Mrs Elies Creole Gumbo Recipes

MA HARPER'S CREOLE GUMBO

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place flour in a baking pan and bake, watching and stirring occasionally until flour is a nutty brown color. Sift to remove the lumps of flour.
• Saute chicken in oil in a large pot. Add sausage and cook until it begins to change color. Add onions, bell pepper and garlic and let cook until onion is clear. Add crabs and let cook until the crabs have changed color. Add thyme, cayenne, celery, bay leaves, green onions and flour and let mixture cook 5 minutes. Add stock and season with salt, pepper and Cajun seasoning. Cook for 45 minutes over medium heat, then stir in parsley. Serve over rice. Add gumbo file to each serving.

MRS. ELIE'S CREOLE GUMBO

Steps:

• Clean the crabs by removing the lungs, heart, and glands so that only the parts of the shell containing meat, including legs, swimmers, and claws, remain. Refrigerate the meaty parts and transfer the discarded parts into a 6 or 8-quart stockpot to which you also add the shrimp heads, shells and 5 quarts of water, then bring to a boil and leave to simmer for 30 minutes. When done, remove from heat.
• In a skillet cook the sausages in batches, turn them occasionally until they are slightly brown, and most of the fat has rendered. Before each new batch of sausage remove the excess fat from the skillet. Place the cooked sausage aside on a plate lined with a paper towel in order they drain. Once you finish with cooking of all the sausage, wipe all the excess oil from the skillet but do not remove any bits of sausage stuck to the bottom of the skillet.
• Next, heat in the skillet 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil over medium heat and add to it okra. Cook okra on medium heat for 45 minutes while frequently stirring until slightly brown and dried.
• While the okra is cooking, to make the roux, heat ½ cup of vegetable oil in a 12-quart stockpot over medium heat. When hot, add to it ½ cup of flour slowly tablespoon by tablespoon while constantly stirring until all the flour has been added and the roux becomes medium brown, at about 10-15 minutes.
• Add the onions to the roux while constantly stirring until they have softened, then add the garlic, celery, parsley, green onions and bell pepper.
• Filter the seafood stock to a large stockpot, then add the browned sausage and bay leaves. Cook over medium-high heat until boiling, then reduce the heat to medium and continue cooking. Add to it the cooked okra, then cook for another 60 minutes. Proceed by adding the crab and shrimp that you've set aside and cook for 15 minutes more.
• Remove from heat and stir in the Creole seasoning and file powder, then leave to rest for 15-20 minutes. As gumbo cools oil forms on top that needs to be skimmed off with a ladle or a large spoon and discarded.
• Stir in the crab meat and then check the taste; if need be, add more salt and pepper. To serve, ladle gumbo over steamed rice.

GOOD NEW ORLEANS CREOLE GUMBO

Steps:

• Make a roux by whisking the flour and 3/4 cup bacon drippings together in a large, heavy saucepan over medium-low heat to form a smooth mixture. Cook the roux, whisking constantly, until it turns a rich mahogany brown color. This can take 20 to 30 minutes; watch heat carefully and whisk constantly or roux will burn. Remove from heat; continue whisking until mixture stops cooking.
• Place the celery, onion, green bell pepper, and garlic into the work bowl of a food processor, and pulse until the vegetables are very finely chopped. Stir the vegetables into the roux, and mix in the sausage. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-low heat, and cook until vegetables are tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat, and set aside.
• Bring the water and beef bouillon cubes to a boil in a large Dutch oven or soup pot. Stir until the bouillon cubes dissolve, and whisk the roux mixture into the boiling water. Reduce heat to a simmer, and mix in the sugar, salt, hot pepper sauce, Cajun seasoning, bay leaves, thyme, stewed tomatoes, and tomato sauce. Simmer the soup over low heat for 1 hour; mix in 2 teaspoons of file gumbo powder at the 45-minute mark.
• Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons of bacon drippings in a skillet, and cook the okra with vinegar over medium heat for 15 minutes; remove okra with slotted spoon, and stir into the simmering gumbo. Mix in crabmeat, shrimp, and Worcestershire sauce, and simmer until flavors have blended, 45 more minutes. Just before serving, stir in 2 more teaspoons of file gumbo powder.

CREOLE GUMBO

Steps:

• Remove legs from crab and smash with back of knife. Remove claws and break in 3 pieces. Remove meat from body and head.
• Heat 1/8 cup clarified butter in large saucepan on high heat. Add crab parts and meat, then add onion, celery and green pepper. Stir in tomatoes and garlic. Mix fish stock with tomato paste and add to crab saute. Bring to boil and add bay leaves. Simmer gently, stirring and skimming top frequently, for 8 minutes. Stir in oysters and their juices, then add shrimp and okra. Season with pepper.
• In small bowl, blend file and cold water. Add to soup and stir briskly. On medium-low heat, cook soup for 1 hour; do not let soup boil. Serve piping hot.

CREOLE GUMBO

Steps:

• Cook onion and garlic in butter until onion is tender.
• Stir in flour.
• Cook, stirring constantly until flour is browned.
• Stir in the tomatoes, water, green pepper, bay leaves, oregano, thyme, salt and hot sauce.
• Bring to boil.
• Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.
• Remove bay leaves.
• Stir in the okra.
• Bring to boil and simmer for 5 minutes.
• Stir shrimp and crab meat into okra mixture.
• Cook about 5 minutes longer or until heated through.
• Serve gumbo over hot rice.
• (Traditionally, rice is mounded in heated soup plates and the gumbo is spooned around it).

CREOLE GUMBO

Steps:

• Peel and devein shrimp. Place heads and shells in stockpot with 12 cups water, and simmer over low heat until needed.
• In a 6-quart stockpot, combine crabs, sausages, beef or stew meat and gizzards; cook, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching, over low flame for 30 minutes.
• In a heavy-bottomed saute pan, whisk oil and flour together over low to moderate heat, and cook, whisking constantly until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Add onions, and cook, stirring, until soft. Pour mixture into pot with meats, and stir gently until well combined. Strain shrimp stock. Add to pot with enough water to make 14 cups liquid. Bring to a boil. Add chicken wings, smoked ham, paprika, garlic, thyme, bay leaves and salt, and simmer 30 minutes. Add peeled shrimp, and simmer 10 minutes. Add oysters, and turn off heat. Stir in file. Serve over rice, and garnish with fresh parsley.

GUMBO STYLE CHICKEN CREOLE

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat. Stir in flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes or until mixture is the color of a copper penny. Reduce heat to low and stir in bell pepper and onion. Cook 10 to 15 minutes, or until tender, stirring occasionally.
• Add chicken, tomatoes with green chile peppers, mushrooms, parsley, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, soy sauce, sugar, salt, pepper and hot sauce. Stir together, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Add chicken broth or water if mixture is too thick for your liking.