Never made gumbo - and if I did, it would not be authentic at all, I'm sure 😁

I use smoked salt in many dishes, since I don't buy or eat pork. I buy smoked sea salt from Walmart - it's very salty, perhaps because the grains are large. It's great for adding a bacon/ham/barbecue flavor without the meat.

Every gumbo is different. I stopped making it and now buy it in the market section of a neighborhood restaurant. It's damn good gumbo! Chicken and andouille. No seafood, no okra.

We made a batch recently....pic is dated June 22nd. Two quarts in the freezer.

We always make it the day before serving. I prep the boneless skinless thighs and the andouille, prep the trinity and the pope...DH starts the roux in the dutch oven i used for the chicken and andouille (i keep that warm and roasting in the oven).

Then a minimum 2 hour simmer when all together, on the back burner. An hour rest, then iced and into the fridge uncovered overnight.

Re-heat an hour before serving with whole eggs in the pot. I cooked a pound of shrimp separately. 3 each bowl as a garnish appetizer. Rest of the shrimp on ice served with a creole remoulade. Rice and potato salad at the table.

*salt is a big problem if a restaurant uses a chicken or beef base, then a premade creole seasoning blend, very salty.

*Small 45/50 shrimp are half the price of 35/40's. Most restaurants use the smaller and they get lost and overcooked. And small shrimp have less flavor, usually.

*Most keep the seafood out of chicken and andouille gumbo. Creole families use it all and more. Crawfish, crab, etc.

(i also don't want shrimp in my frozen quarts. I can add when i thaw and re-heat)

We have used the same recipe for 30+ years found in a NewOrleans cookbook i picked up locally when i lived there. This batch i used Isaac Toupe's Gumbo

Gumbo is not really just one thing. There are many variations of gumbo....many.

Out in the rural parishes of Louisiana they celebrate the courir de mardi gras that is much unlike what you see on mardi gras in the city. One thing that they do is that a group of "beggers" go from one farm to another and at each place they ask for something to put in the gumbo pot. Old tradition has the beggar to crawl up to house on hands and knees and to beg. Those who beg are dressed in costume that represents rags.

At the end all that they were graced with is put into the gumbo pot.

Of course, things are a bit more modern in scope nowadays and it is a part of a larger tradition. But that was the general gist of it, one way or another.

Gumbo can be made with many things. My sister in New Orleans often uses wild game in hers. And if you dont have real andouille sausage nothing is going to replace that.

There is no ONE way to make gumbo although some will swear by their preference as the original and authentic.

Overall there does emerge a distinct New Orleans essence to it, no matter if the base is different.

My own prefernce would have a real andouille and also bay leaves . The "holy trinity" of celery, peppers and onions plays heavily in modern versions. It would be interesting to search the history of gumbo and see what the real original gumbo might have come from. I suspect that it was quite different from our modern versions. They had different resources back then.

Maybe I will amuse myself and do a search for that. It sounds interesting.

They also make a " greens gumbo" using assorted greens and a gumbo base. You dont see that around so much.

A dark roux based gumbo is a bit like eating gravy. It really requires quite a bit of oil. Yes, it can be quite delicious, but not a really healthy option for too often.

A dark roux based gumbo is a bit like eating gravy. It really requires quite a bit of oil. Yes, it can be quite delicious, but not a really healthy option for too often.

A gumbo's roux is equal parts flour and fat. It's the length of cooking time that determines color of the roux. I have never had a gumbo that I would equate to eating gravy.

I think I get what Claudia was saying. Like gravy, gumbo starts with drippings (or oil) thickened with flour. Depending on the source of your fat—bacon is cited in many recipes—you could be getting a lot of salts, etc, with your fat. I used fairly lean, spicy chicken sausage, which surely added some salt, but not curing chemicals, and just a bit of fat to go with the olive oil. Gumbo isn't gravy soup, but most people use a lot more gravy per portion than one would get of roux per servung of gumbo.

Re the shrimp, I'd cut them thinking they'd be dinner (and put them back in the fridge while the gumbo cooked), so I could only think to put them in. Luckily, they're not rubbery or anything on rewarming. Done-er than I'd aim for on their own, but only cooked, not over. Yeah!

After a day and a half in the fridge, the gumbo is much more viscous, and well melded—gumbo-y. I appreciate all the comments and knowledge!

Anymore advice on acutally constucting the gumbo?

Today, with the black bean rice underneath, making it even darker:

I have waited a while. Gumbo is so personal. It is what you ate as a child. MY gumbo has no andouile or chicken. That is for jambalaya. My maternal grandmother lived just outside Mobile , Alabama. Hers is my gumbo.

