So who doesn't love a nice bowl of gumbo at this Mardi Gras time of year? This one's fairly easy and yummy. The biggest pain in the ass is making the fish stock and straining those fishy bones. But you can use clam juice, chicken broth, or some combination of these, instead. Just be careful with clam juice, it's mighty salty.
For 6
4 tbsp butter or lard
4 tbsp all purpose flour
2 medium onions, diced
4 celery stalks, diced
2 green peppers, diced
4 cloves of garlic, crushed and chopped
1/3 pound okra, thinly sliced
one small bunch thyme, tied in a bundle
cayenne pepper to taste (my taste is 1 tsp)
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika
1/2 lb andouille sausage, or any spicy pork sausage will do, pre-cooked and sliced thin
1 lb crab claw meat, picked over
1/2 lb lump crab meat, picked over
1 lb (+/-) of peeled and deveined shrimp (21-25 count are a nice size and you should have 5 or 6 shrimp per person)
3 quarts fish stock *
white wine
cooked plain white rice
Make the roux. This is a critical step, so don't rush it or walk off to watch TV or masturbate. Masturbate before you start cooking. Gently heat the fat and flour and STIR REGULARLY until it smells nutty and turns a nice brown color. This could take 20 minutes or more. DO NOT BURN. If it burns, it's unrecoverable. Curse your fate and start over.
Once the roux is where you want it, add the onions, celery, garlic and all but a 1/2 cup of the peppers. Lower heat and sweat the vegetables until softened. Add the cayenne and cumin and stir for 30 seconds.
Turn up the heat, add a cup of wine, the fish stock, and water if you used reduced fish cubes (see below). Bring to a boil. Add the thyme bundle, sausage, claw meat and okra and cook over medium heat for 30 minutes to an hour. You want the crab claw meat to shred up and the okra to thicken the gumbo but for its snottiness to cook out a little. Taste for salt and pepper.
Next, toss the shrimp with some salt and the paprika. Saute on high heat for a minute on each side. Take out of the pan and reserve. Deglaze the pan with more wine and add to the gumbo pot. At this point, you can remove the thyme bundle.
When ready to serve, add the cooked shrimp, the rest of the diced peppers and the lump crab meat and heat through. Stir gently so you don't break up the lump crab meat too much. Put a nice pile of rice into warm serving bowls and generously ladle gumbo over the top. Serve with hot sauce and beer.
* fish stock is easy, just ask your fishmonger for a few pounds of fish bones and heads. No need to be too choosy, as long as they are FRESH and WHITEFISH. Don't use salmon, mackerel, etc. Cut the bones into pieces that fit in your stockpot, add mirepoix and half dry white wine and half cold water to cover. Bring to a simmer, DON'T BOIL, skim, and cook for an hour. Strain well and use in gumbo. For long term storage, reduce and freeze in ice cube trays, de-tray and store in freezer bags.
For 6
4 tbsp butter or lard
4 tbsp all purpose flour
2 medium onions, diced
4 celery stalks, diced
2 green peppers, diced
4 cloves of garlic, crushed and chopped
1/3 pound okra, thinly sliced
one small bunch thyme, tied in a bundle
cayenne pepper to taste (my taste is 1 tsp)
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika
1/2 lb andouille sausage, or any spicy pork sausage will do, pre-cooked and sliced thin
1 lb crab claw meat, picked over
1/2 lb lump crab meat, picked over
1 lb (+/-) of peeled and deveined shrimp (21-25 count are a nice size and you should have 5 or 6 shrimp per person)
3 quarts fish stock *
white wine
cooked plain white rice
Make the roux. This is a critical step, so don't rush it or walk off to watch TV or masturbate. Masturbate before you start cooking. Gently heat the fat and flour and STIR REGULARLY until it smells nutty and turns a nice brown color. This could take 20 minutes or more. DO NOT BURN. If it burns, it's unrecoverable. Curse your fate and start over.
Once the roux is where you want it, add the onions, celery, garlic and all but a 1/2 cup of the peppers. Lower heat and sweat the vegetables until softened. Add the cayenne and cumin and stir for 30 seconds.
Turn up the heat, add a cup of wine, the fish stock, and water if you used reduced fish cubes (see below). Bring to a boil. Add the thyme bundle, sausage, claw meat and okra and cook over medium heat for 30 minutes to an hour. You want the crab claw meat to shred up and the okra to thicken the gumbo but for its snottiness to cook out a little. Taste for salt and pepper.
Next, toss the shrimp with some salt and the paprika. Saute on high heat for a minute on each side. Take out of the pan and reserve. Deglaze the pan with more wine and add to the gumbo pot. At this point, you can remove the thyme bundle.
When ready to serve, add the cooked shrimp, the rest of the diced peppers and the lump crab meat and heat through. Stir gently so you don't break up the lump crab meat too much. Put a nice pile of rice into warm serving bowls and generously ladle gumbo over the top. Serve with hot sauce and beer.
* fish stock is easy, just ask your fishmonger for a few pounds of fish bones and heads. No need to be too choosy, as long as they are FRESH and WHITEFISH. Don't use salmon, mackerel, etc. Cut the bones into pieces that fit in your stockpot, add mirepoix and half dry white wine and half cold water to cover. Bring to a simmer, DON'T BOIL, skim, and cook for an hour. Strain well and use in gumbo. For long term storage, reduce and freeze in ice cube trays, de-tray and store in freezer bags.
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