How to Make Gumbo
Southeastern Louisiana has as many different takes on how to make gumbo as it has gumbo pots. Any number of ingredients common to Cajun country -- shrimp, crab, oysters, chicken, pork, andouille sausage, peppers and okra -- find their way into this simmering stew seasoned to perfection and served over rice.New Orleans restaurants frequently offer their own "house" gumbo as an appetizer or entree selection. Why not develop your own signature version of this zesty regional dish? This recipe for Cajun seafood gumbo can be made with fresh or frozen shrimp, crab and okra.
Transcript
Hi, I'm Miranda, and today I'm gonna show you to
make Cajun seafood gumbo. You could add a little bit
of the value with some tingling spices over and secret
to you menu with this Cajun stew. I have our
ingredients all laid out here. So, let's get cooking. We're
gonna start with 12 ounces of fresh or frozen peeled
and deveined shrimp.
If you use frozen, be sure that is been thawed;
then we have 6 ounces of fresh or frozen crab
meat; again, if it's frozen, be sure it is thawed;
1/3 cup of all purpose flour; 1/4 cup of cooking
oil; 1/2 cup of chopped onion; 1/2 cup of red
bell pepper; 1/2 cup of green bell pepper; 4 cloves
of garlic minced; 1/4 teaspoon of salt; 1/4 teaspoon of
black pepper; 1/4 teaspoon of ground red pepper; 3 cups
of chicken broth heated;
1 14.5-ounce canned tomatoes, all cut up and drained; 1-1/2
cups of sliced okra or just 1 can/package of frozen
cut okra, again it's thawed; 2 bay leaves; 1/2 pint
of shucked oysters drained; and then 3 cups of rice.
I will make sure that this is nice and hot
before serving, but for now, it hasn't been cooked yet.
So we're gonna start by making roux, and it is
the backbone of Cajun cooking.
Essentially what it is, it's heated flour and oil. So,
I have this nice lid pot here. You can either
use a Dutch oven or something works like this and
I'm gonna put it on medium high and beginning with
the oil and the flour. So, I'm just gonna mix
these together, and I'm gonna let it cook on medium
high heat for about 5 minutes. Then, I'm gonna reduce
to medium heat, and let it cook for an additional
10 minutes
until it gets like light reddish brown and then my
roux will be done, we're ready to move on to
the next step. Alright, check out our roux. This is
the color that we're looking for. See how it has
nice reddish brown. Now, a quick note, if you don't
have cooking oil, you could also use butter. Roux is
just, you know, the flour with the fat and typically
oil is used, but totally use butter as well. It
is labor intensive. You wanna make sure that you're stirring
the whole time. It can burn really, really easily, but
this is the color that we're looking for. We have
achieved it,
so it is time to add in our vegetables. So,
we're gonna add in the onion and the sweet peppers,
the garlic, and our seasonings, so just pop those in
here, okay, perfect. Alright, now we're just gonna cook this
for like 3 to 5 minutes until crisp tender, until
the veggies are just crisp tender,
Just gain being sure to stir often. So we don't
get any burn happening here. Alright, so the veggies are
crisp tender and then just slowly pour in my hot
chicken broth here, right onto the pot, amazing. We're making
gumbo, and then my tomatoes, lovely,
and okra, and last but not the least those bay
leaves. Okay. Alright, so I've got all my ingredients in
here. I'm gonna bring this to boil and then reduce
the heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes before we
move on for our next Cajun gumbo cooking step. Alright,
so it's been 30 minutes, check out our gumbo, smell
fantastic. It's thickened. One of the last things to do
is add our all important seafood. So, we're just gonna
pop this right in
and then we're gonna let it simmer, cover it for
about 5 more minutes until the shrimp turn opaque and
oyster kind of crawl at the edges that's how we're
gonna know that they're nice and done. So, just give
this a lovely little stir. The guy smells so amazing.
As I always say, I was we had scratch and
sniff little video here. So, I'm just gonna cover this,
simmer for 5 more minutes and then we're for our
next step and then the all important one which is
our Cajun gumbo.
Alright, so check out our seafood gumbo. It looks fantastic.
So, I'm just gonna discard my bay leaves. It's like
a where's Waldo of bay leaves and then I've got
our cooked rice here, so I'm just gonna serve up
a nice scoop Cajun seafood gumbo. Now, if you're ready
to enjoy right away or if you have some leftovers,
you could freeze in an airtight containers for up to
2 months
so can enjoy Cajun seafood gumbo at almost any time
and there you go, now you know how to make
it.
What You'll Need
- 12 ounces fresh or frozen peeled and deveined shrimp
- 6 ounces fresh or frozen crabmeat
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup cooking oil
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 1/2 cup chopped red sweet pepper
- 1/2 cup chopped green sweet pepper
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
- 3 cups chicken broth, heated
- 1 14-1/2-ounce can tomatoes, cut up
- 1-1/2 cups sliced okra or one 10-ounce package frozen cut okra
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 pint shucked oysters, drained
- 3 cups hot cooked rice
Step By Step
1
Thaw shrimp and crab, if frozen. For roux, in a large heavy saucepan or Dutch oven combine flour and oil until smooth. Cook over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium. Cook and stir about 10 minutes more or until roux is light reddish brown.
2
Stir in onion, red sweet pepper, green sweet pepper, garlic, salt, black pepper, and ground red pepper. Cook over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes or until vegetables are just crisp-tender, stirring often.
3
Gradually stir in hot chicken broth. Stir in undrained tomatoes, okra, and bay leaves. Bring to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.
4
Stir in shrimp, crabmeat, and oysters. Simmer, covered, about 5 minutes more or until shrimp turn opaque and oysters curl around the edges. Discard bay leaves. Serve in bowls with rice. Makes 6 servings.
You don't have to live in Cajun country to serve up authentic Louisiana dishes; you just have to know how to make gumbo. And that's a culinary skill that's well worth mastering. Then crank the Zydeco and Laissez les bons temps rouler! That's Cajun French for "Let the good times roll!"
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