Chicken Gumbo

I bet when I started this blog many of you wondered why I chose Gumbo as a fundamental element of the title " Lights, Sirens, and Gumbo"! Obviously, working in EMS - it would only be right for me to include the Lights and Sirens part... but the Gumbo - oh yeah! I love Gumbo! When I say that I love gumbo, I mean the good gumbo that makes the whole house smell like a roux - like my Mimi and Pa Lambert's gumbo. Inevitably if you've been around my Pa long enough, you have heard the story about when I was a little kid, still in my high chair, and my grandparents served us gumbo for dinner. I became instantly disgruntled shortly after receiving my gumbo bowl. Pa noticed that I was spooning through the flavorful soup and as he watched me carefully I lifted my head and looked at him square in the eye with my curly afro hair and abnormally large eyes and mouth and shouted " Pa Pa! Where's all the shrimps!?!!!!" I haven't lived the event down since.

So of course when it is cold outside and I am hanging christmas lights and making the house look like Martha Stewart sprinkled Christmas bliss throughout the living room, I want to eat the dinner that I remember Christmas tasting like most - gumbo! Now, let it be know that I love seafood gumbo the most, but quality seafood is not available where I live in Ruston. This time I made a first ever in my kitchen - chicken and sausage gumbo. If you're a gumbo fan of any type, you'll love this simple recipe!!!

Spicy Chicken & Turkey Sausage Gumbo

3 split chicken breasts, skin on, bone in
1 package of turkey sausage ( I like smoked)

3 stalks of celery with leaves, chopped
1 medium white onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced (* I used red because the green peppers were bruised,

Wash Your Veggies With Soap & Water!

but green bell pepper is more traditional in gumbo)

8 cups chicken stock
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp salt
several turns of a course setting black pepper grinder
8-10 dashes of Crystal Louisiana Hot Sauce
1 cup frozen okra

for the roux:

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup flour

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place the chicken on a sheet pan and brush with olive oil. Season heavily with sea salt and fresh cracked pepper. Bake the chicken about 1 hour, or until the skin is crispy and the meat is white. Allow the chicken to cool.

In the meantime, prepare the aromatics - celery, onion, bell pepper. Reserve these chopped vegetables. You will want to make the roux in the pot that you plan on making the gumbo in. I use a large soup pot. To make the roux, heat the pot over medium heat. Add the vegetable oil and heat through. Grab a long handled wooden spoon and prepare to stand by the pot for about 15 minutes... making roux is a tedious and gentle process. Once the oil is heated through, add the flour. Stir this mixture continuously, scraping the bottom and sides of the soup pot. Take care not to get splashed by the roux because it will stick to your skin and burn. Continue stirring; you will begin to see a change in color from light white to toasted sesame, peanut butter, and finally - you're looking for a bricked red/brown color. (**If black bits begin to turn up, you have burned the roux and you will need to discard it, cleaning the pot and starting from scratch. There is nothing worse than ruining a gumbo because you have burned the roux.**) This will take about 10 minutes, depending on your heat level. I have a gas stove and I cook roux on a medium low heat so that I do not burn it. I would rather stir it slowly for a long time until it is perfect than cook it quickly and burn it. (Another rare moment of patience in the life of a Procido).

Once you have a reddish brown roux, take the pot off of the heat and add the aromatic vegetables. Stir this mixture until it stops bubbling, about 2 minutes. Add the chicken stock and whisk thoroughly, as you place the pot back on medium heat. Combine the remaining ingredients into the soup pot and whisk often until the mixture comes to a boil. This will help to incorporate the chicken stock into the roux, thickening the gumbo base. You still need to take caution when bringing the gumbo base to a boil because the roux can stick to the bottom of the pot and burn if you're not careful. Once it comes to a boil, bring the heat down to a simmer and leave the lid off for about an hour.

Dice the sausage and add it to the gumbo pot. Don't forget to feed the ends to your dog! (They just get so excited). Place the chicken on a board and remove the skin. Using your hands, take the breast meat off of the bone and shred the meat. I know it seems primitive, but I like shredding the meat by hand to ensure that none of the skin, bone, or fatty pieces make it into the gumbo (yuck!). Add the shredded chicken to the gumbo, and partially cover the pot with a lid. Simmer for another hour or until the okra has fallen apart and the gumbo is thick and delicious. Taste for pepper - add a few more splashes of Crystal hot sauce now if you'd like.

Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

I tried something new this time and cooked Jasmine rice to go with the gumbo. The rice is more fragrant than plain white rice, and it paired very nicely with this chicken and sausage gumbo! Ladel several full scoops of gumbo into a shallow bowl (ideally) and place a heaping scoop of rice on top. Sprinkle with diced scallions, if you have them. Enjoy :)

Get out, Grease!!!

Also, as a side tip, gumbo is always better the next day because the flavors have time to meld together. However, I simply cannot make gumbo and not eat a bowl of it the same day! When gumbo, or any soup, is refrigerated the fat rises to the top and hardens so that it can be easily scooped off of the top. A shortcut that I learned from LaBonne Cuisine cookbook is to help remove some of the grease from hot soup prior to refrigeration. If you take a big piece of leafy lettuce, such as romaine, and skim the top of the soup, the grease will stick to the lettuce. Discard immediately afterwards.



To finish, I made Jam Thumbprint cookies with Red Raspberry Jam :)