She made with no recipe, with fresh blue crabs and fresh shrimp. Oysters were good, but not in gumbo. I helped cook, but never really knew what she did. She died just after a car wreck.

This is what I got that was as close as I could get.

The original recipe was from the "Gulf coast Goumet" copywright 1979. page27, Jim Nickleson. It used oysters, she never had oysters in gumbo. She always had fresh caught blue crab and fresh caught shrimp. I do not have that available. I use the stuff from the seafood department.

Grandma Fitch's Gumbo

1 cup bacon dippings

1 cup flour

2 stalks celery, chopped

2 large onions, chopped

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 gallon water.( I use less)

4 cups sliced okra(fresh is best, but can use frozen)

2 #2 cans petite diied tomato ( if you have fresh tomato, that is best)

2 tablespoons salt

1 teaspoon red pepper

black pepper to tasste

1 teaspoon basil

1 teaspoon thyme

2 bay leaves

1/2 cup chopped parseley

1 pound crabmeat, picked for shells

2 pounds small shrimp

Hot cooked rice

Gumbo file

Combine oil and flour in dutch oven over medium heat, cook stirring constantly until roux is the color of a dirty copper penny, about 10 to 15 minutes. You need to use medium heat and a wire wisk. Do not leave. Cooking roux in oven is okay,but not the same. Add onion, celery, bell pepper, and garlic to roux, cook stirring constantly, until vegetables are tender, do not let roux burn, reduce heat if needed. Gradually add water, a little at a time. Add okra and tomatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, stirring constanstantly. for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Add seafood and simmer 10 minutes. Serve over rice, add file to each bowl.

Thanks, Sherry! Yours is the seafood one I used in cobbling together my first try (the one in this thread). I didn't do the crabs--gumbo is supposed to be everybody food, and the crabs here are royalty priced. But you're the inspiration to try a little filé, which was the most missing piece.

Any other suggestions for making a good gumbo?

I like to use Alton Browns Roux recipe, its cooked in the oven, no stirring

Pillog, be sure to use the crab meat. I cannot afford live blue crabs (and they

would be hard to find here anyway), so I get the pasteurized jars from the seafood department at Publix or sometimes Walmart. You don't want the other crab that is the ones with the big legs, like king crab. I probably ought to try it with oysters. My grandmother never did, so I haven't.

I hear you! First I have to perfect it, though this first try was really good, and very satisfying to eat. But if I'm going to spend that much on crab, I'm not putting it in the stew pot! If I should come across crab, either whole or jarred, in an okay to eat price, I'll be sure to try.

I definitely understand replicating your grandmother's. I've said this before, I had to find a sort of recipe and learn to make cheese to my my great-aunt's blintzes right. Whereas, having no gumbo culture, I combined your recipe with another to make it work with what I had, and util y'all tell me it's all wrong, or not really gumbo, I'm gonna stick with the part where it tastes really good, is balanced and healthy, and is pleasantly filling. It may not bee as good and gumbo-y as the good stuff I've eaten, but I might get there eventually, but as is, even if it's not authentic, it's good eating. Many thanks for your contribution to the success!

No gumbo is wrong! Actually, they started as a way to feed a family if you only had a small amount of meat and/or fish. Only caught two crab and not enough shrimp to fry. Just make a gravy (roux), add the holy trinity (onion, bell pepper, and celery) and you are good to go. Which is probably the way all soups and stews started.

Sherry, your grandmas gumbo really looks like an authentic one!

But, the seafood needed for it is something that is best sourced locally, as your grandmother very likely did.

There was a time and a place when shrimps and crabs were abundant and were not the high priced luxury that they are for most of us now.

One thing that I really do like about your grandmothers recipe is that it does not call for chicken broth. That darned chicken broth turns up in so, so many modern recipies. Chicken broth just makes everything taste like chicken broth. Your grandma probably never really got in to the buying of canned broth to use in cooking like this. I find that this seems to have become a thing in the last 40 years, or so.

I scan all recipies, and when I see chicken broth listed, I just pass. Yes, I do buy it and I use it to make quick soups instead of buying canned soups. Used like this, it is understood that it will taste like chicken broth because that is the objective.

But, also the whole one cup of bacon drippings has got to add something essnetial and wonderful, as well. My mom, like many southern women, kept a pot of bacon grease but I never even buy bacon. Times have changed and I will bet that there are many fewer of those littel aluminun canisters full of bacon grease sitting on the counter.

One poster said they never likened it eating gravy, but the fact that there is that much fat/flour in the gumbo is the reason that I liken it to eating gravy. Gumbo is more than a soup and that addition of that much fat for that much roux is what makes it gumbo and not just soup. It really is a subset of gravy. It is made the same basic way as a thickened gravy. Thickening with a flour cooked in fat is a common culinary technique. Call it what anyone will.....white sauce in one case, gravy in another, or roux in a gumbo. All the same basic technique, same basic ingredients and the same basic objective.

