This is not creole gumbo. The secret to ceole gumgo is the roux. It has to be very dark reddish brown. If it is not brown enough it changes the whole taste and it is not creole gumbo!
Used andouille sausage and kicked it up with 1 tsp cayanne. Added some okra when I added spices. Great over white rice.
being from southeast Louisiana I can say that I have eaten most every type of gumbo..except this one. It takes the taste of shrimp and adds chicken to it. It was a nice change and my family loved it.
Taking other's advice I browned my chicken set it aside made the roux(cook & stir flour & butter until light brown) added veggies plus 2 garlic cloves let them cook a few minutes then added chicken sausage and broth let cook 40 min add shrimp cook 1 hour. Delish!
The gumbo was great but I changed a lot about the recipe to get it that way which is why I rate this 3 stars. I did boil the chicken with the onion bell pepper and salted water. However I only used two large chicken breast halves with the skin. I only boiled it for about twenty minutes. I took out the chicken pulled off skin and bones. I put the skin and bones back into the pot and allowed to boil for another 20 minutes. I shredded the chicken. Then I drained the broth but reserved it (its chicken broth I'm not throwing it away!) I made the roux and let it turn a deep reddish brown. I then added the chicken sausage onions & bell peppers and I used the broth I had made instead of water. This got and thick. I then added the shrimp seasonings and I added a ton of Old Bay Seasoning! Its very good I'm eating right now on top of steamed rice!
I had left over sausage and left over chicken in the fridge. Found this recipe scaled it for four servings instead of eight and made it for dinner...delish! I used chicken stock instead of water and added some garlic powder to the roux. As I have a toddler in the family I halved the amount of cajun spice. I thought I had shrimp in the freezer but found bay scallops instead. I think almost any combo of meats would work. This recipe is a keeper for those fridays when it's time to clean out leftovers in the fridge.
The cooking time is to long. The chicken becomes very stringy after 1 1/2 hours on low and then you add shrimp and cook an additional 1 hour. Talk about tough shrimp. Then the directions didn't explain about making a roux. I took mine to a mohagany color; which took an additional 20 minutes.
This is a great tasting recipe! I used the chicken stock created when I boiled the chicken and vegetables (in place of the water). And I also added one 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes.My family loved it!
This was great. I can't believe I forgot to debone the chicken before making the gumbo!!! Nobody cared though it was THAT good!
