55 lines
2.8 KiB
Plaintext
55 lines
2.8 KiB
Plaintext
================================ Peter's authentic Louisisana Gumbo
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Roux:
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1 cup all purpose flour 1 cup crisco or lard or bacon drippings
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DO NOT USE VEGETABLE, OLIVE, CORN OR PEANUT OILS. IF YOU DO YOUR ROUX WILL BE
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INFERIOR, OR DOWN-RIGHT NASTY.
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Put the crisco or lard into a 10-12" cast iron skillet and put it into an oven
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heated to 375° F. When it's melted, stir in the flour with a whisk. The
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consistentncy of the mixture should be thick but smooth, like _runny_ peanut
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butter, so feel free to use your own judgement and add oil or flour until it has
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the right consistency.
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Bake in the oven at about 375-425°, stirring well with the whisk every 20-30
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minutes until it begins to turn brown and then every 10-20 minutes until it turns
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a deep mahogany color.
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Be patient; don't rush the process, but at the same time WATCH THE ROUX!! DON'T
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BURN IT!! If you have to check and stir it fifty times, so be it. In a previous
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life I worked on offshore oil rigs and once I worked met a wonderful cajun named
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Breaux Bernice who told me "son, if you burn you roux, all the five-dollar
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shrimps in de worl' ain' gonna fix that gombo!
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Afterwards it's simply a matter of what type of Gumbo you want. Popular types
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include shrimp/seafood/crab/ and chcken and/or sausage. Breaux cooked a squirrel
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gumbo that was one of the best things I ever ate in my entire time on this
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planet.
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It's simply a matter of boiling up what ever you want in your gumbo into about
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5-6 quarts stock with about one cup of diced onion, one cup of diced bell pepper
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and maybe a diced celery stalk or two (reduce or omit the celery with seafood
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gumbos), one big can of whole tomatoes (optional-squish 'em up of course, or use
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fresh ) and salt, black pepper,white pepper and cayenne pepper to taste. When it
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is about halfway cooked (or all the way cooked for tough meats like squirrel) add
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the roux, less for a thinner gumbo and more for a thicker gumbo. Me, I use all
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of it!
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A word about okra-- "gombo" is actually a Choctaw indian word for okra; they
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would use it as a thickener for soups. Some Louisiana cooks use it in their
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Gumbos and some don't. Me, I like it but whether it's fresh or frozen you have
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to boil it for about 30-45 minutes separately to avoid it making your gumbo
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stringy and gooey. When you boil it you'll see what I mean. After 30-45 minutes
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drain it and add it to your stock and voilá! Just like my 'tite Grande-mere used
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to make, cher!
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Use these guidelines to experiment and make your gumbo your own. Myself, I'm a
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vegetarian; my gumbo is made with vegetable stock, okra, mesquite smoked pablano
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peppers, carrots, tomatoes and corn!! There is no right or wrong way. Serve with
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rice and if you really want to be authentic, get some Gumbo Filé from Fiesta and
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stir in a half-teaspoon of it into your bowl of gumbo right before you eat it.
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Laissez les bon temps rouller!!
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