I grew up in Texas, but my roots are Louisiana. And Louisiana is all about good food and, well, gumbo is a staple.
There are all different types of gumbo as well as different styles. There is seafood gumbo, duck gumbo, dove gumbo…you get the point. This is one of my favorite gumbos and one of my go to recipes. It is perfect for those fall evenings and cold, winter days. The smell of gumbo cooking through the house brings back so many memories.
I have adapted this recipe from the Gumbo Shop Cookbook. This is a great cookbook which has other amazing (and favorite) recipes like Shrimp Creole and Crawfish Etouffee. I highly recommend it. And if you ever find yourself in NOLA, you can check out the Gumbo Shop Restaurant.
Alright, so here you go!
Chicken & Sausage Gumbo
Serves 8 to 10 (Less if serving cowboys…)
- 1 whole chicken
- 8 cups of chicken broth
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 2 cups chopped onions
- 1 cup chopped green bell pepper
- 1/2 cup chopped celery
- 1 pound venison sausage (or Andouille sausage), sliced into 1/4″ rounds
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp. thyme
- 1 tsp. basil
- 1/2 tsp. sage
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper
- 1/2 tsp. white pepper
- 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
- 2 tsp. salt
Preparation
You will want to go ahead and prepare the chicken. I prefer to use a whole chicken; however, you can use chicken breasts as well. If using a whole chicken, boil the chicken until cooked throughout. You will want to do this ahead of time so the chicken has time to cook and cool before deboning and adding to the gumbo. If you are using chicken breasts, you can skip this part. You will simply cut up the raw breasts and add once you bring the gumbo to a boil.
Cut all of your veggies up and have them in a bowl where you can easily (and quickly) add to the roux. I also like to measure out all of my spices ahead of time. I typically do a hair less than ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper because I don’t like mine too hot.
Cooking
First, you’ll make a roux. This is one of the most important steps and will either make or break your gumbo. Essentially a roux is nothing more than flour cooking in some type of fat. Typically that fat is vegetable oil but sometimes it is butter. A recipe will either call for a light peanut butter colored roux or a dark chocolate colored roux. Gumbo will typically be a dark roux, which is what gives it the dark color and nutty flavor. (Side note: The Gumbo Shop Cookbook has a great section on making a roux and color reference to go off of.)
In a heavy bottomed cast-iron Dutch oven, heat your ½ cup of vegetable oil on medium-high heat. I learned this tip from my dad and it will speed up the time of your roux tremendously. However, you do need to watch your temperature and make sure it does not get too hot. (Also, this method does not work with a butter roux…learned that the hard way! The butter gets hot too fast.)
Once your oil is hot, slowly add in your ½ cup of flour. I add it in thirds. The flour will bubble as moisture is being cooked out of the flour. Once the bubbling slows down, go ahead and add some more flour. Continue doing this until you have added the ½ cup of flour. You will need to be stirring continuously to prevent burning the roux. (I love to use a roux paddle or wooden spoon). You can adjust your heat as needed.
Once the bubbling stops and the color starts to darken, the flour is actually frying. It will smell similar to popcorn. I love the smell of a roux cooking. You will want to keep stirring. This is where it gets to the hard part. For gumbo, you want a dark colored roux. It won’t taste bad if you do not get the roux dark enough, but you won’t have as much flavor. It will take a little bit of time to make a roux, but the method I mentioned above adding the flour in thirds will definitely speed up the process.
You want the roux to have a chocolate color. It should also be “liquidy” and not too thick – this means it is starting to burn. Unfortunately, it takes just a second to cross from done to burned – and once burned there is no turning back. If you do burn the roux, you will need to throw it out and start over. There is no salvaging a burnt roux, and don’t worry, you will know if it is burned. They say the best way to master a roux is to make a sacrificial one – go ahead and burn one so you learn the stages.
(If all of that has you overwhelmed, you can use a jar roux. It isn’t quite the same in my opinion but there are some good jar rouxs. I recommend Rox’s Roux. )
Once your roux has reached a chocolate color, add the onions, bell pepper, and celery. (This is why it is important to prep the veggies before as you will need to do this quickly). The vegetables will slow down the roux cooking and prevent it from burning. Saute the vegetables, stirring occasionally. Let the vegetables stick to the bottom of the pan and then scrape off. This allows the onions caramelize and brings out more depth of flavor.
When the vegetables are tender, add the sausage. I typically use venison sausage. The original recipe calls for Andouille sausage. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally for 15 minutes.
Next, add your spices and mix well. Let it cook for 2-3 minutes. Slowly pour in about 8 cups of the chicken broth, bring to a boil and let simmer for at least 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Obviously, if you boiled a whole chicken you can use the broth from this or you can also use store-bought broth. If you are using chicken breasts, this is when you will add your diced, raw chicken to the boiling gumbo. Let it boil a little longer to cook the chicken.
The longer you cook the gumbo the more flavorful it will be. I definitely recommend simmering for longer than an hour. You can continue to add broth as needed.
Occasionally, when you add chicken broth to the roux and vegetable mixture the broth and roux will separate. I’ve yet to quite nail down what makes this happen. Don’t fret if this happens, the mixture will come together as it continues to cook. I do find it works best to gradually add the broth in rather than all at once.
Add the cooked chicken and simmer for 15 minutes (or longer) after adding the shredded chicken.
Serve in large bowls over steamed rice. (I find Texans tend to eat their gumbo with lots of rice. In Louisiana, we eat it with less rice so it is more of a soup.) You can also top with green onions and Gumbo File (ground sassafras leaves).
Pairs perfectly with saltine crackers or French Bread.
There you have it! This is definitely a recipe you can make ahead of time. It actually is more flavorful the next day. It also freezes well. You can freeze leftovers or also freeze after adding a little chicken broth and finish the gumbo later.
Bon appetit!