This is a family recipe shared by Vashon Borich-Leach
Growing up in Texas, I was fortunate to be around a long line of amazing cooks. My Texan Mom’s cooking could best be described as a cross between Paula Dean and the Cajun Chef. My step-Dad hailed from Homa, Louisiana and although he wasn’t a cook, (his mother) my grandma Gaubert was an incredible Cajun cook. Grandma was a true Cajun. She spoke very little english, preferring her beautiful Cajun French instead.
Her gumbo was a family favorite as it was delicious and easily fed a crowd. With five kids and over a dozen grandkids, she was used to cooking for an army. She could throw a pot of gumbo together in less than an hour in her tiny kitchen. It was amazing to watch her.
Grandma usually used frozen veggies in her recipes. She had a huge chest freezer in the garage that was always full of wild game like squirrel, duck, raccoon, alligator and wild boar. She kept her frozen bags of veggies there, too. It made it easier for her to quickly pull together a great pot of gumbo for a hungry family.
This Gumbo recipe will easily feed 10 people.
Before you get started, these are the tools you’ll need: cast iron skillet, 16 qt stainless-steel stock pot, metal whisk and a long-handled wooden spoon.
*Be sure to read through all the instructions. You aren’t going to want to throw these ingredients together in the wrong order.
Ingredients:
• 1 Tbsp Lard (or unsalted real butter NOT Margarine or oil)
• 1 Tbsp All-Purpose Flour
• 4 cups Chicken Broth (1 carton)
• 4 cups water
• 12 oz Andouille sausage (spicy Cajun pork sausage – can use beef sausage instead if preferred.)
• 4 hand-sized chicken breasts
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 tsp ground cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 Tbsp Cajun spice
• 2 Tbsp Gumbo Filé
• 12 oz bag of frozen corn kernels
• 12 oz bag of frozen cut green beans
• 12 oz bag of frozen Okra
• 1 lb bag of pepper and onion blend
• 3 celery stalks
• 1 lb. of large shrimp peeled and deveined (fresh or defrosted)
• White Jasmine rice (1/2 cup per person)
Here are images of the ingredients as found at my local Walmart.
Instructions:
1. Great gumbo starts with a Roux! Break out the cast iron skillet and a metal whisk. Warm skillet on medium to medium-low heat on stove. Throw in 1 Tbsp lard. While lard is melting, use a small dish and mix 1 tbsp water with 1 tbsp flour. Stir flour and water together with a fork to get all the lumps out. Pour flour/water mix in the skillet with the lard. Stir CONSTANTLY with a whisk. Don’t rush the roux! Longer you cook it, the darker it gets. For this gumbo recipe you want it the color of milk chocolate. Once it is a thick golden brown, immediately remove it from the heat.
2. With a rubber spatula carefully scrape all the lovely roux into your large stock pot. Every Cajun cook has a stock pot that is at least 16 qt. — that’s the one you need.
3. Pour in the entire chicken broth carton and add 4 cups of water. Stir together on medium-high heat. Cover and bring to a boil.
4. Meanwhile, clean up the cast iron skillet. Put it back on the burner at medium heat. Melt 1 Tbsp unsalted butter. Cube raw chicken breasts and brown in the skillet with the butter. Add some salt and pepper to taste.
5. Cut up the Andouille sausage into bite-sized discs. Set aside.
6. Add the “Cajun Holy Trinity” to the boiling stock pot. (Peppers, onions, celery) Cut up three celery stalks into bite-sized pieces. Open up bag of frozen pepper blend and pour into stock pot.
7. Add frozen okra, corn and green beans to stock pot.
8. Add chicken and sausage to stock pot.
9. Add Cayenne pepper, Cajun spices and table pepper to stock pot. *you may add more than is listed in this recipe depending on your tolerance for spicy food. Remember, the gumbo will get spicier as it ages!
10. Stir often and Bring to boil.
11. Once boiling, add Gumbo Filé to stock pot. (To thicken) Then, turn down heat to simmer.
12. In a separate pot or rice cooker make white rice.
13. About 15 minutes before you are ready to serve, turn the stock pot’s heat down to lowest setting and throw the shrimp into the pot. *stir until shrimp are pink.
14. To serve, put 1/4 cup of white rice in the bottom of each soup bowl and pour a ladle or two of gumbo over the rice. Bon Appetit!
Notes:
⁃ Shrimp is added last because it gets soggy and stringy if overcooked.
⁃ Sometimes Gumbo Filé is hard to find, especially in northern states. Gumbo Filé is simply a thickener. You can substitute cornstarch for it instead. Tip: use 1 tbsp of cornstarch and mix in a small dish with 2 tbsps water to prevent lumps. Then pour the milk-like mixture into the boiling stock pot and stir. As the gumbo cools, that’s when it starts to thicken.
⁃ Always taste the roux before you pour it into the stock pot. If it tastes burnt, start over or it will ruin your gumbo! It should taste like brown gravy.
⁃ You can use unsalted real butter instead of lard for the roux, however, it will lose some of the depth of flavor.
⁃ Gumbo gets better with age. Often we would put the gumbo in the fridge and eat it two days later. The flavors blend together and the spices get spicier.
⁃ Simply reheat a portion in the microwave and pour over rice. Always make fresh rice. Two day old rice will take away from the flavorful goodness of the gumbo.