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Gumbo with shrimp, chicken and sausage
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Gumbo Recipe: How to Make Gumbo with Shrimp, Chicken and Sausage

Gumbo is a Louisiana stew made of seafood such as shellfish (shrimp), vegetables and/or meat (such as chicken and sausages) and cooked with stock which is thickened with a dark roux. It is usually served over boiled white rice.
Course stew
Cuisine Cajun, Creole, Louisiana
Keyword Gumbo, Gumbo Recipe, Gumbo with Chicken and Sausage, How to Make Gumbo, Seafood Gumbo
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 2 hours
Servings 10 people
Calories 136kcal
Author Razi Brown

Ingredients

  • 1 whole chicken
  • 4 pieces Andouille Sausages - or any smoked sausages.
  • 1¼ cup Shrimp (as seafood)
  • 1 cup chopped Celery
  • 1 cup chopped Onion
  • 1 cup chopped Green Bell Pepper
  • 3 cloves Garlic - minced
  • 3 cloves Garlic - roughly chopped.
  • 1¼ tsp Gumbo file (filé powder)
  • 1¼ tsp Salt
  • 1 tsp Onion powder
  • 3 pieces Bay leaves
  • 1 cup Vegetable oil - butter or lard can be used for making the roux.
  • 1 cup All-purpose Flour
  • 3 cubes Chicken Bouillon
  • 1 whole small roughly chopped Onion
  • ½ tsp dried thyme
  • 1¼ tsp Black pepper powder
  • 1 handful chopped Scallion
  • 1 piece roughly chopped Celery stick

Instructions

 Cooking and Shredding the chicken

  • Place a large pot on the stovetop; add the chicken pieces into the pot.
  • Pour about 6 cups of water to cover the chicken parts.
  • Season the chicken with a teaspoon of salt, 2 chicken bouillon cubes, 3 crushed garlic cloves, 1 small roughly chopped onion, 1/2 tsp of dried thyme, 1 tsp of black pepper powder, 1 bay leaf, and 1 roughly chopped celery stick.
  • Cover and cook the chicken for 30 minutes. Remove the chicken after 30 minutes and allow it to cool down. Keep the chicken stock aside, you will need it later.
  • When the chicken has cooled down, shred it into smaller pieces and keep it aside. If you have roasted chicken or already cooked chicken, you can skip the process.

Making the Roux for Gumbo

  • Place a large pot on the stovetop, add 1 cup of vegetable oil
  • When the oil is heated, add 1 cup of flour and stir continuously until you have a dark color. This should take about 35 minutes.

Making Gumbo Base

  • Once the roux for gumbo has been made; add the Holy Trinity, which consists of 1 cup each of chopped green bell pepper, celery, and onions. Stir and cook until the vegetables are soft.
  • Add the minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
  • Next, add 6 cups of the chicken broth you extracted from cooking the chicken and stir everything to dissolve the dark gumbo roux.
  • Now, season the gumbo stew with 1 tsp of onion powder, 1 tsp of smoked paprika, 1 tsp of thyme, 1/2 tsp of garlic powder, 1/2 tsp of salt, 1/2 tsp of black pepper, 1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper, and 1 tbsp of cajun seasoning. Stir everything to combine.
  • Add 2 bay leaves, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes for the flavor to develop.
  • As the stew is cooking, place a pan on the stovetop, add 1 tbsp of oil, allow the oil to heat up, and then add the sliced andouille sausages.
  • Fry the sausages on both sides until they are brown. Remove from pan and set aside.
  • Add 1 tbsp of oil to the same pan and go in with the sliced okra. Stir fry the okra on both sides for about 3 minutes until they are a bit brown to reduce their sliminess. Remove and keep aside.
  • Return to the simmering gumbo stew; add the shredded chicken, fried sausages, and stir-fried okra. Stir to combine.
  • You can taste salt and pepper. In mine, I had to add 1/2 tsp of bouillon cube and 1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper again. Stir, cover, and bring to a boil for 30 minutes.
  • After 30 minutes, add 1 and 1/4 cup of fresh shrimp and 1 and 1/4 tsp of gumbo file; also, add a handful of chopped scallion.
  • Stir to combine and cook for 10 minutes on low heat.
  • After 10 minutes, your Homemade Gumbo is ready, take out the bay leaves and turn off the heat. You can serve it over boiled rice.

Video

Notes

  1. The use of okra in gumbo recipes is becoming less popular because it is not palatable.
  2. The use of roux for gumbo has become increasingly popular compared to other forms of thickeners such as okra and filé powder. While making the roux for gumbo, butter is commonly used in modern recipes but lard was traditionally used. In this recipe, vegetable oil was used; it all depends on the flavor you want to add to your gumbo recipe.
  3. The addition of filé powder should be towards the end of the cooking process to prevent the gumbo from having a fibrous or mucilaginous texture.