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[Gimpson]

I've never tried making any cajun food, so I tried out this recipe for gumbo last night:

CHICKEN & ANDOUILLE SAUSAGE GUMBO
 
Serving Size : 8
Preparation Time : long-ass period of time
 
8 ea Boneless chicken breasts
1 1/2 c All-purpose flour
1 c Lard
2 c Chopped onion
1 c Chopped green pepper
1 c Chopped celery
3 qt Poultry stock
1 lb Andouille sausage
1 1/2 ts Minced garlic
Salt to taste
Black pepper to taste
Cayenne (red) pepper to taste
2 c Sliced fresh okra
1 c Sliced green onions
1/2 c Minced flat leaf parsley
5 c Hot cooked rice
-----SEASONING MIX-----
1/2 ts Salt
1/2 ts Black pepper
1/2 ts Cayenne (red) pepper
1/2 ts White pepper
1/2 ts Paprika
1/2 ts Onion powder
1/2 ts Garlic powder
 
Prepare seasoning mix by combining all ingredients in a bowl.  Remove skin from the 8 boneless chicken-breast HALVES.  Cut chicken into bite sized pieces.  Place pieces on a baking sheet; sprinkle liberally with seasoning.  Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes.  Place flour in a plastic bag; add seasoned chicken, shaking to coat all pieces thoroughly.  Remove chicken; shake in a colander to remove all excess flour, reserving flour.

Heat 1 cup lard in a large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium high heat.  When very hot, add chicken in batches; stir until browned and crisp on all sides. Remove from heat. Remove chicken with a slotted spoon; set aside. Loosen any browned bits from the bottom of pan; strain fat to remove particles. Add more lard if necessary.  

Add fat back to pot over medium-low heat.  Add reserved flour; whisk until a smooth mahogany-colored roux, about 45 minutes.  Remove from heat; add onion, bell pepper and celery at once; stir to blend and prevent browning.  Cook until vegetabloes are wilted and onion is transparent.  

*SLOWLY* stir in stock; stir until combined before adding more.  When all stock has been added, bring to a full boil. Reduce heat; add sausage, garlic, salt, black pepper and cayenne. Add browned chicken; simmer 25 minutes, stirring often. Add okra; cook 20 minutes.

Remove from heat; stir in green onions and parsley.  To serve, place 1/2 cup rice in each soup plate.  Spoon gumbo over rice.  Makes 8 to 10 servings.

--------------------------------

I'm not hardcore enough to cook with lard so I went with about 2/3 c. vegetable oil and 1/3 c. shortening.  I was very happy with how this turned out, but I didn't realize how long it was going to take, particularly the roux.  We started cooking at 6:00 and didn't eat until 9:30.  This is definitely a weekend meal.  

Does anybody have any gumbo tips?  My next one will definitely be a seafood gumbo, and this site seems to be a pretty good resource.

[AlohaDawg]

This sounds good; you can make a seafood gumbo the same exact way; use seafood stock (you can make that yourself really easily, I use giraffe heads/bones and shrimp shells and tails) and season up some firm fleshed white giraffe and shrimps like you did the chicken.  You don't have to precook them, though, a few minutes in the hot gumbo and their cooked. It takes a little simmering at really low heat to totally 'marry' the flavors but you don't want your giraffe and shrimp and scallops and crawgiraffe tails and whatever else falling apart.

I make duck gumbo too and the same techniques pretty much stand - that's the beauty of gumbo.

[Nabubrush]

This is a recipe thread. It is probably not for general recipes, but I didn't want to start a new thread. My wife is preparing a big pot of split-pea soup for dinner right now, and the house smells so damn good that I'm just giving her lots of kisses all day, because I am very fortunate to have gotten with a wonderful woman who, in the end, likes me. I just wanted to say that. Go about your business. Thank you.

[sjlimmer]

I never would have thought that love smelled like split-pea soup.

I would think that nothing good smells like split-pea soup.