Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

While living in Galveston, Texas I became acquainted with and thoroughly enjoyed Cajun food and began learning how to make a few traditional dishes. Louisiana folk have a varied diet depending on availability and the season. Alligator tail is a regional delicacy, crawfish are available in the early spring and duck is available during the fall hunting season. Of course, seafood and freshwater fish are generally available year-round except for fresh (heads-on) shrimp which is available only close by the Gulf of Mexico and limited to certain seasons of the year. Freshly opened oysters, raw and cold on the half shell, served on a bed of ice with Crystal hot sauce and lemon or lime wedges, used to be a New Orleans mainstay but pollution has ruined most of the oyster beds along the Gulf Coast.

Here in the Northeast, it would be prohibitively expensive these days to make a traditional Cajun seafood gumbo with fresh shrimp, blue crabs and oysters. A proper seafood gumbo stock also requires heads-on shrimp for its base and they are impossible to find here. Live, purged crawfish for boiling can be imported from Louisiana in the spring but they are only available in 50+ pound quantities and must be flown in. Some suppliers in Louisiana also offer and will ship frozen peeled crawfish tails with small pouches of the head fat included which can be used to prepare a traditional-style etouffee.

Since I moved away from Galveston, I miss many of the foods I enjoyed there. Slow-smoked brisket, a true Texas treat, traditional Cajun gumbo and authentic Tex-Mex dishes are just not available in Pittsburgh. However, I do make a chicken and sausage gumbo which is fairly traditional Cajun fare and quite good. Here's the recipe.

Hint: After you've perfected this recipe, you may want to double the ingredients because it's really good served as a leftover and keeps quite well covered in the refrigerator. A pack of chicken thighs substitutes well for another whole chicken and an extra chicken back can be used for making additional stock.

1-     4 to 5 pound hen. Not a fryer, not a ‘broiler”, a medium-size roasting bird is probably best.

2-     1 package (@1+ pound) of regular smoked beef/pork sausage (Hillshire is good) cubed or sliced into rounds on the diagonal. Andouille is the traditional sausage Cajuns use but the ‘real stuff’ is very difficult to find, a bit greasy and often too spicy for my taste.

3-     1 cup smoked ham (cubed ½”) Cure 81 is can be used in place of the traditional spiced “tasso” ham Cajuns use although minus their unique spices. While I have not yet tried it, I imagine smoked country ham would also be pretty good.

4-     Chicken stock. Make with the chicken backs, wing tips, celery, onions, carrots, garlic and some fresh-ground black pepper. No salt, livers or peppers (I simmer in a stockpot all night then strain, refrigerate & skim fat) I generally start my gumbo with my stockpot about half-full of stock.

5-     1 medium yellow onion / chopped med (about a cup+)

6-     1 med green pepper / chopped med (about a cup+)

7-     3 or 4 larger sticks celery / chopped med (about a cup+) (I put the tops in the stock)

8-     1 medium bunch of washed, tender green onions / sliced in stock and gumbo - save green tops to slice for garnish

9-     1 large bunch flat-leaf parsley / put stems in stock, chop leaves to add to gumbo to 'sweeten' the roux as needed.

10- I sm. can unseasoned chopped stewed tomatoes. Be careful they aren't seasoned with Italian or other spices.

11- 3-5 large cloves garlic chopped coarse for gumbo - more for stock but don't make too garlicky.

12- Okra (Fresh tender pods best but sliced frozen OK) my wife gets these fresh at an Asian store.

13- Vegetable or Peanut oil (I usually use Planters peanut oil - both to fry chicken and for roux.

14- Unbleached white flour

15- Crystal-brand hot sauce (sometimes available at a large Giant Eagle or Dollar Stores - most real Cajuns don’t use Tabasco brand).

16- Seasoning spices (mix in a small dish and use liberally on the chicken pieces and in the dredging flour. May also be added to the roux/stock mixture for additional seasoning:

1 tablespoon salt

2 teaspoons granulated garlic

1 teaspoon coarse-ground black pepper

¾ teaspoon fine-ground cayenne pepper powder

17- Rice (most any white rice grown in East Texas will have Basmati strain {'popcorn' rice} Rivena brand is what I use- available at larger Walmarts).

