Cajun Seafood Gumbo by Ellen Guidry

By Ellen Guidry (Age: 71)
Copyright 01-08-2003

Cajun Seafood Gumbo

Ingredients:

One or two pounds of shrimp tails of 35/40 count (That means the size that would have 35 to 40 of heads/on/shrimp to a lb.)

One or two pounds of crabmeat or you can use canned crabmeat (two cans)

The meat from a two to three pound fryer or an old hen

One Pound of Sausage: I use Hillshire Pork sausage and I cut it into small pieces about 1/2 inch or 3/4 inch thick.

Olive oil (4 or 5 tablespoons used to brown the onions, etc.)

Okra is optional. I always used the cooked kind either fresh okra that I cooked down until the slime was gone or canned cooked okra. See my recipe for Cabbsge and Okra to see how I cook okra.

2 extra large onions, 2 medium bell peppers, and 4 stalks of celery all chopped up fine!

Seasonings: 2 tsp. salt, 2 tsp. black pepper, 1/2 tsp. red or cayenne pepper, 2 or 3 tablespoons of Season-All or Tony’s Cajun or Creole seasoning!

Seasonings may be adjusted for your own personal taste!

Method!

Remove skin from fryer and wash well under running water. Cut chicken into at least 12 pieces then place it in a pot with water to cover it and boil it until the meat comes off the bones easily! Remove bones and set meat aside.

In gumbo pot (At least a 5 quart pot) brown onions, bell pepper, and celery in olive oil and then add water and other seasonings! Add enough water to fill the pot half way! Add the okra if you so desire then the seasoning mix! Next add the roux you made or some bought roux mix! (Use one half of my roux recipe.)

Bring this mixture to a boil after adding the chicken pieces then reduce heat and let it simmer for about an hour then add the shrimp, and crab meat and the sausage and cook for about thirty minutes or up to an hour.

Add water as needed to keep the mixture to a nice thick gravy, not too, too thick, but certainly not thin!

Then place about a half-cup of rice in a large soup bowl and add gumbo to fill the bowl! Be sure to get some shrimp, crabmeat, chicken, and sausage with your gumbo gravy.

If you may want to add some Filè to your gumbo, now is the time! Don’t add it to the gumbo while you are cooking it because it can make the gravy slimy! Or put it on the table and let each individual fix their own!

OH, and BTW, Gumbo tastes better the second day after it has been made than it does the first day? But you won’t believe that until you try it! That is if there is any left for the next day! This recipe feeds 6 to 8 people for one meal!
YUM! YUM! Bon! Bon!

Serve with a platter of deviled eggs as a side dish!

ENJOY PLEASE, You Chèrs and Chères!

Ellen Guidry(A pure Cajun name.)