Best Chicken & Sausage Gumbo - Mom's Recipe

Nothing like Mom's Gumbo! And The 99 Cent Chef's sister joins in the tasty fun! Visit my cooking blog for more Cajun eats, cheap ingredients, recipe text & photos: http://the99centchef.blogspot.com/2011/07/cajun-cuisine-diaries-moms-gumbo-flea.html

Ingredients (serves about 6 -8)
1 whole Chicken (about 3-4 lbs.) - Cut up chicken. Okay to use precut packaged pieces. I remove half of the skin for a lighter Gumbo. 2 legs quarter and a whole breast.
1 pound Andouille Sausage sliced - okay to substitute a cheaper favorite sausage.
4 quarts of Water - enough water for a soup.
1 whole Onion - chopped
2 stalks of Celery - chopped
1/2 Bell Pepper - chopped. Okay to use a whole one.
2 cloves Garlic (1 tablespoon) - chopped
1 cup of chopped Green Onions - about 4-6 whole ones with stalks)
1/2 cup chopped Parsley - okay to use a tablespoon of dried.
1/2 cup of Oil - any favorite to saute a flour Roux.
1/2 cup of Flour - combine oil and flour to make a Roux.
1 tablespoon Cajun Seasoning - I use Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning
1 teaspoon File (dried sassafras leaves)- optional. Mom didn't use it, but I like to.
Salt and pepper to taste - okay to leave out salt if you are adding Cajun spices, as they will be salty enough.
Rice - Cook 1 or 2 cups to serve with the Gumbo. You can use white or brown rice. Follow package directions.

* Half the chicken, Cajun Seasonings, and water amounts for an 8-cup version of Gumbo.

Directions
Start water to boil in a large enough pot to hold 4 quarts of water. Add cut-up chicken.

Add 1/2 cup of oil to a large fry pan over medium heat, and brown sliced sausage, for about 10 minutes. Remove from oil with a slotted spoon and drain, or add directly, to a pot of boiling chicken.

Next, stir in chopped veggies into the frying pan with oil. Saute for about 5 minutes until soft. Again, remove cooked veggies with a slotted spoon and add to boiling chicken and sausage pot.

Try to remove all veggie bits, because next, you are browning flour in the oil for 20 minutes!

(It may be easier to just brown roux in a different pan, or brown Roux first then clean the pan and saute veggies and sausage.)

Add flour to oil to make a Roux. Make sure you have your favorite radio station playing in the background -- you need to slowly stir the flour and oil until it is a dark brown, about 20 minutes. This gives Gumbo its brown color and nutty flavor.

A lighter Gumbo can be made using less oil. Just use a tablespoon of oil to fry sausage and veggies. And flour will brown without oil as well -- just slowly stir the flour around and watch it change color. Also, try using healthier flour, like whole wheat.

When Roux is done, turn off the heat and let it cool for a couple of minutes, so the oil doesn't splatter when you add it to the Gumbo pot. Carefully add Roux to boiling meat and veggies. Add okra and also add a teaspoon of dried File (both optional.) Stir well. You can add some of the broth back to the Roux pan to wash it all out.

(To speed up things buy a pre-made Roux from the grocery store and skip the 20-minute flour/oil browning stage.)

By now, the meat, sausage, and veggies have been cooking for about 1/2 hour. At this point, bring Gumbo to a boil, reduce heat to a low simmer, cover, and cook another hour.

I usually uncover after half an hour to make the Gumbo broth cook down by about half. This makes for a richer broth. You can always add water, or broth if you lose too much liquid.

During the last half hour of cooking, you can start your rice. Cook according to package directions.

To impress your guests remove bones and shred chicken into bite-size pieces. Return chicken to Gumbo to reheat before serving.

Finally, during the last 15 minutes, add chopped green onions and parsley.

Serve Mom's Chicken and Sausage Gumbo over white or brown rice.

Видео Best Chicken & Sausage Gumbo - Mom's Recipe канала the99centchef