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Gumbo - Recipes, Tips & Discussion

Gumbo - Recipes, Tips & Discussion
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  • Post #91 - September 9th, 2015, 8:54 pm
    Post #91 - September 9th, 2015, 8:54 pm Post #91 - September 9th, 2015, 8:54 pm
    Ah, good to know. Thanks, Dave.
    "Your swimming suit matches your eyes, you hold your nose before diving, loving you has made me bananas!"
  • Post #92 - September 11th, 2015, 8:59 am
    Post #92 - September 11th, 2015, 8:59 am Post #92 - September 11th, 2015, 8:59 am
    I read this thread with interest but noted: In all these recipes and descriptions, where is the file' or okra? I thought always one or the other should be used. I think a gumbo looks well dressed if there are a few okra pieces swimming around.
  • Post #93 - September 11th, 2015, 9:06 am
    Post #93 - September 11th, 2015, 9:06 am Post #93 - September 11th, 2015, 9:06 am
    Joy wrote:I read this thread with interest but noted: In all these recipes and descriptions, where is the file' or okra? I thought always one or the other should be used. I think a gumbo looks well dressed if there are a few okra pieces swimming around.


    i dunno,

    I took a quick glance through the 4 pages and saw quite a few pictures of bowls with okra, prepped okra and mentions of file.
  • Post #94 - September 11th, 2015, 11:27 am
    Post #94 - September 11th, 2015, 11:27 am Post #94 - September 11th, 2015, 11:27 am
    There is some great info here about the history of gumbo and while okra or file' are traditional, there are certainly recipes that utilize only roux for thickening. Okra is a seasonal vegetable and one not grown much outside the south (though I grow it most years in my garden--gorgeous blooms!!!) and file' isn't something in everyone's kitchen. Neither are absolutely required to make gumbo though the versions that include either of them may taste more like what someone from the south is used to. It's actually tomatoes that are the truly "controversial" ingredient apparently :D
    Last edited by boudreaulicious on September 11th, 2015, 2:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
    "Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad." Miles Kington
  • Post #95 - September 11th, 2015, 12:08 pm
    Post #95 - September 11th, 2015, 12:08 pm Post #95 - September 11th, 2015, 12:08 pm
    Tomatoes can gtfo of my gumbo pot
  • Post #96 - September 11th, 2015, 12:15 pm
    Post #96 - September 11th, 2015, 12:15 pm Post #96 - September 11th, 2015, 12:15 pm
    I used a pound of frozen sliced okra in the gumbo I made the other day. I have put diced tomatoes in gumbo sometimes in past, but more often I don't add tomato.
    "Your swimming suit matches your eyes, you hold your nose before diving, loving you has made me bananas!"
  • Post #97 - April 3rd, 2016, 6:39 am
    Post #97 - April 3rd, 2016, 6:39 am Post #97 - April 3rd, 2016, 6:39 am
    After continued disappointment from locally available supplies, i took BR's advice, bit the bullet and splurged for a stash of proper andouille. I won't be going back.

    I dialed the darkness of the roux back just a little and think this is about as good as it gets

    Image
  • Post #98 - April 3rd, 2016, 7:42 am
    Post #98 - April 3rd, 2016, 7:42 am Post #98 - April 3rd, 2016, 7:42 am
    I have found only two places for decent Andouille. Rehm's in Elburn, and Karl's Country Market in Milwaukee. I only use those. I do think that too much emphasis is on color. I use a more blonde roux, as my mother did and my gumbo is much better than any of that dark stuff that I have tried in numerous Cajun/creole restaurants. Flat out much better. Color does not make taste. I never order is out any more due to the inferiority to my own.
  • Post #99 - April 3rd, 2016, 8:17 am
    Post #99 - April 3rd, 2016, 8:17 am Post #99 - April 3rd, 2016, 8:17 am
    AlekH wrote:
    I dialed the darkness of the roux back just a little and think this is about as good as it gets

    Image


    Top notch Alek,

    I have some Wayne Jacobs sausage in the fridge ready for a batch of gumbo next weekend, hope I can turn out a bowl that looks like that.
  • Post #100 - April 4th, 2016, 5:59 am
    Post #100 - April 4th, 2016, 5:59 am Post #100 - April 4th, 2016, 5:59 am
    Puckjam wrote:I have found only two places for decent Andouille. Rehm's in Elburn, and Karl's Country Market in Milwaukee. I only use those. I do think that too much emphasis is on color. I use a more blonde roux, as my mother did and my gumbo is much better than any of that dark stuff that I have tried in numerous Cajun/creole restaurants. Flat out much better. Color does not make taste. I never order is out any more due to the inferiority to my own.

