1.11: Gumbos
- Page ID
- 21160
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Gumbo in Louisiana is staple of the cuisine. It is a thick stew-like dish usually served with rice. There are many different types of gumbos including chicken and andouille and shrimp and okra gumbo. Gumbo is a common soup de jour on restaurant menus in Louisiana. For dark gumbos, the traditional roux is a dark Cajun roux. Okra is also used as a thickening agent as well as file powder.
Ingredients
- Trinity - 50% onions, 25% bell pepper, 25% celery
- File - an herb made from ground up leaves of the sassafras tree
- Andouille - smoked sausage coarsely ground pork sausage usually heavily smoked and seasoned, and commonly used in Cajun and creole dishes.
- Cajun Dark Roux - Cooked to a dark color without burning. Using the trinity to stop the cooking process. Has minimal thickening power but adds color, richness and mouthfeel.
Other proteins
- Stock - provides additional flavor in the gumbo as well as body.
Tips and Techniques for Cooking Gumbo
- If a gumbo contains meat or game, you must brown your meat.
- This adds the richness in color and the building of extra flavor.
- When you cook chicken in gumbo, do not cook it too much because it can over cook, and become shredded.
- When you cook seafood in gumbo, you should add this at the end to ensure you do not over cook
- Stock - Added flavor and body
- Trinity - flavor, stops the roux cooking
- Seasonings - spice and flavor
- Andouille - Smokiness and flavor
- File - Thickener
- Okra - added thickener. You must cook it down in a separate pot to prevent sliminess
Gumbo plate up example. Note the richness and color of the dark roux.
Photo Credit: Amelie Zeringue