Had a get together last night and Gumbo was on the menu. I have yet to serve this where at least 1 person doesn't tell me it's the best Gumbo they've ever had. Also had a girl who lived in New Orleans for 7 years tell me that it could be served in any Louisiana restaurant and people would rave about it. I could go on and on, but, I'm not here to brag, I'm here to teach 
Here's my recipe and some thoughts.
First of all, good Gumbo obviously begins with a great dark roux. I always, always cook the roux separately. This will allow you to better control the thickness later on and lets you cook the veggies with some browning. This recipe is for a half-gallon of Gumbo so I know I will need around 2 cups of roux. Therefore I make 3. Any leftover will freeze perfectly. Roux is best made in an enameled cast iron pot.
Start with 1.5 Cups of Peanut oil, 1/2 Cup of Butter, and 3 cups of flour. Most recipes you see will call for a 1:1 ratio of fat to flour, but, I find that is always too thin.
Plan on stirring with a flat wooded spatula for best results. This will take a while, however in the initial stage, you can let it rip to speed things along.
Once it begins to darken go ahead and turn down to medium
I generally cut the heat around here. The cast iron will continue cooking the roux so it will finish a shade darker. I'm putting seafood in this one so I don't want it quite as dark as if this were a chicken and sausage only gumbo.
final product
Now for the rest I need:
2 medium onions
2 Green Bell Peppers
6 celery stalks
green onion
3 large cloves of Garlic
4 Boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1lb sliced andouille sausage
1lb crawfish tails
1lb shrimp
2 quarts homemade stock
1/3c chopped parsley
cajun seasoning
dried thyme
peppercorns
bay leaves
Worcestershire sauce
Take one medium onion, 1 bell pepper, 3 celery stalks, and a few green onions and give them a rough chop
Now take the other onion, bell pepper, celery stalks, and garlic and pulse to a fine grind in a food processor. These will disintegrate by the time you finish the Gumbo, however, it's going to add a ton of flavor.
Add about 1/2 cup of oil to a heavy bottomed soup pot and saut the rough chopped veggies until almost tender
Next add the ground veggies and continue cooking until you start getting some good browning
Once the veggies are finished turn off the heat and set aside
Season the chicken breasts with cajun seasoning and sear in a stainless steel pan. When the chicken is finished, give it a rough chop on a cutting board and toss in the soup pot. Now sear the andouille and add to the soup pot as well.
Deglaze the pan with a cup of water and add to the soup pot along with the 8 cups of homemade stock
Take about 2 tsp thyme along with a few peppercorns and pulverize in a spice grinder. Add it to the pot
Now add 2 bay leaves, chopped parsley, and about 1/4 cup of Worcestershire sauce
Remember all of that browning we did? Look how dark the Gumbo is and I haven't added any of the roux yet. That's some serious flavor going on in that pot. It's good enough to eat as is as a soup. Bring everything up to a simmer
Now, pour the excess oil off the top of the roux and begin adding it about 1/2c at a time until you get the desired consistency. Once you reach your preferred thickness (I like thick for all meat gumbo and thinner for seafood) Season to taste with cajun seasoning and/or salt. Allow to simmer on low for about an hour.
About 10 minutes before serving add in the shrimp and crawfish. Allow to cook until shrimp are done, but, don't overcook them.
There you have it. Gumbo you could proudly serve to any Rajun Cajun and make them feel right at home.
I serve my Gumbo with White Rice (Properly it's served in a separate bowl from the Gumbo and combined with each bite), Sliced fresh okra briefly boiled in salted water, ground Sassafras leaves aka Gumbo File, Worcestershire sauce, Louisiana hot sauce, sliced scallions, and lemon slices
Here's my recipe and some thoughts.
First of all, good Gumbo obviously begins with a great dark roux. I always, always cook the roux separately. This will allow you to better control the thickness later on and lets you cook the veggies with some browning. This recipe is for a half-gallon of Gumbo so I know I will need around 2 cups of roux. Therefore I make 3. Any leftover will freeze perfectly. Roux is best made in an enameled cast iron pot.
Start with 1.5 Cups of Peanut oil, 1/2 Cup of Butter, and 3 cups of flour. Most recipes you see will call for a 1:1 ratio of fat to flour, but, I find that is always too thin.
Plan on stirring with a flat wooded spatula for best results. This will take a while, however in the initial stage, you can let it rip to speed things along.
Once it begins to darken go ahead and turn down to medium
I generally cut the heat around here. The cast iron will continue cooking the roux so it will finish a shade darker. I'm putting seafood in this one so I don't want it quite as dark as if this were a chicken and sausage only gumbo.
final product
Now for the rest I need:
2 medium onions
2 Green Bell Peppers
6 celery stalks
green onion
3 large cloves of Garlic
4 Boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1lb sliced andouille sausage
1lb crawfish tails
1lb shrimp
2 quarts homemade stock
1/3c chopped parsley
cajun seasoning
dried thyme
peppercorns
bay leaves
Worcestershire sauce
Take one medium onion, 1 bell pepper, 3 celery stalks, and a few green onions and give them a rough chop
Now take the other onion, bell pepper, celery stalks, and garlic and pulse to a fine grind in a food processor. These will disintegrate by the time you finish the Gumbo, however, it's going to add a ton of flavor.
Add about 1/2 cup of oil to a heavy bottomed soup pot and saut the rough chopped veggies until almost tender
Next add the ground veggies and continue cooking until you start getting some good browning
Once the veggies are finished turn off the heat and set aside
Season the chicken breasts with cajun seasoning and sear in a stainless steel pan. When the chicken is finished, give it a rough chop on a cutting board and toss in the soup pot. Now sear the andouille and add to the soup pot as well.
Deglaze the pan with a cup of water and add to the soup pot along with the 8 cups of homemade stock
Take about 2 tsp thyme along with a few peppercorns and pulverize in a spice grinder. Add it to the pot
Now add 2 bay leaves, chopped parsley, and about 1/4 cup of Worcestershire sauce
Remember all of that browning we did? Look how dark the Gumbo is and I haven't added any of the roux yet. That's some serious flavor going on in that pot. It's good enough to eat as is as a soup. Bring everything up to a simmer
Now, pour the excess oil off the top of the roux and begin adding it about 1/2c at a time until you get the desired consistency. Once you reach your preferred thickness (I like thick for all meat gumbo and thinner for seafood) Season to taste with cajun seasoning and/or salt. Allow to simmer on low for about an hour.
About 10 minutes before serving add in the shrimp and crawfish. Allow to cook until shrimp are done, but, don't overcook them.
There you have it. Gumbo you could proudly serve to any Rajun Cajun and make them feel right at home.
I serve my Gumbo with White Rice (Properly it's served in a separate bowl from the Gumbo and combined with each bite), Sliced fresh okra briefly boiled in salted water, ground Sassafras leaves aka Gumbo File, Worcestershire sauce, Louisiana hot sauce, sliced scallions, and lemon slices
