Chicken & Sausage Gumbo

Who'd have thought it would take three months for a girl from Baton Rouge to post GUMBO on her soup blog?? I'm embarrassed it's taken so long, but here it is! Finally!

My plan was to feature Seafood Gumbo at the end of December because we have it every year at my mom's house for Christmas dinner. And every time I go home I have to eat at The Chimes--I think they have the best Seafood Gumbo in town, besides mom's of course!

But let's face it, seafood is expensive, especially up here in DC, away from the Gulf Coast where shrimp are jumping around like water on a pancake griddle! My wallet just won't let me make it this week, but I've made my second favorite gumbo of all time: It's Chicken and Sausage Gumbo!

Interested in delving a little further into the history of gumbo? Check here for more detailed information. I love Chuck Taggart's site called the gumbo pages. He's got a wealth of excellent information plus it's fun to read!

Most Louisiana recipes begin like this: "First you make a roux..." For gumbo, I like to make a dark roux. And you can't burn it or else you'll have to start over! This is the foundation for the gumbo so take your time! Like my mom says, you've got to keep stirring it and bring it to the point where it's almost about to burn, then it's just about perfect. About the color of dark milk chocolate. Or coffee with a touch of cream. Speaking of stirring, I got a roux spoon last year for Christmas! It's squared off on the edges so you can get to the roux in the sloped curves of your pot! Check out my spoon and note the evolution of my roux in the photos to the left.

I promise you'll love it! Special thanks to Jennifer at Weekly Dish for the inspiration!

Chicken and Sausage Gumbo
Serves 8 (at least)

1 small chicken, quartered and seasoned with salt and pepper
1 lb andouille or any smoked sausage (I used turkey sausage!) sliced

1 cup flour
1 cup vegetable oil

2 medium yellow onions, medium dice
2 bell peppers, medium dice
4 stalks celery, medium dice
6 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (careful!)
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried parsley
2 bay leaves
Salt and pepper

1 1/2 quarts water
2 chicken bouillon cubes
OR chicken stock
4 Tbsp hot sauce (I love Crystal!)
4 green onions, thinly sliced

Boiled White Rice, about 1/2 cup per person

1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and sear the chicken in vegetable oil until golden brown, about 8 minutes total. Remove the chicken from the pot. Brown the sausage the same way and remove.

2. Add flour, stirring constantly over medium heat with a wooden spoon until the roux is the color of dark milk chocolate. Scrape the sides and the bottom frequently, because it will burn easily! The roux should take about 20 minutes total. If you burn it, there's no way around it. You must start over!! This is the hardest part!

3. Once you've got the roux chocolate brown, add all the vegetables and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the herbs and spices and season with more salt and pepper. Slowly add the water and crumbled bouillion cubes (or chicken stock) while stirring constantly to avoid lumps.

4. Add the chicken and sausage and bring to a boil, then simmer for about 2 hours, skimming away any excess fat that rises to the top of the gumbo. When the meat is falling off the bones, remove the skin and bones from the pot and make sure the chicken is broken up into smaller pieces. If you like your gumbo thicker, just let it simmer a while longer to let it reduce a bit.

5. Stir in the sliced green onions and serve over boiled white rice. I like less rice, more broth and sometimes I like no rice! It's up to you!

6. Serve with hot sauce, Tony Chachere's cajun seasoning, and file powder.