little500 wrote:That looks really tasty! But, I never topped a bowl of gumbo with egg of any form. I'll try it, but it doesn't strike me as either authentic or a good "fit". But to each his (or her) own.
seebee wrote:Parkerhouse hot sausages are a gumbo match made in heaven, imo. More than likely Ultra Foods will have these frozen, I think.
dk wrote:hard boiled egg is very traditional....
dk wrote:hard boiled egg is very traditional. my neighbor's originally from Rayne, LA, down in cajun country near Lake Charles. She taught me that folks down there add cold potato salad to their bowl of rice and gumbo. I thought it was insane and probably a family tradition, but it's fantastic. Sure enough, I've since met unrelated folks from the area and they tell me everyone does it. Just put a scoop in your bowl right before you eat it. The cold creaminess against the spicy warmth makes for one happy mouth.
btw, pleasure meeting you on Saturday. I'm the old woman in a cowboy hat.
Katie wrote:
My issue with using shrimp in gumbo is the same as with using it in jambalaya: I like to put in all three, chicken, andouille, and shrimp, but I like to make big batches too, and shrimp toughens on reheating (and so does the sausage, sometimes). My sister has suggested to me for both gumbo and jambalaya that I make the big batches for freezing with the chicken only, and add the andouille and shrimp fresh for that first night's dinner or for when reheating a frozen batch.
Wish I had the option for smoked chicken and smoked andouille like you do. Mmmmm.
Leon's makes an excellent andouille for the commercial market, but I've never seen it retail. Sometimes they have it at restaurant depot.
RevrendAndy wrote:Love this thread.
My gumbo bible is Prudhomme's first book-Louisiana Kitchen. I've also tried the gumbo from Emeril's first book, which was respectable but not as good as Paul's. However, an Emeril recipe in the Tribune some years back for duck and wild mushroom gumbo was fantastic. This appeared before his TV fame when he was still a serious chef.
little500 wrote:Proper sausage is probably the most difficult ingredient to find. Andouille is a distintively Louisiana product. I used to order it from a family-run smokehouse in Baton Rouge for which I long ago lost the contact info. Now I make the infrequent trip to Breaux Bridge or La Place...or, Wal-Mart! My local Supercenter carries Savoie's brand (admittedly not the best). The thing to look for in andouille is cubed or chunked pork versus the typical ground pork found in many commercial varieties. BTW, Jacob's has a mail order operation.
Matt wrote:Another thing (in addition to grind size) that most commercially-available andouille outside of Louisiana gets wrong is the size of the sausage. Most good andouille you will find in Louisiana (certainly at the various smokehouses and butchers ranging roughly from La Place west to Lake Charles in south Louisiana) utilize beef middle casings as opposed to pork casings, for a larger diameter sausage (which helps with being able to use cubed/chunked pork).
One gumbo I would like to try out that does not use andouille is Donald Link's Super Bowl gumbo from his Real Cajun cookbook (a really great cookbook, in my opinion).
little500 wrote:I like the taste of file so I use it even if there is okra in the gumbo. I also like heat so I add hot peppers with the bell.
jimswside wrote:I have heard of the roux in the oven method but have yet to try it. I kind of enjoy standing over the molten lard and flour mix stirring as I drink a beer.
BR wrote:jimswside wrote:I have heard of the roux in the oven method but have yet to try it. I kind of enjoy standing over the molten lard and flour mix stirring as I drink a beer.
If I was drinking beer while taking the time to constantly stir the roux, I'd be drunk by the time the roux was finished. I find that you have to keep the temperature just low enough where you don't burn the roux . . . burnt roux (as opposed to a dark, smoky roux) ruins a great pot of gumbo.
dk wrote:Leon's makes an excellent andouille for the commercial market, but I've never seen it retail. Sometimes they have it at restaurant depot. I lu-u-u-u-v Parkerhouse hot links they are absolutely the best, and will have to try it in gumbo sometime.
jimswside wrote:BR wrote:jimswside wrote:I have heard of the roux in the oven method but have yet to try it. I kind of enjoy standing over the molten lard and flour mix stirring as I drink a beer.
If I was drinking beer while taking the time to constantly stir the roux, I'd be drunk by the time the roux was finished. I find that you have to keep the temperature just low enough where you don't burn the roux . . . burnt roux (as opposed to a dark, smoky roux) ruins a great pot of gumbo.
lol.
a few of my friends from cajun country(and myself) measure the ammount time stirring their roux by how many beers they consume eg. a 2 beer roux, or a 3 beer roux.