A good gumbo recipe is a great thing for every home cook to have in their arsenal. Gumbo is a comforting stew which originates from the Southern US. It can be made with a variety of meat and seafood but almost always involves, rice, okra, and a dark roux. Making this chicken gumbo can introduce you to new techniques and ingredients.
First, you will need to make a nice dark roux, which gives gumbo it’s nutty flavour. A roux is just melted butter and flour cooked together, which thickens and enriches soups and sauces. Usually in French cooking it is stirred until just golden, but for gumbo recipes you need to get it to a nice chocolatey brown.
Next, to make this chicken gumbo recipe you will need to teach your family to love okra. Okra is a green vegetable with a unique texture, it’s gumminess will dissolve into the stew and help to thicken it. If you haven’t ever eaten okra try roasting it, it’s delicious and will let you taste it on it’s own. There is also another okra recipe coming up later this week so buy double!
(serves 4-6)
6 chicken drumsticks, or equivalent bone in chicken
6 cups cold water
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 onion, chopped
1 cup chopped bell peppers (a mixture of red and green is nice)
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 andouille sausage, chopped
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 bay leaf
1/3 cup rice
1 1/2 cups chopped okra
salt and freshly ground pepper
Remove the skin from the chicken and discard it. Place chicken in a big saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring a big pot of water to a simmer. Add chicken and turn down to poaching temperature (just less than a simmer). Poach chicken for 45 minutes, skimming the surface if any foam or skum appears. Remove the chicken from the liquid, shred the flesh and reserve. Strain the broth and set it aside.
In a heavy bottom pot melt the butter over medium low heat. Stir in the flour, and cook stirring regularly until it is a deep brown colour – about 6 minutes. Add the onions, pepper, celery and sausage along with a big pinch of salt and the cayenne. Cook, stirring regularly until onion is soft, this should take about 5 minutes. Slowly stir in the broth. Add the bay, okra, and rice and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 40 minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Eat hot!
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My kind of comfort dish for a rainy day like today!