Description
The original, purist, real-deal gumbo from a certified Cajun. Serve over cooked jasmine rice with hot French bread to dip.
Ingredients
- 7 chicken drumsticks, with skin
- 6 bone-in chicken breast halves, with skin
- 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning blend (such as Tony Chachere’s®), or to taste
- ½ cup olive oil
- ½ cup dry white wine
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 1 large green bell pepper, chopped
- 1 large celery stalk, chopped
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup canola oil
- 10 cups boiling water, divided
- 2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning (such as Tony Chachere’s), or to taste
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
- 1 ½ pounds smoked sausage, cut into 1/2-inch slices
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cups uncooked jasmine rice
- 3 cups water
- 1 bunch green onions, chopped
Instructions
- Peel back the skin from the chicken drumsticks and breasts without removing the skin
- and make several deep cuts in the chicken meat. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of Cajun seasoning into the cuts and onto the meat
- then replace the skin. Whisk 1/2 cup olive oil and white wine together in a bowl. Place the chicken into a large bowl
- pour the olive oil mixture over
- stir to coat
- and refrigerate 1 hour.
- Remove the chicken pieces from the marinade
- and discard the marinade. Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a large skillet until the oil shimmers
- and brown the chicken pieces over medium heat
- working in batches if necessary
- about 5 minutes per side. Place all the chicken pieces into a large soup pot
- and pour the broth over the chicken. Bring the mixture to a boil
- reduce heat to a simmer
- and cook the chicken until tender
- about 20 minutes.
- While the chicken is simmering
- place the onion
- green bell pepper
- and celery into a skillet with 3 tablespoons of olive oil
- and cook and stir until the onions are transparent and the peppers have softened
- about 8 minutes. Set the onion mixture aside.
- Make a roux: mix flour and canola oil together in a nonstick pan
- stirring the mixture together until smooth and lump-free. Heat over medium-high heat
- stirring constantly with a wooden spoon and scraping the bottom of the pan to prevent burning. After about 5 minutes of stirring
- the roux will begin to turn a pale golden color
- and gently bubble and foam. Stir the roux until it turns the color of milk chocolate and gives off a nutty fragrance
- about 30 to 40 more minutes. Watch carefully because it’s easy to burn the roux. Pull the pan from the hot burner
- and stir until the roux cools and stops cooking
- about 5 more minutes.
- Stir the onion mixture and 1 cup of boiling water into the roux (be careful to avoid spattering)
- heat over medium heat until the mixture comes to a simmer
- and whisk until the roux and water combine and become thick
- about 10 minutes. Pour the thickened roux into the pot with the chicken
- stir together
- and add 9 more cups of boiling water. Season the gumbo with 2 more teaspoons of Cajun seasoning
- or to taste
- and bring the soup to a rolling boil. Reduce heat
- and simmer for 1 hour.
- Sprinkle garlic powder and cayenne pepper over the smoked sausage
- and brown in a skillet with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Transfer the sausage into the soup
- and simmer for 30 more minutes. Remove the chicken pieces
- and take the chicken meat off the bones
- discarding the skin and bones. Return the chicken meat to the soup. Simmer 15 more minutes
- and skim off the layer of oil that has formed on top of the gumbo.
- While the gumbo is simmering
- bring the rice and water to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low
- cover
- and simmer until the rice is tender
- and the liquid has been absorbed
- 20 to 25 minutes.
- Serve gumbo over hot
- cooked rice with a generous sprinkling of chopped green onions over each serving.
Prep Time: 45 mins
Cook Time: 2 hrs 30 mins
Total Time: 4 hrs 15 mins
Servings: 15