    I like Ream's andouille just fine for eating alone as a sausage, but I prefer a chunkier, fattier, smokier product for my gumbo - personal preference. As far as personal preferences go, the same can be said for roux. Some folks prefer a lighter roux or even less of it in their gumbo, and that's just fine by me. But again, that's a preference and obviously a darker roux adds a totally different flavor than a lighter roux. You may not like it, but so be it. Me, I prefer a dark roux for my gumbo.

    And Alek, if you're going to thank me, you could at least do it in person . . . and with some of that damn gumbo to try!!! :)
  • Post #101 - January 8th, 2017, 12:46 pm
    Post #101 - January 8th, 2017, 12:46 pm Post #101 - January 8th, 2017, 12:46 pm
    I made a batch of shrimp/chicken/sausage/okra gumbo a few days ago. I followed a John Besh recipe to the letter (including both the quantity of liquid and the simmering time), and when it was done, I was disappointed with how watery it was--nowhere near clinging to the meat and vegetables like you see in so many gumbo pictures.

    After a night in the fridge, it was somewhat thicker, which I attribute to the effects of the okra and the chicken collagen (I broke down a whole rotisserie chicken and put in everything but the breast meat), but still too thin. So I strained out all the solids (so as not to toughen the meat), boiled the liquid down by 50%, and added the solids back in. Now I have the gumbo consistency I want. In the future, I won't just dump in water or broth by the quart just because a recipe says to; I'll add less and wait to see if I need to add more.
    "Your swimming suit matches your eyes, you hold your nose before diving, loving you has made me bananas!"
  • Post #102 - January 8th, 2017, 2:03 pm
    Post #102 - January 8th, 2017, 2:03 pm Post #102 - January 8th, 2017, 2:03 pm
    We were in New Orleans at the New Orleans School of Cooking a couple of days ago, and one the dishes demoed was a gumbo. The chef claimed a true gumbo should be very thin, and the sample served certainly was. However, I personally prefer my gumbo thicker, too.
  • Post #103 - January 8th, 2017, 2:10 pm
    Post #103 - January 8th, 2017, 2:10 pm Post #103 - January 8th, 2017, 2:10 pm
    I should add that in terms of consistency, the gumbo didn't resemble that in the photo that accompanied the recipe in the cookbook. I'll ask my Nola-native brother-in-law what he thinks, but I personally prefer a thicker gumbo too.
    "Your swimming suit matches your eyes, you hold your nose before diving, loving you has made me bananas!"
  • Post #104 - June 3rd, 2018, 3:58 pm
    Post #104 - June 3rd, 2018, 3:58 pm Post #104 - June 3rd, 2018, 3:58 pm
    On Friday, I drove up to Lake Villa to meet the Fabian seafood truck for the first time this year. Came back with shrimp and crawfish meat for my sister and me. (Those are all they had; as usual, true Gulf red snapper is as elusive as the giant squid.) I know I have andouille, chicken, and okra in the freezer. I've been thinking about gumbo ever since.

    There is something about this gumbo thread that reminds me of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. I think there's a line in ZatAoMM about going over old familiar ground. So of course I had to reread this whole thread---which I do every time I think about gumbo---while I was sauteeing my andouille and ham and chicken and trinity and garlic.

    In fact, I couldn't wait til the roux was done to get to gumbo, so I scooped off some of the sauteed meat and vegetables and added them to rice to make some jambalaya. All I had all day til I got home from the Fabian truck in the afternoon was one cup of tea, and I was about to pass out. Some butter and Louisiana hot sauce pumped up the flavor. When I say vegetables, I mean various colors of bell peppers and onions and garlic; I'm saving the okra for the gumbo. At the last minute, I will, as the abundant guidance provided in this thread suggests, add some plump and tasty and freshly sauteed Fabian extra-large shrimp.

    I know there's at least one line somewhere in that book that says something about motorcycle maintenance that says the same thing about making gumbo.
    "Your swimming suit matches your eyes, you hold your nose before diving, loving you has made me bananas!"
  • Post #105 - June 4th, 2018, 4:16 pm
    Post #105 - June 4th, 2018, 4:16 pm Post #105 - June 4th, 2018, 4:16 pm
    nr706 wrote:We were in New Orleans at the New Orleans School of Cooking a couple of days ago, and one the dishes demoed was a gumbo. The chef claimed a true gumbo should be very thin, and the sample served certainly was. However, I personally prefer my gumbo thicker, too.


    There is an interesting discussion I found about thick vs thin gumbo at this site. So far as I could tell from reading the thread, thinner gumbos seem to be more "country/rural" gumbos and thicker ones are more "urban/restaurant/cookbook" gumbos.
  • Post #106 - June 4th, 2018, 4:34 pm
    Post #106 - June 4th, 2018, 4:34 pm Post #106 - June 4th, 2018, 4:34 pm
    The darker the roux, the thinner the resulting gumbo will be. While cooking the roux longer will increase the complexity of its flavor, it will also lose its thickening properties as it cooks. So, you're always going to have to find your personal sweet spot between viscosity and flavor when making gumbo with roux.

