Chicken & Sausage Gumbo is a Louisiana tradition. When I moved to Louisiana I decided to master it! I had never heard of Gumbo until right before my first trip to Louisiana. My housemate’s boyfriend told me he had heard about it and I needed to try it. Although he did say he had no idea what it actually was. I guess I was the guinea pig.
Girl meets Gumbo!
So, on my first trip, Ken introduced me to Gumbo. To me it is a cross between a stew and a soup and as to what the traditional recipe is well that varies from kitchen to kitchen. Some say it’s traditional to add tomatoes, some say it’s a huge no-no. As to the meat well it can be anything that a Cajun can think of. Which is actually a scary thought based on living there for 10 years.
My first attempt!
At the end of my first trip to Louisiana, my mother in law gave me a gumbo mix pack and tin of Rotel tomatoes to take back to Northern Ireland to make Gumbo. I am really good at following recipes but I’m horrible at mixes, adding water seems to be beyond me! I was so excited to make this taste of Louisiana back home in Northern Ireland.
Well, the mix was for a huge pot and back then I didn’t own a measuring cup never mind knew what to do with one. So I add a bit of mix and a bit of water. Needless to say, the concentration was off and well let’s just say we couldn’t eat it and had some unhappy stomachs for a day or so.
Mastering Chicken & Sausage Gumbo!
After I got married, a few months later, I was on a mission to learn to make Gumbo from scratch because well the mix and I weren’t getting on too well. I found a recipe and added my spin and now I use the same base and just switch between seafood or chicken and sausage. I add okra to mine as it helps thicken the gumbo.
Yes, I do make the roux from scratch although I don’t always stand there for 45 minutes to get a dark chocolate roux. I don’t like burning my roux so I have a habit of stopping at a dark peanut butter color. Sauteing the vegetables in the roux adds their flavor throughout the entire gumbo.
Gumbo freezes really well. In the past, I have made a massive pot and frozen enough for 4 or 5 meals. It’s also great if you are cooking for a large group of people. As a Christmas/Thanksgiving Turkey leftover dish just switch out the chicken for the turkey!
Needless to say, this recipe is a huge improvement from my first experience of making it!
Happy Home Cooking!!!
Chicken & Sausage Gumbo
Ingredients
- 1.5 lb Sausage cut into 1/4 inch slices
- 1 whole Chicken
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup onion finely chopped
- 1/2 cup green bell pepper finely chopped
- 1/2 cup celery finely chopped
- 2 quarts chicken broth
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 cup okra
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tsp Cajun Seasoning
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 1/2 – 1 tsp hot sauce
- 1/2 cup sliced green onions
Instructions
- Boil chicken in pot with Tony's Seasoning until cooked. Strip chicken meat and set aside.
- Add olive oil to Dutch Oven. Heat over medium heat until hot.
- Add flour to hot oil; cook, stirring constantly, until roux is the color of chocolate (about 30 minutes).
- Add onion, green bell pepper, garlic, and celery; cook until vegetables are tender, stirring often.
- Stir in chicken broth; bring to a boil.
- Add sausage in large chunks.
- Add okra, bay leaves, Cajun seasoning, thyme, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce.
- Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 1.5 hours.
- Remove sausage from pot and cut into chunks. Return to the pot.
- Stir in green onions and chicken; cook, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Add salt, if desired.
- Remove bay leaves; serve gumbo over rice.
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