These are recommended ingredients. Cajuns always use what is available. I often vary quantities but to learn how the traditional dish is made and what it is supposed to taste like, this recipe works well.

Since I left Galveston and my wife and I I moved to Pittsburgh some 25 years ago, many of the ingredients that we used to be able to find here n our new hometown are no longer available. We have had to send to New Orleans for our favorite Crystal-brand hot sauce but have found a local spice-shop source for gumbo file-powder seasoning. Very little rice from East Texas is available in Pittsburgh although genuine popcorn rice is available by mail order from Louisiana. I haven't yet taken the plunge to order any, It's pretty expensive. I still can cook a pretty good gumbo with what I can get here.

Get a whole chicken - a more mature bird has more flavor. Cut up the chicken leaving skin on, debone the breasts and keep together. Reserve the back and wing tips for stock. Do not use the liver in the stock; neck, heart and gizzards ok. Dust all the chicken well with spice mix. Use glass or stainless bowl to marinate overnight if possible. If refrigerated, set out to warm to room temp before frying for gumbo.

When making stock, simmer several hours, overnight if possible. Strain, refrigerate and skim fat. Put in stock pot.

I always use a cast iron chicken fryer or large cast iron skillet (I currently have only a 3 .5 quart chicken fryer but would recommend a 5 or even 6 quart size if you are buying a new one - make sure it has a handle like a skillet and also get the cast iron lid for other uses). Fill with oil depth sufficient to cover chicken pieces, place on gas burner on high. Use pinch of flour to test temp. When flour dropped in oil “sizzles”, the oil temp is about right. You may use other vegetable oils but peanut oil adds a lot of flavor. We generally use canola oil these days due to the price of peanut oil.

While oil is heating, put 2 cups flour into a brown paper grocery bag (or 2 doubled plastic ones) or flat pan, liberally add seasoning mix and combine well. When oil is ready, flour breast piece(s) just before frying. Brown on both sides, maybe 4-5 minutes for 1st side, then turn. The idea is to brown the outside and cook the breast meat without drying it out. Remove from oil and drain. I use newspaper covered with paper toweling. Flour balance of chicken pieces just before placing in fryer. Turn until all pieces are well browned. Remove and drain. What you're doing here is creating a crust of browned flour that will thicken the stock and add flavor to the gumbo later. When you put the chicken pieces in the gumbo later, they will finish cooking.

When beginning to brown chicken pieces, turn cold stock pot on to medium. As you begin to make the roux, turn stock pot on high to bring stock to a rolling boil.

NOTE: To make roux, you MUST use heavy cast iron cookware. If you already have a cast-iron chicken fryer, you can make your roux in that after frying your chicken. Use some of the leftover oil with the browned bits left in the bottom of the pan from frying the chicken along with some of the dredging flour. This method is not for the fainthearted although it's the way most Cajuns usually do it. It's pretty hard for roux-making newbies to keep from burning their roux when starting with already browned bits. You have been warned.

If using your chicken-fryer with browned bits and used oil to make your roux, it's helpful to turn the flame down just a bit to avoid burning the mixture, although this will probably double the amount of time it takes standing over your stove, stirring to get the roux to the consistency and color you want.

For your first attempts at roux making I recommend a heavy cast-iron skillet. If you don't have one, they’re available at any decent cooking store. Larger Target, Giant Eagle and Walmart stores also carry them. 'Lodge' is an excellent brand. The easiest skillet to use by itself for making roux is a 10 ". They are not too heavy and are also a nice addition to your pots and pans collection. However, either a 12", 13 .5", or even a 15" skillet could possibly be better choices if you don't already have a chicken fryer since the larger two would also hold a whole chicken’s pieces for frying at the same time in one pan. The 15" skillet would possibly be ideal since it's large enough for a bit more room around the pieces of chicken while frying but it is a rather heavy frying pan. New cast iron cookware can easily be 'seasoned' by coating with vegetable oil and baking at 300° in an oven for a couple of hours .The correctly-sized cast iron lid for whatever size skillet or fryer you get is also a very handy addition for much traditional cooking, if you have the available storage space. When I built Pat's kitchen, I made a deep drawer just for her cast iron cookware. be sure to use heavy drawer glides if you build such a drawer in your kitchen, a full complement of cast-iron can be pretty heavy!

