Seafood Gumbo

[gran398]

Recipe courtesy Commander's Palace, NOLA, circa 1978


6 tbsp. flour
6 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup chopped bell pepper
2 lbs  peeled raw shrimp
3 qts water
1/4 bunch chopped parsley
3 bay leaves
1/2 pint oysters w/juice
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup diced onion
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 lb. claw crabmeat
1/2 tsp thyme
1 package frozen okra
salt and pepper, cayenne pepper


In a large dutch oven, make a roux with flour and shortening. (my note: on low heat stir constantly with wooden spoon, do not burn, stir until roux is nutty brown, 15-20 min). Add garlic and cook till golden brown. Add veggies and cook 'till transparent. Add tomato sauce, simmer 10 min, stir in water, blend well. Add all other ingredients except shrimp, oysters, and okra. Cook 1 hour, add okra, cook 15 minutes. Add shrimp, cook 5 minutes. Add oysters and cook 10 minutes. Season to taste. Remove bay leaves. Add chopped parsley.

Serve

Serve in a soup bowl over steamed rice. Add file' (sassafras)  powder.


Side notes:

You can make this a chicken gumbo by leaving out the seafood and adding cooked chicken thighs/legs. You can turn this to a semi-jambalaya by adding andouille sausage and leaving out the okra.

Always add the file' powder to individual servings, never to the pot.

If you are pressed for time, you can use Zatarain's gumbo mix instead of making the roux.

Just saute the garlic and veggies, add the Zat's and water, and proceed as above.

Enjoy

[wingtime]

DROOL!

[fmaster360]

That sounds so good I want to go to the store and get the stuff to make it.

[John Jones]

thanks Scott!!

[Skoot]

Man I love me some seafood gumbo.  Im gonna try this tonight.  I've been shimping the past few weeks and have a stockpile of shrimp.  Just went last night and probably have close to 2lbs Fresh mediums and half of them are Key west pinks.   Im also gonna ad some little neck clams, muscles and a small lobster tail cut in chunks to the pot.

I have a question though. I didnt notice and Spice(red pepper etc)  Also,  Is the broth/soup more liquid or is it somewhat thickened.

[Blue Agave]

Skoot, what time is dinner?

[Skoot]

Probably gonna be late by the time i get done.

[gran398]

Hey, sounds like a good plan!

Yep, the red cayenne is in there, listed towards the bottom.

I like it thick, not watery....it will thicken on its own by removing the pot lid. You can also mix up a tsp of cornstarch in a cup of hot water and stir in to thicken, if necessary.

Let us know how you like it

Take care Scott!....send lobster

[Capt Matt]

Add some Andouille and good to go!
gotta have my pork fat scott
Capt Matt

[gran398]

Me too!

Been wondering about my little brother, and how the recipe turned out.

BTW...the tarpon schools showed up under the big bridge yesterday afternoon and this morning.

Heard it through the grapevine :flower:

You boys go over there and whup 'em up.

And bump those Gause-bilts outta the way.

That's their place...must've been deeded to them

[Skoot]

wheeew, that was alot of work, but it turned out great.  I made a huge pot, and have lots of left overs.  It never got as thick as I would have liked, but hell, this my first time ever making anything like this.  My wife said I could open a restaurant with this dish alone.

I ended up making some fish stock (instead of plain water) with a grouper & snapper head and some shrimp heads/shells were also tossed in as I was preping them for the gumbo.

Great dish, Thanks a lot Gran!

[gran398]

Hey you got it bro!


Great idea on the fish stock....I'll bet that made it really good


Keep us posted on the 'poons too

[bondobill]

Scott
Been eyeballing your gumbo recipe for awhile
Looks really good.
Only problem is I hate rice!
I was raised on meat,potatoes ,and gravy.

What's ya think

Substitute spuds for the rice?

Bill

[gran398]

Sure thing, anything that helps get it in your mouth!