Gumbo

Carrying on a 20-year tradition of Halloween Gumbo, on Sunday afternoon, Saara Przybylek and I worked up a couple pots of this wonderful Cajun fare. The recipe below is for a single pot. Plan to start cooking at 2 pm if you are serving at 6 pm.

It’s all about the Rue (roux)

Rue is flour and oil, cooked slowly to a chocolate brown on a medium heat. Sounds easy. Pull up a chair, put on some music and get ready to spend about 30 minutes stirring a pot. I have found cooking the rue in a dutch oven on the stove is faster.

Ingredients

1 cup flour

1 cup vegetable oil

That’s it. I start with the pot that everything will be cooked in. So this is generally a large stock pot. For stirring, I like a large wooden spoon. It won’t transmit heat and it has a soft touch. NEVER be in a hurry making rue. This takes a long time. And the spoon should NEVER stop moving. In about 15 minutes you should see a peanut-butter color, in about 20 you should see the tone deepen. In 30 it should be about right.

Your rue will be the heart of your gumbo. Rush it, and you will have a bad gumbo quicker.

Game plan

OK, time for the rest. Yes, in a normal world you will cook your rue while you prep the rest. The timing is about right…but it takes two people if you want to do both at the same time. If not, that’s fine. Just chop everything, then do your rue and then combine as noted. But you can’t do both if you’re alone…the rue needs to be stirred constantly. Plan accordingly

Gumbo Ingredients (other than the rue)

Rue (Roux) 2 cups

2 cups diced onion (1 big onion, Vidalia or sweet)

1 cup diced celery (3 stalks)

2 Red bell peppers

1 TBS minced garlic

3 Quarts chicken stock (low sodium)

2 lbs andouillie sausage (I like a mix of italian and spicy, 3 of each, cut 1/8th”)

1/4 tspn cayenne

3/4 tspn fresh ground black pepper

2 lbs cooked shrimp

1 handful of green onions tops, chopped

1/2 cup flat leaf parsely, chopped

2 TBS thyme leaves, (chopped, but really just pulled)

1/4 cup basil leaves chopped (handful)

2 TBS heaping of file powder

4-8 chicken thighs

4 TBS olive oil

Cooked Jasmine Rice as needed. I like 1.5 cups of chicken broth to 1 cup of rice. Simmer 15 minutes after a boil, then rest for 5. Never open the lid.

Directions

Pull the skin of the chicken thighs and cook them in the olive oil slowly. We pan-fry them slowly, takes about half an hour with constant turning. While that’s happening, you’re chopping. I like grilling them best.

In a mixing bowl combine your chopped onions, celery and bell pepper.

Chop up your green onions, parsley, thyme and basil, put in a bowl.

When your rue is the right color, pour in the bowl with the onions, celery and red bell pepper, cook over medium heat for about 8 minutes.

When the rue and onion/pepper mix looks good, slowly whisk in the chicken stock. It will clump, don’t panic. It’ll be OK once the broth reaches temperature. Just keep stirring.

Then, put in your chopped sausage and cut-up chicken.

With everything in the pot, bring it to a medium low heat and stir on occasion. It will be ready to serve in an hour, but it really wants about 2 or 3 hours (with an occasions stir) to get all the flavors to meld. In the last 15 minutes, add the shrimp.

Plate with the rice and then gumbo in a bowl. Serve with a crusty baguette.

If you want it hotter, add more cayenne and add some crushed red pepper flakes.