Texas Okra Gumbo Recipes

LOW COUNTRY GUMBO

Steps:

• Prepare the vegetables. Remove sausage from the casings and crumble. Set aside.
• Season the diced chicken with 3-4 tablespoons of Creole Spice Mix, either homemade or a high-quality store-bought mix. Dredge the chicken in ½ cup all-purpose flour.
• In a large pot over medium-high heat, heat ½ cup of lard. When melted, add the andouille and slightly flatten to an even layer; brown on both sides, just cooking through. (Do not overstir, or meat will not sear.) Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon so oil remains in pan, and drain on a paper towel-lined plate. Set aside.Add the chicken to the hot pan. Allow the chicken to brown and cook through in two batches, being careful not to overstir, about 7 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside with the sausage.
• Roux: Turn the heat to low. Scrape food bits from the bottom of pan (also known as "fond") so they are loose in the melted fat. Add the remaining ½ cup lard and allow it to melt. Dust in the remaining ¾ cup flour in several small additions, whisking constantly. Simmer on low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon so roux does not stick, for 30-45 minutes, until the roux is the color of peanut butter.
• Raise the heat slightly. When the roux has just begun to bubble, add the onions and stir well to coat them. Then add the celery and bell pepper and cook for 5 minutes, stirring, to just soften. (The goal is to "stew," not sear.) Add the garlic. Slowly add the stock in several additions, stirring and scraping constantly to deglaze and mix well. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Add the bay leaves and the filé, and stir. Simmer for 20-30 minutes, until "nappe consistency"-thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
• Add the chicken and sausage pieces and simmer.
• Heat a dry cast-iron skillet. Toss okra lightly in oil, then grill in the hot pan, stirring occasionally, until seared and aromatic. Remove, cool slightly, and chop into ½-inch pieces. Add to the pot and stir.
• Adjust seasoning to taste with salt and pepper. Season with hot sauce, lemon, and some of the spice mix to taste. Serve with rice.
• Combine all the ingredients for the Creole Spice Mix in a bowl and mix well to combine. Set aside.

OKRA GUMBO

Steps:

• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in garlic, onion, and green bell pepper, and saute until tender. Stir in okra, mushrooms, diced tomatoes and their liquid, tomato paste, file powder, bay leaves, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, 40 minutes.
• Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Stirring constantly, add flour, and cook 2 to 5 minutes, until a golden brown roux has formed.
• Spoon the roux into the okra mixture, and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, 5 to 10 minutes, until thickened.

SEAFOOD OKRA GUMBO

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large pot over high heat, add onions, celery and bell peppers, and saute 1 minute. Season with salt and 4 turns of pepper and saute 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, garlic, and shallots, and saute, stirring occasionally, about 4 minutes more.
• Stir in stock, then add fish, Worcestershire, hot sauce, bay leaves, basil, oregano and thyme, and bring to a boil. Cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Reduce heat to medium.
• Stir in shrimp, okra and Creole seasoning, and simmer 10 minutes. Fold in oysters and crabmeat and simmer 5 minutes more. Skim the impurities from the top of the gumbo, turn the heat to high and boil vigorously 5 minutes. Slowly sprinkle in the file, stirring to incorporate thoroughly, and cook, stirring, 2 minutes more.
• To serve, ladle gumbo into bowls or soup plates, add rice and sprinkle with green onions.
• Combine all ingredients thoroughly.
• Recipe from "New New Orleans Cooking", by Emeril Lagasse and Jessie Tirsch, published by William Morrow, 1993.

EARL CAMPBELL'S HOT LINK GUMBO

Steps:

• Start by making the roux. In a heavy bottomed pan, preferably a cast-iron skillet, melt the bacon fat and stir in the flour. It's important to keep stirring this until it turns a deep dark brown. Usually about 30 minutes. Also remember once it is brown to remove it from the burner and it will continue to cook as the pan is still really hot.
• For the gumbo: Melt the butter in a large pot. Add the celery, onions and green and red bell peppers. Let simmer for 5 minutes. Cut the hot links in 1/4-inch half-moons and add to the pot. Add the water, clam base, chili powder, thyme, oregano, garlic, paprika, cayenne, chicken base, hot sauce and bay leaf. Bring to a boil and turn down to a simmer. Let simmer for 30 minutes. Take 1 cup of the liquid and stir it into the still hot roux; it will expand to double the size. Add this to the gumbo and stir it in well bring it back to a boil. Once it has thickened, turn off the heat and stir in the okra and gumbo file. (At this point you have a nice base that you can add your choice of proteins to, anything from crawfish, shrimp, crab, chicken or a combination.)
• Serve in a bowl with steamed rice, soda crackers and Louisiana hot sauce.

OKRA AND TOMATOES (A.K.A. OKRA GUMBO)

Steps:

• Fry bacon in a large skillet that can be covered, until crisp. Remove from skillet and drain on paper towels. Saute onion in bacon drippings until tender. Add okra and tomatoes, stir to blend. Cover, reduce to low heat. Cook for about an hour, or until okra is tender, stirring occasionally. Do not stir too much or too briskly, because the okra will fall apart. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
• **Note: Nanny diced the bacon and fried it and the onion together. My family doesn't like the bacon cooked into it because the bacon becomes soft. If you do it my way, you can sprinkle the bacon on right before serving.

SEAFOOD GUMBO

Steps:

• In a heavy Dutch oven, combine flour and oil until smooth. Cook over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium. Cook and stir about 10 minutes more or until mixture is reddish brown. , Add the onion, celery, green pepper and green onions; cook and stir for 5 minutes. Add the chicken broth, water, okra, paprika, salt, oregano and pepper. Bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. , Add shrimp and parsley. Simmer, uncovered, about 5 minutes more or until seafood is done. Remove from heat; stir in Cajun seasoning.

OKRA GUMBO

Steps:

• Saute' onion and peppers in margarine until tender.
• Add remaining ingredients including cooked chicken.
• Cook on low for about 2 hours to blend flavors.
• This can be served over steamed rice.