Chicken & Okra Gumbo

This is great cold weather cuisine. Hot and a little spicy....yummy!

Chicken & Okra Gumbo

Serves 10

4 to 6 lb Hen, cut into pieces
4 tbsp Oil
1 stick Butter
4 tbsp Flour
2 cups Fresh Okra, chopped
1 large Onion, chopped
2 sticks Celery, chopped
1 Green Bell Pepper, chopped
4 Garlic Cloves, minced
2 tbsp Green Onions (scallions) chopped
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Creole Seasoning or salt & pepper
3 quarts Water
File'


Season chicken well.

In a large aluminum Dutch oven (do not use black cast iron pot) fry seasoned chicken in 2 tbsp oil until brown. Remove and set aside.

Add 2 more tbsp oil and fry chopped okra for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly to keep from burning.

Add roux. See Recipe
You will use only enough roux to make the required amount of liquid needed for your recipe. This chicken & okra gumbo recipe calls for 3quarts of water, so you will make enough roux to mix with 3 quarts of water and get the desired amount of gravy for your gumbo.

Add chicken, worcestershire sauce, chopped onion, celery, bell pepper, garlic and 3 quarts of water.

Bring to boil and simmer 2 - 3 hours or until meat is tender. Skim off excess fat and serve in soup bowls with rice.

Garnish with chopped scallions and a sprinkling of file'


Enjoy!

File' (real cajun style)

In case you don't know what file' is, here's an explanation:

File' (pronounced Fee-Lay) is finely-ground sassafras leaves. When added to gumbo is adds an exotic flavor. I've never had gumbo without file'. Some people even sprinkle it on top of gumbo for more added flavor.

In August, during the full moon, you can break branches from a fully-matured sassafras tree. Hang them to dry in a shaded, well ventilated place for about 2 weeks. Expose to bright sunlight for 1 hour before finely-grinding in a mill. Store it in an amber jar, tightly sealed, in a cool place.

But, if you are in a hurry, you can always find it at your grocer!

South Louisiana Food Terminology

A little terminology for you.

• Gumbo - A hearty soup with seafood, sausage, chicken or wild game
  
  
• Etouffee (ay-too-fay) - Method of cooking shrimp or crawfish smothered in chopped vegetables over low flame, tightly covered, until tender
  
  
• Boudin (boo-dan) - A spicy Cajun pork and rice sausage
  
  
• Andouille (ahn-doo-ee) - Cajun smoked sausage made with pork butt, shank and pork fat, seasoned with salt, cracked black pepper and garlic
  
  
• Jambalaya - Highly-seasoned mixture of any of several combinations of seafood, meat, poultry, sausage and vegetables, simmered with raw rice until liquid is absorbed
  
  
• Crawfish - A small fresh water crustacean related to the lobster

Seafood Gumbo

SEAFOOD GUMBO

Every wonderful Southern Seafood Restaurant serves Gumbo!

Serves 12

Ingredients:

4 lbs shrimp tails, peeled
10 live crabs
4 dozen oysters with liquid
½ cup oil
4 tbsp flour
3 cups onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
6 strips crisp bacon
Bacon grease
10 cups fresh okra, sliced
2 bay leaves
1 tsp thyme
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp Cayenne pepper
1 tsp Black pepper
4 tbsp salt
5 quarts stock (this can be any water in which shrimp or crabs were boiled, beef stock or chicken stock. If none is available, use 2 cans beef stock and 4 quarts of water).
6 large creole tomatoes, peeled and chopped
½ cup flat parsley, chopped
1 cup green onions, chopped

Directions:

In a skillet, heat the oil. Add flour and make a medium brown (peanut butter color) roux.

Add onion, garlic, celery and bell pepper. Cook until well mixed.

In a large gumbo pot, fry the bacon until crisp. Add sliced okra and cook over medium heat until okra loses its gumminess. Be sure to stir to avoid sticking. Approximately 10-15 min.

Add all seasonings (except parsley and green onions), 4 quarts of stock and tomatoes. Mix and cook 45 minutes. Turn off heat.

Boil water and dip crabs into boiling water; just long enough to kill. Remove top shell and discard. Clean crab to your liking and break the bodies in halves. Remove the claws and reserve. (If you like, buy pre-boiled crabs from a market).

Bring your gumbo pot to heat just below boiling and put in crabs, shrimp, oysters, parsley and green onions. Cook until tender, about 15 minutes.




Enjoy!

In New Orleans? Check out this restaurant:
http://brennansneworleans.com/