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mama's gumbo

★★★★★ 2
Wolfebets avatar
a recipe by
Betsy Wolfe
@Wolfebets
Ft Worth, TX

This gumbo is easy to make, and delicious over rice. The key to the special flavor of a good gumbo is the roux (cooked oil and flour thickening base.) This has been the #1 Birthday dinner requested by my kids over the years. I don't make it very spicy so one son adds hot sauce to it. This is a pretty big pot of Gumbo. It's better the next day, but you can cut it in half if you don't want leftovers.

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★★★★★ 2
serves 12
prep time 30 Min
cook time 40 Min
method Stove Top

Ingredients For mama's gumbo

  • 1 c
    flour
  • 3/4 c
    vegetable oil
  • 1
    large onion- chopped
  • 5 stalk
    celery, trimmed and sliced
  • 2
    large green peppers, rough chopped
  • 8 clove
    chopped garlic
  • 1/2 tsp
    black pepper
  • cayenne pepper to taste (i use 1/2 t)
  • 9 c
    chicken broth
  • 2 lb
    andouille sausage or polish sausage, sliced
  • 2
    large chicken breasts, cut into bite size
  • 2 pkg
    frozen sliced okra or 2 lbs fresh, sliced
  • 2
    large bay leaves
  • 1-2 lb
    raw (preferred) or cooked peeled shrimp
  • salt to taste

How To Make mama's gumbo

  • For a normal 6 serving meal, cut this gumbo recipe in half. These are the ingredients I used to make enough for 18. Missing is another plate of sausage and more chicken.
    1
    I recommend having all your ingredients out and pre-chopped. Makes it very quick and easy to get through the preparations steps. ( In this photo I made a 1.5 batch-serves 18. Don't let the large amounts scare you.)
  • The roux needs to develop flavor by roasting the flour in the oil and stirring constantly until the texture is smooth and it is the color of a penny. You'll smell the cooked flour....reminds me of popcorn. Do NOT burn the roux. Med heat and stir
    2
    For roux: Start with a large soup pot. Combine flour and oil with wooden spoon til smooth. Adjust amounts of flour/oil for texture. Stir constantly over med heat until roux cooks to color of a penny. Smells like popcorn. 15 mins or so.
  • 3
    Stir in Onion, celery, green pepper, garlic, pepper and cayenne. Cook over med 3 mins.
  • 4
    Add sausage. Cook another 3 mins.
  • 5
    Stir in broth. Add half the okra, the chicken and bay leaves. Bring to boiling, reduce to simmer for 15 mins.
  • This gumbo hasn't cooked the second addition of okra or thickened yet. It will get a bit more color once it's cooked through.
    6
    Add remainder of okra. (The first half was a thickener and the second half gives more chunky texture.) Simmer for 10-15 mins til last okra is crisp-tender.
  • You can use raw shrimp (preferred) but you can also use cooked if that's all you have. After the gumbo is finished, remove it from heat and stir the cooked shrimp in just before serving.
    7
    Add raw shrimp. Simmer 5 mins. (If using cooked shrimp, remove finished gumbo from heat. Stir cooked shrimp into gumbo to heat through.)
  • In this later batch I used colored peppers as well as green, and yellow and red onions because I had them all on hand and needed to use them up.
    8
    Salt gumbo to taste. Ladle gumbo into soup bowls over hot cooked rice.
  • Last Step: Don't forget to share! Make all your friends drool by posting a picture of your finished recipe on your favorite social network. And don't forget to tag Just A Pinch and include #justapinchrecipes so we can see it too!
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