by slim » Mon Jan 04, 2010 11:37 pm
This is the recipe. I usually buy live blue crabs and split them for the flavor but then rarely eat them in the finished product. I add lump crab meat right at serving (no need to cook) and it doesnt fall apart and disappear. If you are feeling rich buy some snow or king legs and add them too heh. This recipe calls for only 1 teaspoon of cayenne, and this assumes your cayenne is VERY hot. Most isn't and so Im tripling the cayenne and adding dashes of hot sauce on top of that to get it where I like it. If you like using your homemade stock like I do go for it but don't substitute 2.5 quarts of seafood stock for 2.5 quarts of water especially if your stock is strong and or salty it will overpower the dish. Using frozen okra in lieu of fresh wont ruin the gumbo and neither will using canned plum tomatoes in a pinch.
Shrimp and Crab Gumbo:
The basic New Orleans seafood gumbo. Gumbo crabs are the hard shell crabs
we use for cooking; any hard shell crab available in your area can be used. Whether
you eat the cooked crab served in the gumbo is a matter of taste-some of us do
and some of us don't. A delightful and slightly extravagant variation is to use lump
crabmeat in addition to or as a substitute for hard shell crabs. We like chopped
smoked sausage in this gumbo because it adds a fine, smoky flavor. Reselve half
of the shrimp, and if you use it, half the lump crabmeat, then add them just a few
minutes before the end of cooking time. This way your gumbo will have both the
cooked-in taste of shrimp and also some good firm shrimp for eating. Be sure to have
everything else ready before you start the roux because you can't do all that chopping
and tend the roux at the same time.
THE GUMBO BASE
2 c. chopped onion
2 Creole (Polish, French garlic, Andouille) smoked sausage chopped fine
3/4 c. chopped green pepper
1/3 c. thinly sliced green shallot (scallion)
2 lb. whole fresh shrimp, peeled and tops deveined
2 Tbs. finely minced fresh parsley
1 lb. gumbo crabs, broken in half
2 Tbs. finely minced garlic
2 lb. fresh okra, stems and tips removed, sliced 3/8 inch thick
1 1/2 c. coarsely chopped Creole tomatoes (beefsteak, Jersey)
THE ROUX
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup flour
THE LIQUlD AND THE SEASONINGS
2 1/2 qt. cold water
1 tsp. cayenne
3 whole bay leaves, crushed
4 tsp. fresh lemon juice
2 tsp. dried thyme
10 whole allspice
5 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. mace
1 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
8 whole cloves
After you have assembled the ingredients for the gumbo base, heat the oil in a heavy 7- to 8-quart pot or kettle over medium heat. Make the roux by gradually adding the flour to the oil, stirring constantly. Cook over low heat, always stirring, until a medium brown roux is formed. (This will take from 20 to 30 minutes. The roux should be the color of pecan shells or hazelnuts.) Immediately add the onion, green pepper, shallot tops, parsley, and garlic. Continue cooking for about 10 minutes longer, stirring constantly; the chopped vegetables should be lightly browned at this point. Add the chopped tomatoes and smoked sausage and mix thoroughly. Add 2 quarts of the cold water, 1 pound of the raw shrimp, the crabs, the okra, and the seasonings. Raise the heat slightly and bring the mixture to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 1 hour. Stir from time to time and scrape down the sides and across the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon or spatula to prevent scorching. At the end of the hour, still keeping the gumbo at a simmer, add the remaining 1/2 quart water and stir. move the pot from the heat and let stand at room temperature.
Before serving, bring the gumbo to a boil and add the remaining pound of shrimp. Simmer just until the shrimp turn pink, about 10 to 12 minutes. Stir thor oughly, tum off the heat, and cover the pot. Let it sit, covered, for about 15 minutes before serving. Serve by ladling the gumbo over mounds of boiled rice in gumbo bowls or deep soup bowls.