I made this and am publishing it; because, you can find a gumbo recipe in all corners of the interwebs. However, I couldn’t find much in regards to recipes using the premade roux in a jar. While I wholeheartedly believe that the soul of a good gumbo is in the roux, I also know that not everyone wants to make a roux, some don’t have the time; and, others are intimidated at the prospect of making one. Almost every kitchen back home has a jar or a box of roux in the kitchen, for the times that they don’t want to make one. In most cases I make a roux from scratch; but, there are those items that I reach for a jar of Savoie’s or Kary’s dark roux. To be fair, a roux is only 2 ingredients (flour and fat) and time. Using the jar saves on the latter. The end result is still a great gumbo, and for you’ve never had a roux from scratch, you’ll never notice the difference. While the basic recipe for a roux is set in stone, everyone’s base will turn out a bit different for varying reasons, for instance: Some of us season ours and others don’t. Even among the jarred roux, some are better than others; hence, the two I’ve singled out above being my favorite thus far.
To get started we will just need a few things:
8 oz Dark Roux- I prefer savoie’s or Kary’s
1 large onion- diced
1 large green bell pepper- diced
1/2 red bell pepper-diced (optional)
2 large ribs of celery- diced
4-5 minced garlic toes
1 pound of andouille sausage- cut into medallions
1 -1.5 pound of chicken meat cubed or shredded
48 oz of chicken stock
1/2 bushel of green onion
Chicken base
2 pack of frozen okra (optional)
Gumbo filet (optional for serving)
Salt Pepper Garlic powder
Cajun seasoning of your choice
Freshly chopped parsley
Bag leaf
White rice for serving
To get started prep all of the above
-The roux is sold in jars of 16 or 32 oz. Remove roughly 8 oz of the product into a bowl and break it up. Work it until it forms a paste and set aside.
-Bring the chicken stock to a boil and whisk in the roux. Continue whisking it until it fully -dissolves into the liquid and set it to simmer.
-In a seperate large pot, cook down the trinity (onion, bell pepper and celery) in olive oil until softened.
—while cooking down the trinity season it well with SPG and Cajun seasoning; as well as, stirring the roux/stock mixture occasionally—
-When the trinity is soft, add in the garlic and parsley
-after the garlic becomes fragrant add the stock mixture into the pot with the holy trinity.
—be careful here it may flash boil, just stand back and wait for it to come to Temperature—
-Bring it to a boil and whisk all together well, making sure the roux does not stick to the bottom.
– taste and season if necessary
– add in the sausage, chicken, 2 bay leaves and 1 teaspoon of chicken base
– drop it to a simmer and let it simmer together for at least 15 minutes. The longer you let it simmer the better it is. For the purpose of this article I simmered like for about 45 minutes, but that is not necessarily needed.
– after 15 minutes taste and reseason if necessary, generally speaking the longer it simmers the more flavorful it becomes.
-10 minutes before service remove the bay leaves and add in the okra
Serve over cooked white rice and garnish with parsley.
Also give the diner the option to add some filet to their bowl
- I love mine with some filet and crystal hot sauce 🙂
I hope this helps those that I’ve seen looking for tips and tricks to making gumbo. Especially those from other parts of the country. If you can’t find the jarred roux in your grocery store, check Amazon. I have to buy mine there; because it isn’t sold up here in yankee-ville.