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Gumbo-Sudsy's Cooking Fling Gumbo #2777658
10/14/11 06:41 PM
10/14/11 06:41 PM
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 5,568
Gitche Gumee Wisconsin
RiversNorth13 Offline OP
trapper
RiversNorth13  Offline OP
trapper

Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 5,568
Gitche Gumee Wisconsin
Sudsy's Cooking Fling Gumbo



Amounts and ingredients are extremely flexible - try adding lobster tails, striper chunks, mussels, snow crab leg sections, crawfish tails. When they are in season, I like to add blue claw crab claws.

The peppers, onions and celery together is known as "the trinity" in Cajun cuisine.


4 Cups Italian frying peppers (Cubanelles), chopped into 1/4 to 1/2 inch dice

4 Cups chopped Vidalia onions, chopped into 1/4 to 1/2 inch dice

4 Cups celery, chopped into 1/4 to 1/2 inch dice

1 Scotch Bonnet pepper (also called a Jamaican Hot), finely diced. A small Habanero can be substituted but is a bit more intense in heat.

2 bags cut frozen okra (about 6 to 8 cups)



1 Tablespoon chopped garlic. The jarred stuff is fine.

1 Pound Andouille sausage, diced in 1/2 inch pieces

1 Pound chicken breast cut in 1 1/4 inch pieces

2 Pounds frozen, uncooked shrimp in the shells, thawed, peeled, shells reserved

1/2 Pound scallops

1 1/2 Pounds cleaned squid with tentacles, tubes cut into rings

2 Dozen small cherrystone clams, well scrubbed

9 tablespoons butter

1 Tablespoon olive oil

10 Tablespoons all purpose flour

16 Ounces vegetable stock (I prefer Kitchen Basics Roasted Vegetable Stock. If you can't get this one near you try to find a stock in which the first ingredient is NOT onion.)

1 Cup dry white wine

1 - 12 Ounce can sweet corn (Green Giant Niblets recommended)

1 - 8-oz bottle Gorton's or Snow's clam juice

Old Bay seasoning

Fresh thyme

Black pepper


Prep all the vegetables and meats. Thaw the frozen okra.

Peel the shrimp. Place the shells into a small saucepan with the bottle of clam juice and enough water to cover. Bring to a quick boil, drop the heat to low and let it simmer.

Make a roux. This is the critical part of the recipe in that an underdeveloped roux will lack the nutty flavors required. A burned roux is straight out nasty so pay close attention and keep stirring.

To make the roux, in a heavy-bottomed stockpot, mix equal parts of melted butter and flour, along with a tablespoon of olive oil to help keep the butter from scorching, and for flavor. The mixture must be free of food particles or it will burn. Place over medium low heat and cook, stirring every minute or so, until the mixture reaches a chocolate brown color.

At first this mixture will be a bit dry but as it breaks down it will form a paste that covers the bottom of the pot. If it stays too dry add a bit more butter. This should reach full color in about 1/2 hour to 45 minutes. If it burns, don't try to salvage it, just start over. This is the most difficult step in that the roux can begin to burn very quickly if you are not on top of it. You can bring it up to color quicker by using more heat but at the cost of flavor. The slower you cook it, the better the results.

While you are making the roux, fry the sausage in a heavy pan until well browned. Remove the sausage, drain the excess oil and deglaze the pan with the white wine, scraping up all the stuck bits. Place the bowl of browned sausage and the deglazed pan containing the wine to the side.

When the roux reaches the desired color begin adding in the trinity. Turn the heat up to medium and toss in a handful each of pepper, onion, and celery along with a pinch of the diced hot pepper. Let them cook down then add more of each. Don't worry if the texture seems a bit dry at first, it will loosen up as the juices are rendered from the vegetables.

Along with the second, third, and then final additions of the trinity, begin adding the sausage bits, the garlic, the Old Bay, the fresh thyme, and a few grinds of black pepper. No additional salt is usually needed as the Old Bay makes it salty enough.

The idea behind adding the ingredients little by little is to develop layers of flavor.

If at any time the mixture needs to be moistened, add some of the wine from the deglazed pan.

If time is a factor you can make this in two parts by stopping just as the vegetables finish and placing the pot it the refrigerator. I often do the base the night before and then wait to finish until just before company arrives.

When all the vegetables are cooked (the ones put in first should be almost dissolved, the ones put in last can still be crisp), add the squid.

Once the pot has come back to temperature and the squid has begun to shrink, add the cubed chicken breast. Stir often.

Again, wait until the pot has come back to temperature, let the squid and chicken cook for a bit and add the wine with the deglazed bits from the sausage pan. Strain out the shrimp shells and add the broth to the pot (you should have about a cup to a cup and a half of shrimp/clam broth).

Add 1/2 of the roasted vegetable broth. Add 2 to 3 cups of the thawed okra.

When the pot comes back to temperature add the cleaned shrimp and the (well-scrubbed) clams. The consistency should be thick and creamy, if not you can loosen it up using some of the reserved vegetable broth.

A few minutes before the clams open, add the scallops, corn and the rest of the okra. When the pot comes back to temperature add the remaining vegetable broth to adjust the consistency.

When the clams are all opened (immediately toss any that don't open) and the scallops are fully cooked, make any final adjustments to the spices and serve over rice sprinkled with file powder (ground sassafras leaves). The file powder can be hard to find. I get mine at A&P but it can be purchased online if your stores don't carry it.

The rice should be made with vegetable broth and/or chicken broth rather than plain water. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve with a light white wine like a Pinot Grigio, a good pilsner like Pilsner Urquell or a mild bitter like Tenants Lager. Hot sauce can be placed at the table for anyone who likes it with more kick. We like the Goya brand hot sauce with this dish but you can certainly experiment.




Simplify your methods to the point of perfection.

Become fast,efficient & effective.

The real "SECRET" to successful trapping.

KEEP IT SIMPLE!

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Re: Gumbo-Sudsy's Cooking Fling Gumbo [Re: RiversNorth13] #2786462
10/20/11 12:04 AM
10/20/11 12:04 AM
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 4,144
louisiana
K
Kirk Offline
trapper
Kirk  Offline
trapper
K

Joined: May 2008
Posts: 4,144
louisiana
sounds good rivers you can take and microwave the okra for about 15 mins stopping and stiring it every couple mins and this will make them not be so slimy in the gumbo also


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