Gumbo!

One of the things I miss about New Orleans is the food. I recently decided to try my hand at gumbo and I settled on a recipe that I liked so I thought to share it with you here. It starts with a 6.5 quart crock pot.

What you will need:

1 1/2 lbs. Bacon (preferably thick cut)
12 oz. Andouille Sausage
2 lbs. Crawfish or Shrimp tails peeled and deveined
1 & 1/4 white onion
1 small bunch of scallions (About 8 to a bundle)
3 Medium Potatoes
2 Large Jalapenos (fresh)
2 Habanero Peppers
1 lb. can of diced Tomatoes
1 lb. Chicken Broth (cartons come in 2 lbs packages, half of one of those)
1/4 cup White Vinegar
1/4 cup Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 lbs. ~ 3/4 lbs Okra
16 cloves of garlic (I buy them pre-peeled in a tub)
2 oz. Louisiana Hot Sauce
1 oz. Tabasco Sauce
1/8 cup Andy Roo's Creole Gumbo Seasoning
1 Tablespoon Slap Ya Mama Hot Blend
1/8 cup Cayenne Pepper
~1 cup Flour
1/8 cup Basil (dry)
1/8 cup Oregano (dry)
2 tablespoons fresh chopped Cilantro (dry)
Water (Will get the amount later)

For the rice:

2 cups Rice
4 cups water
6 Cloves of Garlic
1 Vegetable Bullion or broth/soup base
Butter

Start by pouring half of the carton (1 lb.) of chicken broth in to the crock pot and add the rest of the wet ingredients except for the water (vinegar, Worcestershire, hot sauce, and Tabasco sauce). The can of tomatoes will need to be drained than add the entire can to the mix. Add all of the dry ingredients except for the flour (cayenne pepper, basil, oregano, Slap ya Mama, Gumbo seasoning, and cilantro) and stir till mixed than set the crock pot on high while preparing the fresh ingredients. Keep the lid off as you will be adding the ingredients as you prepare them.

Potatoes should be cut to bite size, onion to be quartered than sliced ~2mm wide than rough chopped. Cut the ends off of the okra and dispose, than chop the okra 5~7mm wide rings. Scallion should be sliced to about 3mm wide wings, garlic should be crushed with the flat of chef's knife than roughly minced. Halve the sausage than cut 5~7mm wide. Crawfish or shrimp tail (whichever is available to you) will ideally already be peeled and deveined but if not, this is the time to do it. Jalapenos and Habaneros should be roughly minced and keep the seeds in. Place the lid on the crock pot and time to cook some bacon.

Cook the bacon only till it produces grease (cook but keep soft). Go through the entire 1 1/2 lbs. and you will be saving the bacon grease in to a pyrex measuring cup between each batch to minimize contaminants in the grease as well to take care not to burn it. Once you cook through it all, slice the bacon to 2~3mm wide pieces and add to the gumbo mix. Add hot water to the gumbo mix to fill up the crock pot until it is nearly full at this point and than replace the lid. The bacon should have produced a little bit over a cup's worth which you will need to strain in to a clean pan set to low heat. Once the bacon grease is warmed, slowly add the nearly cup's worth of flour by slowly stirring it in to create the roux which will be added to the gumbo later. The flour to oil ratio is nearly one to one, you will need to continue to stir in flour until you get a putty like texture. Add the roux to the gumbo once it is hot by stirring it in slowly.

With all the ingredients added, let it cook for three hours or until done. While this is going, prepare some rice. Melt the vegetable bullion in to 4 cups of water and combine with rice in a rice cooker and let cook. Once the rice finish, add butter and stir to your liking. When the gumbo finishes, heap some rice into a bowl and add gumbo and enjoy.