Louisiana gumbo is a delicious stew comprising vegetables, meat, roux, and the Creole “holy trinity” of celery, onions, and bell peppers. This stew can be customized in several ways. For instance, one can make a chicken and sausage gumbo Louisiana recipe (featuring andouille sausage as a key ingredient) or prepare its seafood counterpart (with shrimp or shellfish). Once ready, the gumbo can be served over rice or with a scoop of potato salad.
Classic Louisiana gumbo ingredients
To make this dish, one will require veggies, including diced onions, minced green onions, fresh sliced okra, fresh thyme leaves, diced stalk celery, and seeded and diced green bell peppers. Since this is a Louisiana seafood gumbo recipe, one will also need seafood-based ingredients, such as gumbo crabs, shellfish stock, medium Louisiana or wild American shrimp, shucked oysters, and lumped crabmeat. Minced garlic cloves, bay leaves, salt, Worcestershire sauce, freshly ground black pepper, and Tabasco can be used for seasoning.
Step-by-step Louisiana gumbo recipe (seafood)
Louisiana-style gumbo recipe isn’t as complicated as one may think, provided one goes about the process step-by-step.
- The initial step involves making a roux. To do this, heat oil in a large cast-iron or heavy-bottomed pot over a high flame. As the oil boils, whisk in flour. Reduce the heat to moderate once the mixture sizzles, and continue whisking.
- When the roux turns deep brown, add onions and stir using a wooden spoon. Continue stirring at medium-low heat until the roux turns a rich, dark brown hue.
- Add blue crabs to the mixture and stir for a minute before adding celery, garlic, okra, and bell peppers. Continue cooking and stirring for a few more minutes after increasing the heat to moderate.
- Whilst cooking, add stock, bay leaves, and thyme.
- Bring the stew to a boil and stir occasionally. Let the mixture simmer for about 45 minutes after reducing the heat to medium-low. While stirring, skim off any fat from the surface of the gumbo.
- Add oysters, shrimp, green onions, and crabmeat to the pot before stirring and continually cooking for 15 minutes.
- Season the stew with Creole spices, Worcestershire, tabasco, salt, and pepper.
- Serve the hot stew over cooked Louisiana white rice.
It’s also possible to make traditional Louisiana gumbo using chicken and sausage instead of the seafood elements. This variation of the delicious stew must include some well-chosen and delectable andouille sausages.
Mistakes to avoid during preparation
Those learning how to make gumbo from scratch for the first time must avoid a few common mistakes.
Undercooking the roux
Louisiana gumbo is known for its signature deep-roasted flavor. To develop that flavor, one must cook their roux (the brown solution composed of heated oil and wheat flour) until it attains its deep dark brown color. The secret to achieving this color is slowly cooking the roux on low heat and stirring continuously. Cooking on high heat can burn the roux. It can take up to an hour for the roux to assume the color of dark coffee.
Using the wrong vegetables
Gumbo is cooked on the foundation of a veritable “holy trinity” of vegetables—celery, bell peppers, and onions. Forgetting to add even one of these is a big mistake, as it can spoil the stew’s color, flavor, and texture. Some people experiment with a combination of onions, celery, and carrots. While this offers serviceable returns, nothing can match the alchemy of onions, celery, and green bell peppers. Also, one should add these vegetables right at the start of the cooking process.
Adding the proteins in an incorrect order
Adding certain ingredients in an “incorrect” sequence can spoil the dish in one way or another. Ideally, one must add the blue crabs before adding the vegetables, followed by shrimp, oysters, and crabmeat in the same order. Meats that cook the fastest should be added towards the end of the recipe. That said, adding certain meats towards the end causes them to become rubbery due to undercooking. Either way, messing up the sequence can spoil the stew’s texture and taste.
Not finishing with filé
This coastal stew is normally served over steamed white rice or, in some cases, potato salad. The side dishes normally include sliced scallions and hot sauce. Another key finishing touch is the filé (pronounced as “Fee-Lay”) powder, a mixture made from sassafras leaves. One can sprinkle this powder on individual servings to make the stew thicker and richer. A key mistake is overlooking this ingredient and missing out on the spice’s earthy and slightly floral flavor.
Rushing the cooking process
Making gumbo is more of a marathon than a sprint. This is why patience is paramount. In most instances, a traditional Louisiana gumbo recipe takes a better part of a day to make, including prepping the ingredients, making a roux, and simmering everything low and slow. Slow and patient cooking allows people to meld all the flavors seamlessly and keeps the gumbo from burning and over-reducing. According to many seasoned chefs, gumbo tastes richer the longer it sits.
