Creole
Creole Gumbo
Seafood-rich Creole gumbo with dark chocolate roux, shrimp-crab stock, andouille, chicken, okra, oysters, lump crab, filé, parsley, and green onion.
8 servings · 60 minutes prep · 95 minutes cook
Ingredients
Stock
- shells from 2 lb head-on or shell-on Gulf shrimp, reserved from peeling shrimp
- 2 blue crabs, halved, or 1 lb crab bodies, halved, or use crab bodies
- 10 cups cold water
- 1 yellow onion, quartered
- 2 celery ribs, chopped
- 1 bay leaf
Gumbo
- 2 lb shell-on Gulf shrimp, peeled, deveined, shells reserved, peeled and deveined, shells reserved
- 1 lb andouille sausage, cut into 1/2-inch rounds
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1/2 cup avocado oil
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups finely chopped yellow onion
- 1 1/2 cups finely chopped green bell pepper
- 1 cup finely chopped celery
- 1 lb fresh okra, sliced 1/2 inch thick
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tsp Louisiana-style hot sauce
- 2 1/2 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste, divided, plus more to taste
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 lb lump crabmeat, picked over
- 1 pint shucked oysters with liquor
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
- 1 1/2 tsp gumbo file, plus more for serving
Directions
Stock
- Combine shrimp shells, blue crabs or crab bodies, cold water, quartered onion, chopped celery, and bay leaf in a large pot.
- Bring to a bare simmer, skim the surface, and cook uncovered for 45 minutes.
- Strain through a fine-mesh sieve if available and reserve 8 cups hot stock for the gumbo.
Gumbo
- Brown andouille in a heavy Dutch oven over medium heat until well rendered, 8-10 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
- Season chicken with 1/2 tsp of the kosher salt and brown in the sausage drippings, 5-6 minutes. Transfer to the plate.
- Add oil and flour to the pot. Cook over medium to medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the roux is glossy and dark brown like melted chocolate, 35-45 minutes.
- Immediately stir in onion, green bell pepper, and celery. Cook, stirring often, until softened and deeply aromatic, 8-10 minutes.
- Add okra and cook until its ropiness reduces and the edges lightly brown, 12-15 minutes. Stir in garlic and tomato paste and cook 2 minutes.
- Add paprika, thyme, cayenne, bay leaves, Worcestershire, hot sauce, the remaining 2 tsp kosher salt, and black pepper.
- Gradually whisk in the 8 cups hot stock until smooth.
- Return the browned chicken and andouille to the pot. Bring to a gentle simmer, then cook uncovered until the gumbo is cohesive and the chicken reaches at least {{temperature:165°F}}, 45-60 minutes.
- Stir in shrimp, crabmeat, and oysters with liquor. Simmer gently until the shrimp are pearly, opaque, and {{temperature:145°F}} and the oysters curl at the edges, 4-6 minutes.
- Turn off the heat. Remove the bay leaves. Stir in parsley, green onions, and filé powder. Rest 10 minutes before serving, then adjust salt, hot sauce, and filé to taste.
