11/11/2023
Gumbo
* 2 large onions
* 1 bulb garlic
* 4 large carrots (peeled)
* 3 bell peppers (yellow, red, and orange)
* 1 stick unsalted butter
* 1/4 cup all purpose flour
* 1/2 cup Cajun seasoning
* 2 qt chicken broth or stock
* 1 can diced tomatoes
* 1 bag frozen okra
* 1 # ground beef, venison, pork, or turkey
* 1 # peeled deveined shrimp (defrosted and tails removed)
* 1 # andouille sausage (cut into 1/4" thick coins)
1. Dice all veggies.
2. Melt stick of butter over med-high and sauté spices and veggies until fragrant and softened.
3. Sprinkle flour in and stir till flour forms a thick paste. Stir roux constantly. It will start to darken. You can let it get as dark as you like. The darker, the more flavor. DO NOT stop stirring as it WILL burn. You may need to adjust temp lower to make it easier to brown roux.
4. Add broth gradually, stopping to completely stir in between additions.
5. Add diced tomatoes
6. Bring to a boil.
7. Add okra.
8. Simmer for a minimum of 30 minutes, with lid on. Can simmer longer, up to several hours. Add water if it becomes too thick.
9. In seperate pan, brown ground meat. Add to pot.
10. Sauté sausage to get skins crispy and brown edges. Add to pan.
11. Immediately before serving, add shrimp to simmering pot. Stir in and remove from heat. (Shrimp overcook easily. By adding at last minute, and turning off heat, they cook in the residual heat and don't become tough.)
12. Taste, salt as needed.
Serve over rice or as soup.
Notes: You can change out meats as you like. Technically you don't even have to add meat. You can add chicken, crab, or whatever you like. Just sauté and add at the end so it doesn't become tough and chewy in the long simmer.