Seafood & Sausage Gumbo
Not satisfied with the taste or the proportions of various seafood gumbos, I created my own. With the freshness of The Spice House spices and local seafood, how could it be anything but delicious!
Submitted by: Mike from Glen Burnie, MD
Yield: 4 to 6 as a meal, 6 to 10 as a smaller course
Preparation Instructions:
- Clean and prep seafood.
- Prepare roux in large heavy saucepan by stirring butter and flour constantly for 5 minutes on medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and continue stirring for 10 minutes, or until the roux is reddish brown. The darker the roux = more creole vs. cajun (lighter).
- Stir in bell pepper, garlic, onions, celery, salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes until crisp, but tender. Stir often.
- Gradually!! stir in chicken stock. Blend it into the roux and vegetables. Add can of tomatoes, okra, and all the remaining spices but the filé. Bring to boil. Reduce heat, add the andouille, into the pot, already cut into slices, and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.
Now would be a good time to start rice according to directions. - Stir in seafood. Simmer for 5 minutes more until scallops and shrimp are opaque and firm. Stir in filé powder and discard bay leaves.
- Serve in bowls with a scoop of rice on top.
thespicehouse.com
More About This Recipe
• Use fresh seafood. • Take your time on the roux. It is the base that all your flavors layer on. • You can use substantially more black or red pepper and thyme. • Filé powder adds that certain authenticity and helps thicken the gumbo. Also makes a great garnish on top of the rice in the bowls.
Ok basic recipe, but being a local from South Louisiana, chicken stock does not belong in a seafood gumbo, it belongs in a chicken & sausage gumbo. Make a simple seafood stock using shrimp heads and crab shells or small gumbo crab pieces. Some put diced tomatoes in gumbo’s but typically not done in the gumbo’s made at home or restaurants in this area. You can use butter or vegetable oil to make the roux-it is a matter of taste and I have seen one chef at least that does a combo of both. Good Andouille is hard to find outside of the state.( https://www.bourgeoismeatmarket.com/ or https://www.cajunsausage.com/ are two of the best and most consistent I have found.) My two cents worth. Steve
PS-been using the gateway to the north on my smoked pork-really good with a sprinkle of ground fennel added for an extra flavor kick.
First time making this and it was really good. I’ll definitely make this again. The powdered sassafras makes this dish. Not to be skipped.
Excellent flavor. Made it for Sunday dinner and will make it again. Used more thyme and red pepper as suggested and added chopped carrots for more vegetables.
Original submitter here.
If you were using chicken breast type pieces, you could brown them during the veggie phase, or simply cook them from the beginning in the broth. They’d be done before the end.
Or better yet, use a whole chicken and make your broth from scratch. If the chicken meat is pre-cooked, you can add it at the end to warm up.
What if I wanted chicken instead of scallops?