Howdy, First Time Gumbo maker here. At 75 woulda, shoulda, coulda made this long ago, but I did not, my BAD! So now I wanna make Gumbo, need a fairly simple minded first time to do this Gumbo recipe. Not Fido complex, something a non pro chef can do, please!
Thanks! Oh, by the by, no offense to FIDO, love his stuff, but I am not that skilled!
Go to HEB and buy Frenchy's frozen gumbo base in the frozen fish section. Throw in a pot and bring to boil. Add proteins (cooked shrimp, chicken, sausage…whatever you prefer) Make a pot of white rice. Win!
This is more or less how I've always made mine. I've never messed it up. You just need to have everything ready to go when you start your roux, and don't do anything other than stir the roux while it's going. I'm sure some true Cajuns will find issues with how I do it, but I think it turns out great.
All the ingredients laid out. I try to only use Andouille sausage, but HEB only had one package. Slice your sausage, brown the chicken, and dice all the veggies (bell pepper, onion, celery, garlic) prior to starting roux.
Mix one part oil/fat with one part all purpose flour over medium heat. I've used vegetable oil and bacon grease, both were great.
Don't stop stirring! It'll burn. Use a utensil that allows you to get the roux out of the edge of your pot. I'll even wear an oven mitt during this part so I don't have to take my hand out of the pot. Keep going until it reaches the desired color.
At this point, kill the heat and throw in the trinity (onion, celery, pepper). Continue stirring until the onion gets translucent and the heat drops a little. I then throw in the garlic and stir it in. At this point, I add everything else. Chicken, sausage, bay leaves, chicken broth or stock, and season to taste. Bring to a low boil for the next several hours.
Regardless of the recipe you use the most important thing about gumbo, above all other dishes I cook, is having your mise en place completely done before you get started. Specifically having the veggies ready to go and stock. Since the roux takes so much time to develop and burns easily you will not have time to do it once it's go time. As soon as the roux is ready, the veggies go in, as soon as the veggies are ready, the stock goes in, after that it's smooth sailing.
I know there are methods to make the roux in the microwave and the oven that are supposedly easier, I've only ever made roux on the stove top though and have unfortunately learned this lesson the hard way.
