Ingredients: |
Ingredients: "The Trinity"- 3 onions chopped, 1/2 bell pepper chopped, 1 whole stick of celery chopped
1/2 cup chopped green onions
5 toes of garlic sliced
3 bay leaves
1/2 tsp of thyme
2 cups okra chopped
1 cup of chicken breast chunks
2 cups of sausage sliced (1 andouille sausage, 1 smoked sausage)
2 qts of shrimp stock (boiled shrimp heads and peelings)
1 dozen live blue crabs
1 qt of shrimp peeled
1 cup of cooking oil (vegetable oil, or substitute w/ lard)
3/4 cup of olive oil
1 cup of all purpose flour
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 can of rotel tomatoes and chili peppers
1 can whole tomatoes
1 chicken bouillon cube
1 beef bullion cube
1/2 tsp of liquid crab boil
Salt and black pepper to taste (approx. 1 tsp of each)
1 box of zatarain's gumbo base (ADD LAST before shrimp)
|
Directions: |
Directions:Take 1 dozen live crabs and put in sink. Pour one pot of boiling water on them to stun so they can't pinch you. Clean the crabs-take off shell and dead man toes, but keep the fat with the crabs .
Frying Crabs:
On low fire heat 1 cup of oil in frying pan. Salt and pepper both sides of each crab.
Add crabs and crab fat to frying pan and fry crabs on low heat on each side. Once finished cooking, take them out and put in 2 or 3 gallon pot.
In same 2 or 3 gallon pot, put 6 cups of water and boil crabs, rolling boil, for 10 minutes.
In frying pan that crabs were cooked in, take 8 tbsp of that crab oil and set aside for roux in small bowl.
Fry sausage in frying pan (same pan that crabs were fried in) until brown. Take them out, drain. Cut up chicken and fry in same pan. Take out and drain. NOTE: if not enough oil, add 1/4 c. olive oil.
Next, fry the Trinity, green onions and garlic in same frying pan. Sauté for approximately 20 minutes until onions are caramelized.
Add diced tomatoes, whole tomatoes, can of rotel and okra chopped to Trinity in pan. Saute for approximately 45 minutes.
In Main pot (with crabs and water), pour/strain water into another small bowl/pot (one that can hold 6 cups of water) so no crab pieces are in strained water - this becomes the crab stock. Then take crabs and pick the meat out of them and add to crab stock in small pot/bowl. Put all crab meat with the stock back in main pot and put on medium heat. Throw away crab shells.
NOTE: (You can skip this step and keep the whole crabs in the main pot but you might get pieces of crab shell in your gumbo - it's your choice and btw, Gram's way)
Add shrimp stock (note: see below. This comes out of your freezer or by boiling shrimp heads) to main pot along with 1/2 tsp liquid crab boil. Add 4 cups of water, 1 chicken bouillon cube or 1 tbsp of 'Better Than Bouillon'. Next add 1 box of Zatarans gumbo base - Make sure you stir this base and do NOT let this stick to the bottom of the pot. Add sausage and chicken to main pot. Add bay leaves and thyme, along with vegetables from frying pan to main pot and cook on medium heat one hour. Make a judgement call at this time about the water - add more if you need to. Pot should filled.
To make Roux:
Clean frying pan (with soap and water). Add 8 tbsp. of crab oil that was set to the side prior. Add 8 tbsp. of flour. You may need to add a little more oil - but the oil and flour must be equal parts. Stir constantly until roux is chocolate brown. Gumbo requires a dark brown roux. Add roux to main pot.
Add shrimp and 2 tbsp. of filé to main pot. Cook for an additional 10 minutes.
ENJOY!!
SHRIMP STOCK:
Wash 2-3 lbs. of fresh shrimp. Take heads off and put heads in pot with fat. Add one stick of celery, 1 tsp. of liquid crab boil, 1 onion (peeled and cut in half), 3 toes of garlic (peeled), 1 tbsp. garlic salt, 1 tbsp salt, 1 tbsp. pepper. Boil in 8 cups of water in large pot for 20 minutes, rolling boil. Strain water - this becomes Shrimp Stock. Throw away shrimp heads. veggies, etc... Shrimp Stock is just the flavored water. |
This recipe for Gram's Creole Seafood Gumbo circa 1931 is from