Some culinary references draw a line between roux and a gravy by virtue of the fact that a roux uses butter or some kind of oil, whereas, gravy uses the fat from meats, such as bacon. If one were to allow that, a gumbo does become a kind of a gravy , by that definition. Gumbo follows no rules!!! Thank goodness, literally, real tasty goodness!

I found the following piece about gumbo and it make an interesting read. I had heard that the word "gumbo" was an African name for okra, which I believe was brought here from that part of the world. It is the same family as the Hibiscus.

This article mentions the gumbo z herbs , the greens gumbo, that I mentioned.

It also talks about the competitive nature of men cooks who probably are the same ones with over the top lawn grooming and those who think only they are man enough to do the grill cooking and seek the worship of others. Women just quietly do marvelous things all the time without the bravado. Thus, Sherry's grandmother and her gumbo . It may have been men on the shrimp boats and crab nets. but it was grandma who brought it all together in one big pot of gumbo.

Here is the link

https://www.southernfoodways.org/interview/a-short-history-of-gumbo/

Hubs and I moved to NewOrleans many years ago and other members of our family came there, married , raised families, and are still there after we have left New Orleans for the MidAlantic. Our siblings have anchored our family's branches securely into the fabric of New Orleans and southern Louisiana by marrying into families with deep roots down there.

My sister is one fabulous cook and she gets wild game to cook with too. She can even buy frozen possum down there. She did only once. It was awful! Seriously, they have an old family plantation property down there and one store in the small adjacent town sells both tires and frozen possum.

Have you ever tried Sol's? She was a cooking forum regular back in its heyday (at least triple the activity it has now). I love hers

https://memoriesinthebaking.blogspot.com/2010/03/gumbo-and-national-pig-day.html?m=1

Not yet. ;) It's one I'd saved. I'll try it next. This time was about the okta. :)

My gumbo always has seafood and always has okra. Lately I have found frozen okra at an Indian market that I really like, and it is every bit as good as fresh and easier to store. I buy frozen Mexican shrimp in bulk at Cárdenas Market, and in fact, I bought some yesterday However, I will not make gumbo during the heat of the summer.

I also add filé to my gumbo, along with the okra, and this is the way I like it.

I was taught (by Cajun friends) that when making the roux for gumbo, you should only use oil - not fat and especially not butter Supposedly this makes it easier to make a dark roux, which is an important part of the flavor.

I have several cookbooks from New Orleans, but they are in storage still at the moment, but I will post my gumbo recipe later - it is quite involved. I do like adding oysters to it.

Yes, I make gumbo at the start of fall and since I am the only one who eats it, one batch lasts me all winter. It freezes well, but I cook fresh rice. I do not freeze the gumbo with rice.

I do alternate, somethimes I use bacon drippings and sometimes vegetable oil. I have used half bacon and half oi, Never butter or margarine.

I add okra to Sol's. I soften frozen sliced okra with the aromatics.

Lately I have bought whole frozen okra, but sliced frozen okra is less work.

Here's the recipe that I use now - I have altered this recipe over the years to suit my taste:

• Seafood Gumbo
• 1-1/2 pounds okra, sliced into 1/4” thick pieces (fresh or frozen)
• 2 tbsp canola oil
• 2 cups chopped celery 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
• 4-5 large cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp grape seed oil (or canola)
• 8 cups water 4 tsp vegetable soup base (can use vegetable cubes)
• 2 tbsp clam or crab soup base, or to taste
• 1/3 cup grape seed (or canola or avocado) oil
• 1/3 cup flour 3-4 bay leaves
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (or 1 tbsp dried basil)
• 1-1/2 tsp chopped fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dried thyme)
• 4 tsp chopped fresh oregano (or 2 tsp dried oregano)
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley (do not substitute dried for this one)
• 4-6 Serrano (or Thai) chilies, seeds removed, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp filé powder 1 10 oz. can chopped tomatoes, drained
• 1-1/2 pounds King Crab legs (or 1 pound lump crab meat)
• 1 pound shrimp, shelled and de-veined
• 1/2 pound bay scallops or clam or oyster meat
• 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
• 4 cups cooked rice

Sauté the okra in a small amount of oil in an iron skillet for 8 minutes on high heat and then about 7 minutes more on medium heat, or until the stringiness is gone. Set aside. Note: Do not substitute olive oil in this recipe.

Sauté the celery, onions, bell pepper, and garlic in 2 tbsp oil until the onions are translucent. I usually start the celery first for a minute, and then I add the onions and bell pepper and sauté those for a couple of minutes and add the garlic last. This way the garlic will not burn and not turn bitter. I sauté with the garlic only about 1 minute. You can then store these on top of the okra.