    =R=
    Same planet, different world
  • Post #107 - June 4th, 2018, 6:54 pm
    Post #107 - June 4th, 2018, 6:54 pm Post #107 - June 4th, 2018, 6:54 pm
    Yes. I don't understand why this discussion is of thick versus thin rather than dark vs. light.
  • Post #108 - June 6th, 2018, 3:09 pm
    Post #108 - June 6th, 2018, 3:09 pm Post #108 - June 6th, 2018, 3:09 pm
    Heard on a Milk Street podcast (the one with Nigella interview) today in one of the listener Q & A sessions a recommendation on toasting flour to enhance the flavor of cookies and they made a passing reference to this method as a shortcut for making roux.

    PS - I didn't track through the whole thread to see if it's been mentioned before so apologies in advance if this is redundant.
    Coming to you from Leiper's Fork, TN where we prefer forking to spooning.
  • Post #109 - June 6th, 2018, 3:47 pm
    Post #109 - June 6th, 2018, 3:47 pm Post #109 - June 6th, 2018, 3:47 pm
    I have done this. Baked the flour in a 350 oven for 45 minutes until golden and then made into a roux. 2 problems. 1)The roux still needed to be cooked- it was not dark enough and I was afraid to cook the raw flour any longer. 2) It just tasted different ( not in a good way ). I can't remember how it tasted different - just that I didn't like it.

    I have settled on my roux method. Mix flour and oil and cook on high heat for 10 minutes, stirring constantly until it is a golden brown. Then put into a 350 oven for 1.5 hours and give it a stir every 15-20 minutes. Bring back to the stovetop and add the vegetables.

    I find this method gives me a consistent dark roux with little stirring and no danger of burning.
  • Post #110 - June 7th, 2018, 5:46 am
    Post #110 - June 7th, 2018, 5:46 am Post #110 - June 7th, 2018, 5:46 am
    lougord99 wrote:I have settled on my roux method. Mix flour and oil and cook on high heat for 10 minutes, stirring constantly until it is a golden brown. Then put into a 350 oven for 1.5 hours and give it a stir every 15-20 minutes. Bring back to the stovetop and add the vegetables.

    I find this method gives me a consistent dark roux with little stirring and no danger of burning.

    I do similar, starting on the stove. But I find that I can go to 400 degrees (stirring occasionally) without burning. I use peanut oil because I prefer the flavor it gives, not to mention the high smoking point.
  • Post #111 - March 5th, 2019, 8:26 pm
    Post #111 - March 5th, 2019, 8:26 pm Post #111 - March 5th, 2019, 8:26 pm
    GumboP1.jpg Chicken, andouille sausage and okra gumbo = dinner. #homecooking
    .
    Hold my beer . . .

    Low & Slow
  • Post #112 - March 5th, 2019, 10:08 pm
    Post #112 - March 5th, 2019, 10:08 pm Post #112 - March 5th, 2019, 10:08 pm
    ronnie_suburban wrote:The darker the roux, the thinner the resulting gumbo will be. While cooking the roux longer will increase the complexity of its flavor, it will also lose its thickening properties as it cooks. So, you're always going to have to find your personal sweet spot between viscosity and flavor when making gumbo with roux.

    =R=


    For obvious reasons, found myself in a deep discussion about roux with a colleague today. He mentioned seeing someone on Top Chef combine two rouxs. One went very dark (nearly perfect, I might say) and was oil and flour. Another was butter and flour and far more blonde. He thought that veg was cooked in both before combining. Might this be the best of both/all worlds? I had never heard of this technique.
  • Post #113 - March 7th, 2019, 2:28 pm
    Post #113 - March 7th, 2019, 2:28 pm Post #113 - March 7th, 2019, 2:28 pm
    One of my favorite Gumbo's that I have been making for years is not made with a roux. The recipe is from the March 1979 issue of Bon Appetit featuring Paul Prudhomme when he was Executive Chef at Commander's Palace. It is a Seafood Gumbo that uses both file powder and frozen Okra. According to the article "The absence of the roux affords a unique light texture." Chef Prudhomme believed this unusual gumbo is a good example of High Creole Cooking.
    "I drink to make other people more interesting."
    Ernest Hemingway
  • Post #114 - March 11th, 2019, 10:38 am
    Post #114 - March 11th, 2019, 10:38 am Post #114 - March 11th, 2019, 10:38 am
    I'm giving a shout out for this book that was reviewed in The Economist of all places:

    https://www.economist.com/books-and-art ... love-story

    I've only gotten past the preface and first chapter but I'm in Love with this Gumbo Love Story. The author is an exquisite writer and when I closed the book after the first chapter it got a little kiss on the cover before I set it down- a accolade rarely given.

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