Mumbo Jumbo Gumbo Recipes

AUTHENTIC CAJUN GUMBO

Steps:

• Place the first 11 ingredients in a stockpot; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1-1/2 hours., Remove chicken and allow to cool. Strain broth, discarding vegetables; skim fat. Remove meat from bones; cut chicken into bite-size pieces and set aside. Discard bones., In the same pan, cook and stir oil and flour over medium heat until caramel-colored, about 14 minutes (do not burn). Add finely chopped onion; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Gradually stir in broth. Bring to a boil., Carefully stir in sausage and reserved chicken. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Stir in okra and oysters. Simmer, uncovered, 10-15 minutes longer or just until okra is tender. Stir in file powder. Serve with 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.

SMOKED SAUSAGE GUMBO

Steps:

• In a large skillet, saute the celery, onion, green pepper and carrot in oil until tender. Stir in flour until blended; gradually add broth. Bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened., Transfer to a 3-qt. slow cooker. Stir in the sausage, tomatoes, oregano, thyme and cayenne. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours or until heated through. Serve with rice. Freeze Option: Freeze soup and rice, if desired, in freezer containers. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Transfer to a saucepan. Cover and cook over medium heat until heated through, adding a little water if necessary. Serve gumbo with rice.

MUMBO JUMBO GUMBO

Steps:

• In a large cast iron skillet or heavy sauté pan, add the oil.
• A high flash point oil will reduce the time needed to make the roux.
• Heat the oil on high heat until the pan is smoking hot, carefully whisk in the flour and reduce the heat.
• Stir constantly to prevent scorching.
• Stir the mixture constantly for 30-45 minutes or until a dark brown color and nutty aroma develops.
• Remove from heat for a few minutes before adding the garlic to prevent burning.
• Fry garlic in this roux.
• Add onions and cook for 10 minutes.
• Add celery, bell pepper, black pepper, salt, Tabasco sauce, and Worcestershire sauce.
• Cook vegetables and then add three quarts of fish stock (recipe below).
• Allow the liquid to come to a boil and simmer while preparing the shrimp, crab and oysters/steamers.
• Using 2 cubes Knorr fish bouillon and 1 ½ tsp.
• Old Bay seasoning, precook the shrimp in a little boiling water.
• Drain, cool and peel the shrimp.
• Again, using the fish bouillon and Old Bay, bring the oysters to a boil in water until they just curl.
• Drain and cool.
• If using steamers (clams) instead of oysters, using the same procedure and seasonings, steam the clams, then shuck and clean before adding to the final boil.
• After cleaning the lump crab for any odd shell fragments, add crab the meat and cook for another ten minutes.
• Add parsley and chopped green onion and cook for another 10 minutes.
• Add the precooked shrimp, oysters/clams and cook for 5 minutes to heat through.
• At the very last add the file gumbo, blend well and remove from the heat and allow it to thicken.
• Allow the gumbo to set and when reheating, simmer gently and serve with cooked rice if desired.
• Fish Stock- Cooking down about 2 pounds of fish scraps or a mess of shellfish scraps can make the fish stock.
• In a small stockpot, add just enough water to cover.
• Add salt to taste and simmer for 20-30 minutes.
• Strain the stock before using.

AUTHENTIC NEW ORLEANS STYLE GUMBO

Steps:

• Make the Roux*: In a large, heavy bottom stock pot combine flour and oil. Cook on medium-low heat, stirring constantly for 30-45 minutes. This part takes patience--when it's finished it should be as dark as chocolate and have a soft, "cookie dough" like consistency. Be careful not to let it burn! Feel free to add a little more flour or oil as needed to reach this consistency.
• Brown the sausage. In a separate skillet on medium-high heat place the sausage slices in one layer in the pan. Brown them well on one side (2-3 minutes) and then use a fork to flip each over onto the other side to brown. Remove to a plate.
• Cook the vegetables in broth. Add 1/2 cup of the chicken broth to the hot skillet that had the sausage to deglaze the pan. Pour the broth and drippings into your large soup pot.
• Add remaining 5 1/2 cups of chicken broth. Add veggies, parsley, and roux to the pot and stir well.
• Bring to a boil over medium heat and boil for 5-7 minutes, or until the vegetables are slightly tender. (Skim off any foam that may rise to the top of the pot.) Stir in cajun seasoning, to taste.
• Add meat. Add chicken, sausage, and shrimp.
• Taste and serve. At this point taste it and add more seasonings to your liking--salt, pepper, chicken bullion paste, garlic, more Joe's stuff or more chicken broth--until you reach the perfect flavor. Serve warm over rice. (Tastes even better the next day!)

SEAFOOD GUMBO

Steps:

• Make the spice mix: Place all ingredients in a bowl and stir until combined. Set aside 2 tablespoons to add to the gumbo and reserve the rest for another use in an airtight container.
• Make the gumbo: In a heavy 4- to 5-quart pot, heat the butter and oil over medium heat. Once the butter begins to bubble slightly, add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon or heatproof spatula to form a smooth paste.
• Cook the mixture, stirring continuously, for 10 to 13 minutes to make a chocolate-colored roux. Make sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the pot to avoid burning. It is important to keep a very close eye on the roux during this step. The roux can go from a nutty color and aroma to burnt beyond repair in a matter of minutes. Lower the heat as needed.
• Immediately add the onion, garlic, celery, bell pepper and tomatoes and stir well. The vegetables will stop the roux from overcooking and burning. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables start to stick to the pan, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the dried shrimp, if using, tomato paste and 2 tablespoons spice mix and cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes.
• While whisking, slowly add the stock and whisk until the stock is completely blended with the roux and vegetable mixture. Add the okra, lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce and let simmer for 50 minutes over very low heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Add the lobster, crab, scallops and shrimp and simmer just until cooked through, about 10 minutes more.
• Season the gumbo to taste with salt and pepper and serve over rice.

"BIG EASY" GUMBO

Steps:

• In 4- to 6-quart Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Gradually stir in flour with whisk; cook 5 to 7 minutes, stirring constantly, until flour is chocolate colored. (Do not burn mixture.)
• Reduce heat to medium. Stir in onion, bell pepper, celery, Creole seasoning and garlic. Cook 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Gradually stir in broth. Add chicken, sausage and black-eyed peas. Heat to boiling over medium-high heat; reduce heat to low. Simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Stir in shrimp; cook 5 minutes or just until shrimp are pink.