In a large saucepan or stockpot, make a roux with the 1/3 cup grape seed (or canola) oil, and 1/3 cup flour. Cook the roux until it is a deep reddish brown—this will be just a few minutes past the “peanut butter” color stage. Add more oil, if needed. The roux should have the consistency of yogurt and be fairly easy to stir at this point so that you do not burn it. Add the tomatoes and cook until all liquid has been absorbed and the mixture is thickened into a paste. Add the filé, basil, oregano, and thyme and cook about 5 minutes more. It will be a very thick paste at this point, similar to a choux or puff paste. Add the water slowly, stirring constantly, and then add the bay leaves and bouillon. Stir until the bouillon has dissolved, and then add the sautéed vegetables, including the okra, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer covered for about 30 minutes. This is a good time to start making the rice.

Just before you are ready to serve, add the crab, shrimp, parsley, and scallops, and cook for 5 minutes more, or until the scallops are done. Check the seasoning, and add a dash of cayenne, Tabasco sauce, chili paste if it is not hot enough. It should be slightly salty, as the rice will require a bit of salt, but be careful not to overdo the salt—this will ruin the flavor. You can always add a tiny bit of salt at the table. If you are using pre-cooked shrimp, add them only at the time of serving, and store leftover shrimp separately. Serve in large, deep soup bowls over rice. You may want to offer Tabasco or chili paste for those who want more pepper flavor, but I don’t find this necessary. If you use Thai chili peppers, it will be hot enough. If you use milder peppers, you may have to increase the quantity.

When I make quantities that I expect to freeze, I always store the leftovers in individual containers of whatever amount I want to reheat at one time. Gumbo can be reheated once, but not twice.

Yield: 4 quarts, or 8 large (2 cup) servings, not including rice

Variations
Many people like to add chopped Andouille sausage to gumbo, but I reserve that for jambalaya. You can make your own fish stock in place of water and bouillon, but this dish is already enough work as it is. However, if you boil your own shrimp and crab, use the water that you boil them in for some of the water in this recipe. You can still intensify the flavor by adding the bouillon.

Yeah, I was generalizing about roux when I mentioned butter. I don't think it would taste right. The flour will toast, however. I've done that accidentally when making a sauce. Maybe it doesn't go darker than toasty?

Today, a friend and I had the last for lunch (after I put a couple of containers in the freezer to see how they'd do). Sherry, I took the seasoning from your recipe, though I used more herb and less salt. She loved it. For the "red pepper" I used a little less but of chipotle powder. My friend doesn't like "hot" but the chipotle warm more a back of the throat warmth, not the burn of a raw pepper My friend doesn't do "hot" but she chose it Then she told me about her Southern uncle's huge stockpots full of gumbo. But she liked what I served her a lot, and had seconds.

Then,, the true test for me. There as about half a cup left in the warming pot, which I put into a container, in the fridge. It made a nice little snack, later, cold from the fridge. In my book, you know it's good when it's good cold. :)

Lars, thank-you! I have your recipe. I've been collecting from a number of sources, including CF.

Generally at the beginning of football season, I make what I call ”gumbo base.” It is gumbo cooked completely but without the seafood. ETA: then I freeze it in quart containers.

When I want to serve gumbo, I thaw the base, get it hot, and at the last minute throw in the seafood. I use shrimp and crab. Sometimes it is lump crab and sometimes it is crab fingers. Holding off on adding the shrimp until the last minute keeps it from being chewy.

I make two rather different iterations of gumbo. One is seafood; the other is chicken and sausage. I prefer the seafood.

I hate to admit it, but I cannot make a roux. I’ve tried every trick in the book to no avail. I use roux mix. Don’t tell anyone. 🤫

Whatever gets the job done! We'll see what happens when I defrost the bit I froze. I was surprised at how well the shrimp did after soaking in the gumbo in the fridge and rewarming. It was a bit firm, but not rubbery or chewy, and still tasted good and shrimpy. That said, the gumbo base plan makes a lot of sense. Thanks!

From a new to me Justin Wilson cookbook. He uses much less oil to make his roux. I am going to try it next time.

Roux is very easy to make. It DOES take time. At least 20 minutes. I do not like roux made in the oven, in the microwave, or a mix. It is NOT bad, but it is not the best.

You need a wisk, and a big pan. You must cook slow and stir constantly.Never rush and let burn. You stir in a circle and in a figure eight.

You are making me hungry!

I have Sassafras trees and have made file from the dried leaves.

Darn you! 🤪 And thank you. I now have gumbo in the fridge and the freezer. Yum!