Chicken and Sausage Gumbo Recipe
Eating Louisiana gumbo will transport you and your dinner guests straight to the Bayou. Learn how to make a tasty version at home with time, patience, a good thick pot and a variety of pantry ingredients.
Ingredients
- 6 chicken leg and thigh quarters (bone in and skin on)
- 1 pound andouille sausage (or another smoked and spiced sausage like kielbasa, sliced 1/4 inch thick)
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil (for browning the sausage and chicken)
- 5 black peppercorns (for the stock)
- 1 carrot (split, for the stock)
- 1 rib celery (for the stock)
- 1/2 onion (skin on, for the stock)
- 1 stalk parsley (for the stock)
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil (for the roux)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (for the roux)
- 1 cup celery (diced, for the trinity)
- 1 cup green bell pepper (diced, for the trinity)
- 1 cup onion (diced, for the trinity)
- 2 bay leaves
- cayenne pepper powder (to taste)
- 1/4 cup chicken and sausage fat (from browning the chicken and sausage)
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1/2 pound okra (sliced 1/4" thick - optional)
- filé powder (to taste, optional for the finished dish)
- 1/2 cup scallions (chopped, optional garnish)
Equipment
Instructions
- Place the sausage and a tablespoon of vegetable oil into a thick-bottomed pot, preferably cast iron, over medium-high heat. Once the pot has heated up, the sausage will start to brown. Stir and flip the sausage so that it browns on both sides.
- Once the sausage is browned, remove it from the pot and place the chicken into the pot skin side down. Once the chicken skin has browned, flip the chicken and brown the flesh side. It should take about ten minutes to brown the skin side and about two to three minutes to brown the flesh side.
- Once the chicken and sausage are browned, pour the remaining liquid fat in the pot into a measuring cup. Pour the vegetable oil into the cup until fat/oil mixture measures exactly one cup.
- Start the stock. Place the browned chicken, along with the celery rib, half skin-on onion, halved carrot, parsley and black peppercorns into a 6-quart pot over low heat. Cook the stock for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, skimming any fat that forms on top of the broth while it cooks. If you have a lot of time, you can cook the stock longer. (Just make sure you add more water so that the chicken stays covered.) You should have about 1 1/2 quarts of broth to add to the gumbo pot. If not, you'll need to add water to compensate. Chances are that you'll have stock left over. If that's the case, you can store it in the refrigerator or freezer to use later for soup.
- Strain the stock through a fine mesh strainer. Set the cooked chicken aside and pour the strained broth into a pot. Cover the pot and place it over a small fire to keep warm. Remove the chicken meat from the bones, skin and cartilage, shred the meat and set the shredded meat aside in a bowl. It's now time to start the roux.
- Make sure your pot is totally clean before starting the roux. Heat the pot over medium-high heat and add the oil/liquid fat mixture and the flour. Using a flat wooden spoon (preferable tool) or a whisk, stir the flour/oil mixture constantly until the roux becomes the color of milk chocolate. You can go to dark chocolate if you feel confident but be careful, especially if using generous heat, to not burn the roux. If you burn the roux, you'll need to dump it and start over.
- Once the roux is finished, immediately pour in the chopped raw green pepper, chopped celery, chopped onion and bay leaves. Let them cook until tender and then add the minced garlic. Cook the garlic until it's fragrant. Add one quart of the stock plus additional water if necessary.
- Cook the gumbo for at least an hour over low heat or until the flavors have melded and the vegetables have fully softened, adding additional water if the mixture gets too thick. Make sure to check and stir the pot, scraping the bottom while you stir, every 10 minutes.
- If you choose to add okra, add it about 20 to 30 minutes before serving so that it's just tender. Continue to cook the gumbo until it reaches your desired thickness.
- Serve in shallow bowls with a generous scoop of white rice and your favorite Louisiana hot sauce. Optionally add filé powder to taste and garnish with chopped scallions.
Nutrition
Calories: 499kcalCarbohydrates: 20gProtein: 17gFat: 39gSaturated Fat: 9gPolyunsaturated Fat: 16gMonounsaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 70mgSodium: 525mgPotassium: 461mgFiber: 3gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 1723IUVitamin C: 26mgCalcium: 59mgIron: 2mg
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