Chicken and Sausage Gumbo recipe and Smoked Turkey and Greens Gumbo recipe below. #foodfam #foodie #cajuncountry #recipe #recipes #RecipesoftheDay #cooking #comfortfood #ComfortandJoy #HolidaySeason #holidays
Raised in Cajun country, I learned that Sunday family time was centered around the TV screaming at Tom Landry’s Cowboys trying not to spill Maw Maw’s gumbo. I don’t believe my grandmother understood that yelling louder in Cajun French was not going to influence the outcome of the game. But maybe her roux could have been a real game-changer.
Roux is the base of many sauces, gravies, stews, and soups. Roux begins with equal parts of flour and fat, such as oil, butter, or shortening. Once the flour begins to darken and a pancake-batter consistency forms, you have your roux. The question is, how dark should I go?
The color of the roux is determined by what you are cooking. Cream and cheese sauces require a blonde roux as a thickener. If you are making a thick tomato sauce, go to a latte color. The next step darker would be caramel which is perfect for seafood. Milk chocolate is what I look for in cooking with poultry. And then the trickiest of them all, a dark chocolate color. The dark chocolate-colored roux is for smoked meats, game, and beefy dishes.
I cook my roux on medium-high heat. The color can change just beyond the level of richness you desire in a matter of seconds. It requires constant stirring so it won’t stick to the bottom of your pot or cook unevenly. If I am making a smoked meat gumbo, I go to a milk chocolate color and lower the heat until I achieve a dark chocolate color, stirring constantly for up to an hour.
The darkest roux can make the richest dish. However, it can burn very easily. This is why lowering the heat to get the perfect richness is crucial. Once the roux burns, throw it out. It will cause anything that touches it tastes burned as well.
If you are new to making a roux for gumbo, then try my chicken and sausage gumbo recipe. You will love the richness and it will get your confidence up for a dark roux day. If you are ready to tackle that dark roux, then try out my favorite gumbo. A Smoked Turkey and Greens Gumbo is a must-have during the holidays. Both recipes are below.
Thank you for reading. If you like this post please, subscribe to join me for more culinary adventures.
Chicken and Sausage Gumbo
⦁ 1 cup all-purpose flour
⦁ 1 cup peanut or canola oil
⦁ 1-gallon water
⦁ 1 tbsp. kosher salt
⦁ 1 whole fryer or 3-4 lbs. cut up chicken
⦁ 2 lb. Andouille sausage, sliced
⦁ 1 large yellow onion, diced
⦁ 1 large green bell pepper, diced
⦁ 1 bunch green onions, sliced and separated
⦁ 1 bay leaf
⦁ 1 ½ tsp. dried thyme
⦁ 1 ½ tsp. ground sage
⦁ 1 tsp. cayenne pepper or to taste
⦁ 1 tsp. black pepper or to taste
Boil chicken in 1-gallon water with 1 tbsp. kosher salt for 1 hour covered. Remove chicken and set aside to cool. While the chicken is boiling, start a roux in a separate pot. Heat oil for 1-2 minutes on medium-high heat. Gradually whisk in flour to prevent lumping. Continue stirring until the roux is a milk chocolate color. This will take 30 to 45 minutes. Gradually work in chicken stock from boiled chicken stirring constantly. Once all stock is added to the roux pot and the roux is completely dissolved, add in sausage, onion, bell pepper, the whites of the green onions, bay leaf, thyme, sage, cayenne, and black pepper. Reduce heat to medium-low and allow to simmer for 1 ½ hour. Skin and debone chicken. Cut into bite-size chunks. Add chicken to the gumbo pot until heated through. Remove gumbo from heat. Skim off the fat. Add remaining green onions. Serve over cooked white rice.
Smoked Turkey and Greens Gumbo
⦁ 10-13 pound smoked turkey
⦁ 2 cups dark roux, can be made or bought in the jar
⦁ 2 yellow onions, diced
⦁ 2 green bell peppers, diced
⦁ 3 stalks celery, chopped
⦁ 1 ½ bunches green onions chopped, greens and whites separated
⦁ 2 tbsp. kosher salt
⦁ 1 tbsp. black pepper
⦁ 2 tsp. cayenne pepper
⦁ 1 tsp. thyme
⦁ 1 pound mustard greens, cleaned, trimmed, and chopped
⦁ 1 pound collard greens, cleaned, trimmed, and chopped
Submerge turkey in a large stockpot just covering the turkey with water. Add 2 tbsp. salt. Bring to a boil and then simmer for one hour. Remove the turkey to cool. Reserve 4 cups of stock for rice dressing. Add roux to the remaining stock and stir while boiling until roux is completely dissolved to prevent the roux from burning on the bottom of your pot. Let this boil over medium-high heat for 40 minutes. Add the whites of green onions, yellow onions, celery, and bell pepper. Add black pepper, cayenne, and thyme. Boil 30 minutes more uncovered. Add mustard and collard greens for 30 minutes more. Remove skin and bones from the turkey meat and cut into bite-sized chunks. Add turkey and green onion bottoms to the gumbo and heat just to boiling. Remove from heat and serve over white rice or rice dressing.
Rice Dressing
⦁ Turkey neck, liver, and gizzards
⦁ 1 pound lean ground beef
⦁ 1 pound sage breakfast sausage
⦁ 1 tsp. salt
⦁ ½ tsp. black pepper
⦁ ½ tsp. cayenne pepper
⦁ 1 yellow onion, diced
⦁ 1 bell pepper, diced
⦁ 2 cloves garlic, minced
⦁ ½ bunch green onions, sliced thin
⦁ 2 cups rice
⦁ 4 cups turkey stock
⦁ 2 tsp. Tony Chachere’s Creole seasoning
Boil turkey neck, gizzards, and liver in 3-4 cups salted water for 30 minutes. Drain reserving 2 tbsp. stock and allow meats to cool. Remove meat from the neck. Combine neck meat, liver, gizzards, and the 2 tbsp. stock in the food processor. Pulse until smooth. In a large dutch oven, brown ground beef and sausage over medium-high heat. Do NOT drain. Add salt, black pepper, and cayenne to season. Stir to combine. Stir in the sweet meat mixture from the food processor. Add yellow onion and bell pepper and continue sautéing until onions become clear. Add garlic, rice, and green onions. Continue stirring for 3-5 minutes until all liquids are absorbed. Stir in turkey stock and bring to a boil. Top with Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning. Lower the heat to a simmer and place the lid on the pot. Simmer covered for 35 minutes. Remove pot from heat and let sit covered for 5-10 minutes. Remove lid and stir.
Comments