New Orleans Food Questions And Comments

Seafood Gumbo

When I was growing up, my mother made gumbo every week, usually twice. She made chicken filé gumbo on Wednesdays, and seafood okra gumbo on Fridays. They tasted utterly different. Her special touch was that she sauteed the okra before adding it to the pot, thereby avoiding the texture problems that some people have with the innards of okra.

Here's my version. A few points. Not all recipes for seafood gumbo call for making a stock, but I always do, using either the little gumbo crabs that you can buy frozen year round, or the remnants of big boiled crabs. Or shrimp shells or crawfish shells. Or oyster water. It depends on what I have around.

Also, following the technique of restaurant chefs, I make the roux separately and add it to the broth well into the process, not at the beginning. This would have been thought of as crazy by my mother, but I think it give you more control over the amount of roux in the soup.

Stock:

6 gumbo crabs and/or
4 cups shrimp or crawfish shells and/or
1/2 gallon oyster water, strained
1 small onion, cut up
2 ribs celery, cut up
Stems from one bunch of parsley
1 Tbs. black peppercorns
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp. thyme

Gumbo:

3 Tbs. vegetable oil
2 lbs. okra
2 medium onions, chopped
1 very ripe (turning red) green bell pepper, seeds and membrane removed, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
8 sprigs flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1/2 tsp. oregano
2 canned tomatoes, crushed by hand
1 Tbs. Creole seasoning
Hot sauce
Salt

Pick any two (or pick more, using less of each)
2 lbs. peeled large shrimp and/or
1 lb. claw crabmeat and/or
2 cups crawfish tails and/or
3-4 dozen oysters

Roux:

1/2 stick butter
2/3 cup flour
1/4 cup sliced green onions

1. Make the stock by bringing about a gallon of water (including oyster water, if available) to a light boil. Add all the remaining stock ingredients. Return to a bare simmer and cook for about 30 minutes. Strain the stock and discard all the solids.

2. In a large pot, heat the vegetable oil until it shimmers. Add the okra and cook, stirring, for about three minutes. Remove the okra and set aside. Add the onions and celery. Saute until the vegetables are soft. Then add the stock to the pot, and bring to a simmer. Add the Creole seasoning.

3. While the gumbo simmers, make the roux. I heat the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until it sizzles, then add the flour and whisk until it changes texture. Then I shift to a spoon and stir frequently until the roux reaches the desired color. For me, that would be the color of a pecan shell. Remove from the heat and stir in the chopped green onions. Keep stirring, because the heat of the roux can still create the possibility of burning.

4. Whisk the roux into the gumbo, holding back some. It will rise to the surface and appear not to blend in, but if you keep whisking it will. Add roux until the color and texture are the way you want it. The add the crushed tomatoes.

5. Simmer the gumbo for about an hour. Taste and add salt, pepper, and hot sauce to taste. Just before serving, add the shrimp, crabmeat, crawfish tails, and/or oysters. Simmer until the seafoods are heated through--about two or three minutes. Serve with long-grain rice.

Serves eight to twelve.

Revised 3/29/08


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