Real Recipes From Real Home Cooks ®

lizzy's gumbo

(2 ratings)
Recipe by
Elizabeth Lancaster
Lincoln, NE

So this week there was a guy that comes down to Houston from Louisiana to see his dad & sell shrimp. Everyone was raving about his shrimp so we got some. With heads on & all !! I have had Gumbo once in my entire life & it was okay, spicy but okay. Everyone who knows me,knows that I like some heat and flavor. My cooking is BIG on flavor, so I looked on Pinterest,Google and etc.. I found 5 different recipes I wanted to try, so I combined most of them & made my own tweaks! This AMAZING dish is the result! Make some corn bread to go with it, because it is GOOD! This just maybe my new comfort food.

(2 ratings)
yield 8 -10 people
prep time 1 Hr 45 Min
cook time 2 Hr 35 Min
method Stove Top

Ingredients For lizzy's gumbo

  • FOR THE STOCK
  • 3 sm
    blue soft crabs (whole)
  • 1-2 lb
    of shrimp heads,tails or shells(i use the heads)
  • 4-6 c
    water
  • 1/2 c
    dry white wine
  • 1/4 c
    adobe powder
  • 6 clove
    fresh garlic
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • FOR THE ROUX
  • 1 stick
    salted butter
  • 1/2 c
    all purpose flour
  • 1 lg
    diced onion
  • 3 stalk
    chopped celery
  • 4-5 clove
    garlic
  • 1 lg
    green pepper (de-seeded) and diced
  • OTHER INGREDIENTS
  • 1 lb
    andouille sausage sliced 1/4 thick
  • 1 lb
    shrimp, peeled, deveined and cooked
  • 2 lg
    shreded chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
  • 4 c
    sea food stock (recipe above)
  • 2 c
    fresh or frozen okra ( i used fresh)
  • 1 can
    diced tomatoes (28oz) with juice
  • 1/4 c
    worcestershire sauce
  • 6
    cubes of chicken bouillon
  • 1 1/2 tsp
    paprika
  • 2 tsp
    cayenne pepper (1/2-1 tsp for milder taste)
  • 4
    whole bayleaves
  • 1 tsp
    ground thyme
  • 1 tsp
    ground oregano
  • 4 Tbsp
    dry or fresh parsley
  • what ever amount of meat you can get from your crabs.
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 5-6 c
    cooked rice

How To Make lizzy's gumbo

  • 1
    Put the crabs (whole) shrimp shells, salt and pepper and garlic in a large stock pot and add enough water to cover the shells with an inch of water. Put the stove temperature on medium high and slowly heat the shells in the water. As soon as you see that little bubbles are starting to come up to the surface, reduce the heat to medium. Do not let it boil. You want to maintain the temperature at just below a simmer, where the bubbles just occasionally come up to the surface. Do not stir the shells. Stirring will muddy up the stock. As the bubbles come up to the surface a film of foam will develop on the surface. Use a large slotted spoon to skim away this foam. Let the shells cook like this for about an hour; skim the foam every few minutes. The foam comes from shells releasing impurities as their temperature increases.
  • 2
    Once the stock has stopped releasing foam, you can add the wine, Bring to a low simmer and reduce heat so that the stock continues to simmer, but not boil, for 30 minutes. If more foam comes to the surface, skim it off. Add salt and pepper and remove from heat. Dampen a few layers of cheesecloth and place over a large, fine mesh strainer, over a large pot or bowl. Pour the stock into the strainer. Discard the solids.Save your crabs for the meat.
  • 3
    In a cast iron dutch oven, place butter and melt, when it’s smoking hot, gradually and carefully whisk in the flour, forming a “roux.” Continue stirring the roux, whisking constantly until it begins to deepen in color. Be careful, it’s very hot! After 5 minutes or so, when the roux is a deep golden brown, add the Holy Trinity: the onion, green pepper and celery.
  • 4
    Add the garlic and stir, add the stock and stir until it thickens. Add the meat from the crabs, sausage,chicken, Worcestershire sauce, tomatoes, okra, and spices.(not the parsley) Taste and season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 45 min to an hour. (stirring constantly)
  • 5
    Make rice according to package directions and set aside.
  • 6
    15-25 mins before serving add the, shrimp and cook until shrimp turns pink add the parsley.
  • 7
    Going to be making some cornbread to serve right along with this tomorrow! I am very happy with how this dish turned out! I was so scared since I have NEVER made anything Cajun in my life. I hope this dish finds its way to your dinner table! Enjoy!
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