Chicken and Sausage Gumbo Recipe - WonkyWonderful (2024)

FAQs

Chicken and Sausage Gumbo Recipe - WonkyWonderful? ›

Great gumbo starts with roux, a flavorful thickening agent made from equal parts fat and flour. Once the roux is a deep golden color, add diced veggies and sausage to the mix. Then, incorporate beef bouillon, hot sauce, tomatoes, and seasonings to intensify the flavor.

Great gumbo starts with roux, a flavorful thickening agent made from equal parts fat and flour. Once the roux is a deep golden color, add diced veggies and sausage to the mix. Then, incorporate beef bouillon, hot sauce, tomatoes, and seasonings to intensify the flavor.

The Sausage

In these cases, I've used a Kielbasa. If you want to save time, slice and cook your sausage in your gumbo. However, this adds extra fat and browning first will add to the flavor. For the browning method, slice the sausage and brown in a skillet.

Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add chicken, working in batches if necessary, and cook until browned, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to a large soup pot and pour broth over top.

Some good gumbo seasonings include paprika, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, dried oregano, dried thyme, and bay leaves. Additionally, you can add other seasonings to adjust the flavor, such as black pepper, ground cumin, white pepper, and file powder.

Filé powder – Filé powder, also known as gumbo filé, is an herbal powder made of ground-up sassafras leaves, a common herb found in Southern cooking. It has a tea-like, earthy smell that balances out the rich flavors of gumbo while also adding a natural thickener.

Turns out, your preference for tomatoes in gumbo comes down to whether you learned your skills from a Cajun cook or a Creole cook. (Learn about the difference here.) Cajun gumbo does not include tomatoes in the base, but Creole gumbo (typically shellfish or seafood gumbo) does call for tomatoes.

2) Presidential Preference: Gumbo was reportedly a favorite dish of several U.S. presidents, including George Washington. 3) Gumbo Day: October 12th is National Gumbo Day in the United States. 4) A Dish for All Seasons: While often associated with colder weather, gumbo is enjoyed year-round in Louisiana.

Reduce heat to a simmer, add uncooked chicken and cover. Simmer for 30 minutes. Now check the consistency. You can always add a little water or broth if necessary.

Should gumbo be thick or soupy? ›

Gumbo is much denser than a simple soup; the broth has a thick, almost viscous consistency. And that characteristic is most commonly created by making a roux, cooking flour and oil together until they thicken and darken. Otherwise, gumbo can be thickened with file, which is just powdered dried sassafras leaves.

For the most flavor, use stock or broth in your gumbo instead of water. Whether you use chicken or vegetable stock, homemade or boxed, the stock will give your gumbo more depth and complexity.

For purposes of this discussion, we will limit our focus to plain old polished white rice. Even then, it comes in different sizes — short, long and medium grain. I prefer medium grain rice in a gumbo, because the grains puff up, the perfect medium for a gumbo. The thick gumbo juice sticks to the grains just right.

From a purist standpoint, you should use green bell peppers and yellow onions. You can use red peppers and white or red onions for a different flavor.

A: By all means use chicken broth instead of water. You get a more complex and richer Gumbo. If no chicken broth use chicken upper bullion.

I like to add the “trinity” (onion, celery, bell pepper) to the roux before it gets to the desired color, because that'll help slow the cooking process. Once you have the roux the rest is simple. The longer you let the gumbo simmer the better it will be.

Cooking the gumbo for a good three to four hours on simmer is imperative. "The long cooking time adds time for flavors to develop and ensures a burst of flavor," says Biffar. Make sure to give it time to let everything mesh together, this is not a dish to be rushed!

Filé can provide thickening when okra is not in season, in types of gumbo that use okra or a roux as a thickener for gumbo instead of filé. Sprinkled sparingly over gumbo as a seasoning and a thickening agent, filé powder adds a distinctive, earthy flavor and texture.