Creole Gumbo
Submitted by kahr
Creole gumbo loaded with shrimp, crab, oysters, chicken wings, veal, ham bone, and okra, thickened with file powder. A true New Orleans-style gumbo served over rice.
YIELD
8 servingsPREP
30 minCOOK
30 minREADY
60 minThis is the full-dress Creole gumbo, the kind New Orleans is famous for. Shrimp, crab meat, fresh oysters with their liquor, chicken wings, veal cubes, a ham bone, and two pounds of okra all go into the same big kettle. It’s extravagant and unapologetic about it.
The build is layered and deliberate. Bacon renders first to create the fat base. Onions cook golden in that fat, then garlic, green pepper, thyme, and bay leaves join to form the Creole aromatic foundation. Okra goes in next and cooks down for five minutes, releasing its natural thickening mucilage into the pot. Meanwhile, the ham bone, chicken wings, and veal brown in a separate skillet, and their deglazed fond gets poured into the kettle.
File powder goes in at the very end, after the heat is turned off. This is not negotiable. Boiling file powder turns the gumbo stringy and slimy instead of silky. One teaspoon stirred into the hot-but-not-boiling pot gives the gumbo its characteristic earthy, sassafras flavor and body.
Chef Tips
- Deglaze the skillet used for browning the meats with water and scrape up every brown bit. That fond is concentrated flavor that belongs in the gumbo.
- Add the seafood last. Shrimp, crab, and oysters only need to heat through. Overcooking turns them rubbery and tough.
- Serve by mounding rice in the center of a wide, shallow bowl and ladling gumbo around it, not over it.
- Never reboil the gumbo after adding file powder. Reheat leftovers gently over low heat.
Variations
- Add andouille sausage sliced into coins for a smokier, more traditional Cajun-Creole crossover.
- Skip the veal and add an extra pound of shrimp for a seafood-only version.
- Stir in a tablespoon of roux (flour cooked in oil until dark brown) for an even thicker, deeper-flavored base.
Ingredients
Directions
Cut the bacon pieces in half and put in a large soup kettle.
Place over low heat and cook bacon until it gives up it’s fat, then remove, drain on paper towels and set aside.
Add the onions to the bacon drippings in the kettle and cook over moderate heat until golden brown, stirring all the while.
Add garlic, bay leaves, green pepper, thyme, sugar, salt and pepper and cook slowly until green pepper is wilted.
Add cut okra to the kettle and cook for 5 minutes, stirring.
Heat the oil in a large skillet and add the ham bone, chicken wings and veal cubes and cook over medium heat, stirring to brown meats on all sides.
Pour off any excess fat and add the meats and bones to the kettle.
Pour a cup of water into the skillet and use a wooden spoon to loosen all the brown particles that cling to the bottom and sides.
Mix and pour this into the kettle.
Add the parsley, tomatoes, tabasco and worcestershire sauces and lemon juice.
Add the shrimp, crab, oysters (with their liquid) and reserved bacon.
Add enough water to cover all ingredients, bring the gumbo to a boil and turn off the heat.
Stir in the file powder and stir to mix but do not boil again.
To serve, spoon a mound of cooked rice into the middle of each soup plate, then ladle the gumbo around the rice.
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