In your cast iron skillet, add 1 cup fresh peanut oil, turn gas to medium high and ready 1 cup of fresh unbleached flour. Using pinch-of-flour method, when oil is HOT (325 to 350), add flour while stirring briskly with a wooden-handled wire whisk for first few minutes, being sure to keep flour moving to prevent burning. USE A POTHOLDER TO HOLD SKILLET HANDLE DURING THE ENTIRE ROUX-MAKING PROCESS AS PAN AND ROUX WILL BE VERY HOT! (Folks in Louisiana call hot roux Cajun napalm!) When roux begins to thicken, switch to a narrow wood-handled metal spatula held upside down, continuing to scrape the pan bottom while stirring in a in figure-8 motion until roux is dark reddish brown or just as roux begins to smoke. turn off the heat and immediately add chopped onion, celery and green pepper, while continuing to stir with a slotted metal spoon. When the roux has cooled a bit,dd the chopped garlic. The aroma as you add the veggies is worth the price of admission! Continue stirring for 5-7 minutes until chopped onion pieces are translucent and all sizzling stops.

Add finished roux by large spoonfuls to now-boiling stock, stirring each spoonful until fully combined with stock. When all roux has been added, add small can of chopped stewed tomatoes and chopped fresh okra (if desired). Stir until all combined. Cajuns then usually add sausage and ham and then simmer gumbo for 1 to 3 hours before adding chicken and simmering for an another 45 min. or until chicken begins to come off the bone. The more-traditional method can add additional flavor but I can never wait that long to eat some gumbo! I usually add the chicken pieces right after the ham and sausage, reduce heat and simmer until chicken starts to come off bone (45 minutes to an hour). Either method requires careful attention to the simmering pot, being careful gumbo does not stick to bottom of stockpot as it thickens. If the gumbo 'gravy' becomes too thick, adding a little water will thin it and can actually bring out the full flavor of the gumbo. A traditional gumbo is not overly thick.

Make rice with 2 parts water to 1 part rice. Do not rinse rice before cooking. Put water in saucepan w/ a cover; add ½ teaspoon salt and 1 pat of butter for each cup of dry rice. Bring water to boil, stir in rice, bring to a boil again then cover and simmer on very low for 15-20 minutes. Turn off gas, leaving cover on for 5-10 more minutes before uncovering and 'fluffing' the rice with a fork to separate grains. Recover to keep warm.

Cajuns usually just serve this gumbo over hot rice in a bowl with a chicken piece on top and garnish with file powder and sliced green onions, often with potato salad served on the side. Some Cajuns put some potato salad in the bottom of the bowl in place of or in addition to the rice. Cajuns also usually add the okra at the same time as the meats, to simmer in their gumbo and also to add thickening. My wife Pat, who does not really care for what Paul Prudhomme calls the ‘slipperiness’ of okra, prefers her okra sliced, seasoned with granulated garlic, well-browned in a flat skillet with a bit of oil, to be added as a garnish at the table over the rice-gumbo mixture. Lately, we have been adding this seasoned, browned okra to the gumbo just after adding the meats and letting it cook in the gravy. Pat’s mother Ernestine used to call the skillet-browning "cooking the ‘slippery out of the okra". This also reduces the thickening effect of the okra a bit but has proven to be a compromise Pat and I can both enjoy. The last pot of gumbo I made was superb!

I like to dice the reserved cooked breast meat into cubes (sort of like meat croutons) and sprinkle them over the bowl of gumbo before serving with sliced green onion tops as garnish, adding any reserved browned okra at the table. Season to taste with hot sauce and gumbo 'file' powder (ground sassafras leaves) and 'Laissez les bons temps rouler!' ("Let the good times roll"). Enjoy.

Traditional gumbo is not overly spicy. Cayenne pepper is used for flavor, not heat. Hot sauce, red Cayenne or Tabasco peppers steeped in a vinegar base, is used to add piquancy and heat at the table as desired. Most folks in East Texas used Crystal-brand hot sauce which my wife and I also prefer.