BAYOU CHICKEN & SAUSAGE GUMBO

BAYOU CHICKEN & SAUSAGE GUMBO

There are many variations of gumbo, and this is a version of the New Orleans tradition.

Serves 8 | PREP TIME: 25 minutes. COOK TIME: 2 hours.

Ingredients

1 chicken, cut into 8 pieces
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp seasoned salt
½ tsp white pepper
½ cup canola oil
½ cup flour
1 large onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 lb Andouille sausage, cut into ½ inchchunks
5 cloves of garlic, smashed
½ tsp thyme
½ tsp salt
64 oz chicken stock
1 cup long grain white rice
1 cup frozen okra, thawed
½ tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste
1 tsp filé powder

Cooking Instructions

Mix the paprika, seasoned salt and white pepper, and sprinkle liberally over the chicken. Warm the oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken in the hot oil, about 4 minutes per side. Remove and set aside. Lower heat to medium low and add the flour. Stir constantly with a wooden spatula to avoid burning for 15-20 minutes until a light caramel color is achieved; this is
the roux that thickens the gumbo.

Add the onion, pepper and celery, and cook until translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the sausage, garlic, thyme and salt, and cook for two minutes, stirring constantly. Add the reserved chicken pieces along with the chicken stock and bring the gumbo to a boil. Then turn the heat to medium low and simmer the gumbo for one hour.

After an hour, remove the chicken, allow to cool and pull the meat from the bones. Add the rice directly to the pot and simmer until the rice is tender, about 20 – 25 minutes. Stir in the pulled chicken, the okra and the cayenne pepper to taste and cook for another 15 minutes to allow the flavors to develop.

Remove from the heat and stir in the filé powder. Serve in deep bowls garnished with scallions.

Chef’s Note:
There is ‘creole’ gumbo and then there’s ‘cajun’ gumbo. Creole is theNew Orleans French-Quarter style seafood gumbo, while Cajungumbo uses more fowl and game meats, along with more peppers and heat. Filé powder is made from sassafras leaves and give gumbo its distinctive flavor. In this recipe, we cut the normal amount of okra and add only a touch of filé powder right at the end of cooking so that you can taste it but it’s not overpowering.

This delicious recipe is taken from our cookbook of the month ‘The Ultimate Soup Cookbook’ By Dru Melton, Jamie Taerbaum. Visit our giveaway for a chance to win a copy.