Need Ideas for creating the best Gumbo!

[kinnip]

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I've never tried butter in a roux...I always assumed it would burn before you could get the roux dark enough for a proper gumbo. For gumbo we make a very dark roux...almost as dark as Hershey's Cocoa.

You have to heat very slowly and you can't walk away. It's a little more labour intensive, but the taste of that browned butter can't be beat.

 

[kinnip]

I haven't tried it, but one technique that's become popular is to brown the flour on a cookie sheet, then make the roux.

 

[BettyR]

I bet it would be good. I love blackened chicken, fish...you name it. My favorite way to reheat leftover steak is to slice it up, get a cast iron skillet rocket hot and throw the steak in with some butter. The butter burns almost immediately and it only takes a second to heat the steak through. It's sooo good, I like it better reheated that way than when it was first cooked.

 

[TerriLaChicks]

Smoked duck and andouille sausage makes an awesome gumbo!

 

[kinnip]

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Awww, hell, I'm hungry now.

 

[BettyR]

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Awww, hell, I'm hungry now.

Yea me too!!

I've got to go eat lunch and get ready to make some bread and butter pickles. My cucumbers from my fall garden are coming on hot and heavy...I promised my mom I'd make her some pickles. The cucumbers and the onions have been soaking in the salt water all night so I have to make them today.

Edited to add:

It's kind of funny that we are talking about gumbo...in my family we always serve bread and butter pickles with gumbo. It's like if you have toast you have to have jam....if you have gumbo you have to have bread and butter pickles.

 

[funkychicken]

my 84 year old MIL taught me to make roux...first rule...start with more than you think you will use...second ...NEVER leave your roux...one speck of scorch and out it goes!!...keep it moving by stirring continually over med. heat and make it dark as hersheys cocoa... no smoked sausage, if you use okra be sure to add a can of diced stewed tomatos to cut the slime,no file', put it on the table for those who like it...I like to make seafood..shrimp,crawfish and whole crabs(broke in half)and fresh crab meat...we eat gumbo all the time and my family would kick me off the team if I didnt serve potato salad with it....hope this helps!!

 

[Jenlyn9483]

This is AWESOME info! I do this thing where I make my own recipes based on ideas from other recipes. The smoked duck thing came out of left feild for me but I LUV IT! We constantly have duck in the freezer here and have an unlimitted supply (Thanks to my incubator and the local auction) duck is always on hand cheep. Im always looking for new ways to cook it. Can't believe I never thought of Smoking it!

Im all about using things I have around the house instead of buying new. We have been saving a few fresh caught fish here and there in the freezer this yr, I was planning on throwin a couple of them in there. I love Okra in Gumbo so I was planning on adding some frozen okra and a can of Old Glory canned Okra with Diced tomatoes. I have some Chicken with Tomato powdered bullion im going to use. We have a local family owned meat market that has Andoullie (sp?) shipped from LA. Do any of you pour Crystal hotsauce in your Gumbo, i was going to add some to mine.

The recipe is shaping up. My gumbo is going to have everythin in it! My uncle is a shrimper and i can get fresh shrimp cheep. And of course i have a whole freezer full of chicken! Its going to be GREAT!

 

[cackle]

I add some bay leaves, a can of rotel tomatoes and okra when I mix my roux and veggies(onion, garlic, bell pepper and celery) into the broth. Then I let that simmer for several hours before adding the file. Last thing I add is the chicken and sausage. I don't use a recipe just go by how I saw my mom make it.