I have a thing for gumbo. A thing for cajun really. It was trendy for a while. But I liked it before it was trendy and I like it now. Anything from the American southwest really. I like it all. It’s great regional cooking. And it’s spicy. Nothing not to love. There’s a couple different approaches to gumbo. And the line is blurry. One is a more soupy dish. Thickened with okra. Maybe some file powder. More of an appetizer. Tasty stuff. The other is roux based. It’s richer. The flavours are more complex. Flashier. Main course territory. This is that gumbo.
Roux makes or breaks this gumbo
The roux is the heart of this gumbo. You have to get it right. And it takes time. Constant attention. Plan on standing over a pot stirring for half an hour. Make yourself a drink. Turn on the television. It’s a grind. But it has to be done. I like roux the colour of peanut butter. Some recipes call for a dark chocolate roux. I find that adds a hint of bitter. I don’t like that in my gumbo. You may. If you do it’s just a matter of cooking the roux longer. Roux is just fat and flour cooked together. The fat can be oil, lard, bacon fat or butter. Each has its place. Oil doesn’t really add any flavour of it’s own. Pork lard adds some complexity. Bacon fat is in your face smoky. Butter is rich. Depends what you are looking for. I use oil or lard. I find bacon fat overpowering. Butter can be a challenge because butter has more than just fat in it. Same as cooking with oil vs. butter generally. Butter can burn easily. But if you pay attention I bet you can do it. Just be careful. Don’t go crazy with high heat. No matter what fat you go with it’s all about whisking constantly. Heat the fat until it shimmers. Add the flour in a few batches. Whisk. Constantly. Regulate your heat so it doesn’t burn. Because if it does, you start again. And that just sucks. You do have to push it a bit though. If you just go with low heat you will be there for about a year. Medium low. That’s safe. But still pretty slow. Medium is high risk territory. On my stove at least.
Pre-cook your shrimp
Shrimp is a tricky thing. It goes from cooked properly to rubbery and overdone quickly. I tend to pre-cook my shrimp whenever I can. Then I can just add it in to warm through when I serve. Takes the stress out of it. Let’s you nail it every time. It’s an extra step but it’s easy. Peel the shrimp. Use the shells to make a quick 20 minute shrimp stock. Cook the shrimp. Plunge them into an ice bath to stop the cooking. This technique gets you steakhouse perfect shrimp cocktail. If you’ve ever wanted to make shrimp cocktail with real wow this is how. You need to add a bit more flavour into the stock but other than that it’s the same. And make your cocktail sauce from scratch. So easy. And so good.
Make the gumbo what you like
This is fully loaded gumbo. Everything in it. Just because. But you don’t have to follow this exactly. Want chicken and sausage? Leave out the shrimp. Don’t feel like chicken. Go with sausage and shrimp. It’s all good. Doesn’t really matter. It works any way you want. Some purists will say dark roux with seafood. Light roux with dark meat. The roux in this gumbo is right in the middle. So it works with everything. No matter what, you need the holy trinity of cajun cooking. Onion, green bell pepper and celery. I’ve always thought garlic was the fourth ingredient but it just doesn’t sound as good. The holy quaternity just doesn’t roll off the tongue… A lot of gumbo recipes are really light on the seasoning. Salt, pepper and maybe a bit of cayenne. I’m going back to Paul Prudhomme style gumbo here. And that means more spice. But when is glebekitchen not about more spice? Doesn’t matter what combo you go with this is good gumbo. Bon appetit, cher. Laissez les bons temps rouler!
