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Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

John Caravelli
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 2 hours
Cook Time 3 hours
Course Main Course
Cuisine Cajun
Servings 10 People

Equipment

  • Dutch Oven
  • Large Pot
  • Sauté Pan
  • Slotted Spoon
  • Parchment Paper
  • Baking Sheet
  • Measuring Cups and Spoons
  • Whisk

Ingredients
  

  • 3-4 quart chicken stock
  • 2 lbs frozen chopped okra
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 3/4 lb andouille sausage sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
  • 3/4 lb smoked sausage sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
  • 2 medium yellow onions diced
  • 1 medium green bell pepper diced
  • 2 stalks celery diced
  • 2 large garlic cloves minced
  • 4 whole canned tomatoes drained and crushed by hand
  • 1 1/2 tsp ”Slap Ya Mama” Cajun Seasoning used in place of salt (or “Tony Chachere’s” or your favorite)
  • 2 tbsp ”My Creole Spice Blend” (See notes)
  • 1 tbsp file powder
  • 2 whole bay leaves
  • 3/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 scant cup flour
  • 1 Chicken reserved from store bought rotisserie chicken bones used for enriched chicken stock
  • 1 bunch green onions thinly sliced
  • 1/4 cup Italian parsley chopped
  • 1 cooked white rice for serving
  • 1 hot sauce for serving

"My Creole Spice Blend"

  • 1 tbsp paprika
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp onion powder
  • 1/2 tsp dried leaf oregano
  • 3/4 tsp dried thyme
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1/4 tsp white pepper

Instructions
 

  • Prepare the enriched chicken stock, reserving the shredded chicken meat removed from the bones. Set aside. (See Notes.)
  • Roast chopped okra on sheet pan lined with parchment paper at 400 degrees for 30 minutes or until starting to brown and dry out
  • Add the vegetable oil and sausages to a 4–6-quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat. When browned remove the sausages with a slotted spoon leaving about two tablespoons oil.
  • Add onions, green pepper and celery and the “Slap Ya Mama” seasoning. Sauté until vegetables begin to brown. Add garlic and sauté for another minute. Add 3 quarts of the stock, the okra, crushed tomatoes, homemade spice blend, filé powder and bay leaves.
    (There will appear to be a large amount of okra seeds. They will melt into the gumbo as it cooks.) Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer.

Make the roux:

  • In a separate heavy bottom sauté pan, heat ¾ cup vegetable oil over medium-high heat until ripples form. Whisk in the cup of flour and continue stirring carefully and constantly as the roux darkens. Adjust the heat level if the roux begins to darken too fast.
  • Remove from heat when it attains the color of milk chocolate. Continue stirring until roux is no longer darkening. Do not allow to burn. When cooled, pour off the oil that has separated out and risen to the surface.
  • Whisk cooled roux into simmering broth. Return the reserved chicken and sausages. Continue to cook for about an hour, skimming oil from the surface as needed. The consistency of the gumbo should be between a soup and a stew. You can adjust the consistency to your likening by adding some of the remaining quart of broth.

Notes:

  • For the enriched chicken stock…
    Remove the meat from the rotisserie chicken and reserve for the gumbo. Put the carcass in a stock pot along with a quartered onion, two chopped carrots and two chopped stalks of celery. Add two quarts of low-sodium chicken broth and two cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for an hour.
  • Because store-bought Cajun spice mixes are heavy on sodium, I use it in the place of salt in this recipe with the added benefit of the spice flavoring. To boost the spiciness of the gumbo, you can add a homemade spice blend made without salt as below:
    1 tablespoon paprika
    1 tsp garlic powder
    1 tsp onion powder
    ½ tsp dried leaf oregano
    ¾ tsp dried thyme
    ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
    ¼ tsp black pepper
    ¼ tsp white pepper