Here are my guidelines:
I don't make it using 4 ducks! I use a whole chicken cut up sometimes or
just leg quarters - I think the dark meat makes better gumbo than white meat.
I still use up to a pound of andouille, but not as much as everything else. Sorry - I
don't measure. However, if you are not living in Louisiana, be very wary of what some companies try to pawn off as andouille. I live in Florida - although I am native to Louisiana - and have tried some so-called andouille that is just awful. If you can't get real andouille from a Louisiana source, use a good smoked sausage instead. However, the andouille really adds a lot of flavor.
I slice and brown the andouille, then take that out (and hide it so no one eats it).
Then brown the chicken pieces on all sides and take that out.
Make a dark brown roux usually with olive oil added to the fat from the sausage and
chicken, saute the chopped veggies (onions, green pepper, celery) in that, then add water to liquefy the roux. Add the chicken back to the pot and some seasonings (not the gumbo file) and simmer for a while.
I also usually add some chicken bouillon so we can have more broth that is flavorful. If you add bouillon, don't add salt until after the bouillon and you have tasted it. Don't fully season to taste yet, because the sausage will add a lot when it goes back in.
After the chicken has simmered a while, add the sausage and simmer until the chicken
is really tender - falling off the bones. Then adjust seasonings. Bone and remove skin,
readjust salt and pepper, then add file, simmer a few more minutes, and top with green
onions. Serve with rice.
I don't usually add any Tabasco.
I guess I hardly follow the recipe after all! I do look at the ingredients list to
remind me of what goes in it!
If you don't know how to make a roux:
in fat in the pan, add flour - stir constantly - I use a medium heat, but you really have to pay attention - you want to stir constantly, keep browning until the flour is a dark, rich brown, like strong coffee with cream in it. It is easy to lose courage on this - a little too long and you burn the flour and have to start over; not long enough - mmm - not so good a roux! (You can rescue it if looks too light after the water is added by adding some Kitchen Bouquet. Just don't tell anyone.)
