Gumbo

In honor up my upcoming trip to New Orleans, I helped my friend cook some gumbo. I was definitely the sous chef on this one.  He has made gumbo many times, and it was cool to get a hands-on tutorial.  Sadly, I don't have the pictures to back it up. So I'll do my best to describe the steps.

It all started with bacon fat. Yup, you heard me: bacon fat. It was my main job to make the roux, which is the base for the entire dish. I let the fat melt down and then added an equal amount of flour. My friend is a perfectionist; so he actually weighed it out. Then I kept stirring, and stirring, and stirring some more until it was a rich amber.

My next job was to peel & devein about a pound of frozen shrimp. This wasn't the most glamorous job -- but such is the life of a sous chef at times. My fingers were killing me at the end of it.

Next up I sliced a large Andouille sausage into 1/4" rounds.  I suppose you could use keilbasa or Polish sausage also. But the name "Andouille" just screams Bayou cooking to me.

My next job was to slice up a bunch of bell peppers. Remove the seeds & ribs from the peppers first.

What happened next was really funny.  My friend took the time to dice celery and onion to go with the bell peppers I just cut. This is the Creole holy trinity of aromatic vegetables that is the base for gumbo, jambalaya, and etouffee.  But then he put them all into a food processor. I asked, "why did you bother to dice them if they're going into a food processor?" ... then a light went off in his head, and he was like, "Oh. I guess I didn't need to."

He sauteed down the aromatics with garlic and the sausage. Then he added all of that to a big stock pot and added a bunch of stock (I'm pretty sure it was chicken, but you can also use beef) and water.  He seasoned it pretty liberally with Creole seasoning, bay leaves, cayenne pepper, and thyme.  Salt & pepper to taste.

Then we used that sticky, and often-disliked, pod called okra.  He sliced it and cooked it down in a saute pan until it got "really stringy".  That sticky goo in the middle really starts making it look like something from a Pod People movie.  But I must say, I finally liked okra when I ate the finished dish.

Stir everything together in a big stock pot and let the flavors simmer and bubble together for a while. Serve it over some white rice and you've got yourself a little taste of New Orleans right at home.  He says you can freeze it and keep it for months at a time.  I have half of mine in the freezer for some time this winter when I want to reminisce.