The most important part to a gumbo is a roux which is cooked mixture of flour and oil. There isn't room for error but fortunately, they are easy as long as you pay close attention. The above picture is my roux in the early stages of cooking. The main thing is to STIR STIR STIR to avoid burning it. Never leave a roux unattended and be careful not to splash yourself as roux gets VERY hot.
Here's the finished roux. Your goal is to cook it, stirring constantly, until its the color of dark chocolate. It takes a little time but its worth it. Alternatively, you can use ready made roux but as always, homemade is best.
Next you'll need to dice one yellow onion and one green bell pepper. Then you'll chop your smoked sausage.
I like to toss my sausage in a skillet to brown it but its not required. Afterwards, I remove those and add my onion/pepper mix to saute for a few minutes. Lastly, I remove those and cook the chicken breasts until done or almost done.
Lastly, I add everything except the filè powder and okra to the roux, bring to a boil, and reduce to medium heat for about 45 minutes. After the 45 minutes, add the okra and let simmer for an hour. Stir in the filè powder right before serving.
INGREDIENTS:
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 pkg. smoked sausage (I use Manda but Hillshire Farms is great too)
1 yellow onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 pkg. frozen sliced okra
1-14oz. can of whole tomatoes or stewed tomatoes, with juice
1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup vegetable oil
4 cups hot water
2 small bay leaves
1 1/3 tbsp garlic powder (or 4 cloves garlic, minced)
creole seasoning, to taste
salt & pepper, to taste
1 tbsp. filè powder
1) In a large pot (dutch oven or similar), add the flour and oil over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, for about 20-25 minutes until you have a dark brown roux. Set that aside.
2) In a skillet, brown your sausage and add to the roux. Add the onion & bell peppers and cook until they start turning translucent. Remove and add those to the roux as well. Lastly, add your chicken breasts to cook until done or almost done. Remove and either shred or cut into chunks.
3) Add the chicken, tomatoes, and all seasonings except the filè powder to the roux and let simmer over medium heat for about 45 minutes.
4) Add the okra and simmer for an additional hour. Before serving, remove the bay leaves and add the filè powder. Serve over rice. FYI, potato salad is a great side dish for gumbo.
~ Taylor
