Gumbo
MAKE A STOCK. You might want to remove the skin off the back. Boil the whole carcass (plus the neck, if you saved it) in a big pot with water to cover for at least an hour, stirring occasionally to separate the bones from the meat. When the bones are clean, fish them out with a slotted spoon. Stir through to remove anything you wouldn't want to find in a soup.
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Add the following:
Onion (finely chopped)
Green pepper (chopped)
Celery (optional, chopped)
2 Bay leaves
tsp. salt
Black pepper
Crushed red pepper
2 Tobasco peppers (if you have them)
2 links Boudin sausage, cut into 2-3 in. pieces |
Also add about a combined total of a tablespoon of your choice of the following
dried spices: oregano, rosemary, sage, savory, dill, parsley, thyme. Boil
for another 30-45 minutes. The Boudin will mysteriously disappear at some
point.
MAKE A ROUX. Make a dark roux in another pan (a small
iron skillet is a good choice) by heating about ¼ cup peanut oil
and stirring in about an equal amount of flour (3-4 tablespoons). Heat and
stir continuously with a whisk until the flour begins to cook and brown.
Keep going as long as you dare – but don't burn it! Roux can be anywhere
from light brown to very dark, almost black. The darker the better, but
like toast, it is not as good when it burns. So this is a little like playing
chicken.
I once had a chef who used to like to make the roux in a big pan and
add the gumbo to it hot, which is essentially a matter of adding liquid
to hot oil. He called this “food explosion,” an exciting technique which
I do not practice in my own kitchen. George Shanks always made up large
batches of roux, cooled to room temperature, and dipped out what he needed
when he wanted to. He was making gumbo all the time, as it was on the
menu at our restaurant and a lot of people liked it. I make gumbo infrequently,
so I make up only enough roux for one pot (about ¼ cup). I dip
out a cup or so of soup while the roux is still hot enough to dissolve
readily. This makes not an explosion, but a minor poof. When stirred
smooth, the thickened soup-roux mixture is returned to the gumbo.
Correct the seasoning, adding salt, pepper and gumbo file (which is
ground sassafras root) to taste. The gumbo base will now hold as long
as you like hot on the stove. At this point, you can set aside what you
will not eat right away, before adding the okra and seafood. Gumbo keeps
well in the refrigerator for several days, or longer in the freezer,
and it is very good when reheated. The quantity described here would
be twice what the two of us eat at a sitting. The leftover gumbo can
be served plain as a soup or you can add fresh okra and seafood to make
another main course.
You will need about another ten minutes when you are ready to serve.
Add the okra and cook about five minutes. The okra should be bright green
and tender, not dark green. Cook as long as you like before adding the
okra, but not after. Okra tends to be seasonal, so you may have to use
frozen okra if that was the Christmas goose you started with. Add the
seafood and cook a few more minutes. I leave the tails on shrimp. If
the oysters are good enough to eat raw, just put them in the soup bowls
and ladle the boiling hot gumbo on top.
