My 3yo ate this. That by far is an accomplishment!!!! I did take the advice of others. I cut the chx broth to 3 cans. did not have roma tomatoes so i used 2 cans of diced plus about a cup of crushed tomatoes. i also added crabmeat, i would not recommend wasting money on lump meat, in the end its not lump anymore. i did not add the shrimp with the other meats (for 20mins due complaints of them being rubbery). I waited until it was done, turned the pot off, then added the shrimp, stirring occasionally. they were done and perfect in about 10-15mins. this also served as my cooling time. This is definitely a keeper!!!!! oh yeah if don't have sweet onions on hand use reg onions and 1 1/2 teaspoons of white sugar.
This was my second try with this recipe and my third try at gumbo. My first attempt was when I was wooing my wife and I went a bit overboard with the seafood (about a $60 pot of Gumbo). The first time I tried this recipe it came out great and my wife and I both loved it. Just made it for the third time and it is the best yet. As I have been told Gumbo is all about the roux. My first tries I was paranoid about burning it so I proceeded before the roux was ready. This time I used medium/low heat and took my time. It took about 35 minutes, but it was well worth it. Roux should be a nice medium brown (at least a little darker than peanut butter). A good roux has a delicious nutty aroma and will make a good recipe phenomenal. Thank you so much for the recipe and the comments!
Glad you all like the recipe. Been a few years since I worked on this one. Try adding some oysters and lump crab meat. You will love it. The recipe is only soupy until you add it with rice. Shred a Cooked Chicken instead of using Raw for better texture. Also, I add roasted & peeled Poblano peppers now and I also use a bock beer for depth of flavor. Won Gumbo Cookoff May 2012 with this recipe!!!!
Hot Diggity Dog! THIS IS AWESOME! If your in the mood for some foot stomping "toe-curling" gumbo - this is the recipe to try! Even if you've never had gumbo before - this would be a great recipe to convert you! Per others I reduced the broth to 5 cups increased the chicken and used "smoked cajun sausage" (and more of it). Also I drained a can of tomatoes instead of chopping the roma's and used a green bell pepper instead of the red chile peppers. Thick hearty spicy (but not hot) and great over rice. Makes a ton but it we can't wait for the leftovers! Thanks so much Jason and Lupe! This recipe deserves nothing less than five stars!!!
This was very good. Once my roux browned I transfered to my slow cooker and continued with the remaining ingredients. I only used slightly more than 2 quarts of bouillon was perfect and do believe 3 quarts would have been way too much broth. I used all bouillon and no broth actually. The 'Better Than Bouillon' brand of chicken bouillon is the best I have found. Used 1/8 cup of McCormick' Cajun and 1/8 cup to Tony's Creole one dried red chili pepper and one green chili pepper seeded and vein removed then minced. I also added okra. What works best for me is to sautee the okra in olive oil until it is no longer 'sticky' this method takes the 'slim' out before adding to the gumbo. I only cooked the shrimp 10 minutes after turning my cooker off and it was perfect.
This is the best thing I cook! I love it. It is soooo flavorful and has quite a kick. I am new to cooking and this is a challenging recipe, but I have made it more than any other recipe I have because it is so worth it. It makes a lot so I freeze half and I think it is even better reheated.
I have made some changes to the recipe too:
I cut back on the broth, omitted the sausage (health reasons), omitted the shrimp, doubled the chicken. I didn't find that the shrimp was worth the effort since the chicken is so good in it anyway. I add the entire can of tomatoes with peppers. Double the celery. Also, I don't fry up the chicken, I just let it cook right in the soup. It's much easier that way.
I never reviewed a recipe before, but I like this one so much I made an exception.
made this a day ahead so the flavors could marinate. It has a kick to it and turned out pretty good . shared it with family and friends. Also took the shells from the shrimp and baked them at 375 until golden brown and add them to the beer and chicken broth and cooked for 1-2 hours add alot of flavor to the broth. good use for the shrimp shells nothing goes to waste this way.
I reviewed several of the gumbo receipes on this site, and I followed this one more than the others. However, I chose to do the roux with 1/2 cup butter and 1/2 cup flour. It cooked beautifully, darkened nicely and wasn't oily. I also used Andouille sausage (it's a must). 6 cups of chicken broth(low sodium) was plenty. You don't need to cook the chicken separately, I simply added it with vegetables and it cooked fine. I used 4 cloves of garlic, added a red bell pepper and one chopped jalapeno pepper, along with the other vegetables. I used 1/4 cup of Cajun seasoning, 2
tsps of red pepper sauce, and a
tablespoon of file powder at the end (a must). My husband went nuts over it (we like spice), served it over white rice.
I picked this based off all the reviews. First time I tried making gumbo and I was very impressed. A little vague on what kind of cajun spice to use there are so many to choose from. I used Tonys Creole...a bit high in sodium. All in all this gumbo rocked everyone was pleased. I added Okra to it which I was surprised not to see in the ingredients. I used Tecate Beer I wondered if what beer really mattered. This one is a keeper! The only downside is prep time I hope your good with a knife watch dem fingers!
Chicken breast is too dry (use thighs and boil them in water to make your own chicken broth - the skins fat and bones give it a better flavor) use anduoille sausage start with a good roux and this recipe would be passable. Keep this in Texas - it ain't cajun!!
