Easiest Way to Make Tasty Sausage and Seafood Gumbo

Sausage and Seafood Gumbo. In a large, deep skillet over medium-low heat, melt butter, then add flour. Gumbo is a stay-inside-and-cook-all-day kind of dish that warms you inside and out. While Louisianans have firm ideas about what goes into a proper gumbo, there are infinite variations—chicken and okra; turkey and sausage; duck, oyster, and sausage—and countless versions, including ones with filé as a thickener and others with okra.

To give this savory gumbo more of the shrimp flavor, try putting a few of the shrimp in the gumbo early along with the sausage. If you're concerned about fat content, prepare the gumbo a little in advance, refrigerate, and then skim excess fat off the top of the cooled soup. Warm it up again on the stovetop and finish cooking the gumbo with the shrimp. You can have Sausage and Seafood Gumbo using 23 ingredients and 21 steps. Here is how you achieve that.

Ingredients of Sausage and Seafood Gumbo

1. You need 4 of small onion, diced (about 2 cups).
2. It's 6 of celery stalks, diced.
3. Prepare 2 of green bell peppers, diced.
4. It's 16 oz of okra, sliced (frozen is fine).
5. You need 2 tsp of salt.
6. You need 2 of bay leaves.
7. Prepare 1 tsp of cayenne.
8. It's 1 tsp of whit pepper.
9. You need 1 tsp of black pepper.
10. You need 1 tsp of oregano.
11. Prepare 1 tsp of thyme.
12. It's 4 of garlic cloves, minced.
13. It's 1 cup of vegetable oil.
14. You need 1 cup of flour.
15. It's 6 cups of seafood stock (chicken is fine too).
16. Prepare 1 lb of andouille sausage.
17. You need 1 lb of shrimp, peeled.
18. Prepare 6 oz of crab meat, cleaned (or finely diced chicken).
19. You need 6 oz of oysters in liquor, roughly diced.
20. Prepare 1/4 cup of parsley, minced.
21. Prepare 2 of green onions, sliced.
22. You need 2 tsp of gumbo filé.
23. Prepare of Hot steamed rice.

Gumbo needs nothing more than a scoop of white rice. You'll often see gumbo served in Louisiana with a side of potato salad, garlic bread, or plain sliced French bread, as well. To serve, sprinkle the gumbo with filé powder and hot sauce. This authentic little recipe uses the king of all sausages, spicy andouille sausage, with shrimp and traditional gumbo fixings.

Sausage and Seafood Gumbo step by step

1. Prepare the onions, celery, bell pepper, and okra in a bowl..
2. Add the spices into a small bowl..
3. In a skillet, brown the sausage over high heat. If you bought fully cooked sausage, skip this step and go directly to making roux.
4. Once the sausages are browned, remove them and place on a plate to cool. Don't worry if they're still raw inside..
5. Deglaze the pan with a little stock and add it back to the main stock..
6. Prepare the roux by adding the oil to a heavy stock pot over high heat..
7. When the oil begins smoking sprinkle the flour and begin to whisk the mixture..
8. Continue whisking. Do not walk away or your roux will burn. You are looking for a deep red brown color. Be very careful, splashing the roux will severely burn you..
9. It's beginning to take color..
10. Almost there..
11. That's about good. Took roughly 10 minutes..
12. Reduce heat to medium and add half of the vegetables, dumping away from you to prevent splashing..
13. Stir and cook the veggies for 2 minutes..
14. Add the remaining veggies, spices, and garlic. Cook another 2 minutes.
15. Remove the roux from heat..
16. Bring the stock to simmer in a large pot..
17. Add the roux a spoonful at a time, stirring in between so it's not lumpy..
18. Bring the soup to a simmer. Cut the sausage into chunks and add to the gumbo. If you're using chicken, add it here too..
19. Simmer for 20 min, or longer to suit your schedule..
20. Add the shrimp, crab, and oysters. Cook until the shrimp are pink or about 3 minutes.
21. Add the parsley, green onion, and gumbo filé. Stir and serve over hot rice..

Simmering the shrimp shells in the broth adds distinct flavor, but you can skip this step and start with peeled shrimp. Make the gumbo base: In a heavy-bottomed soup pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Taste and season with salt and pepper as desired. Then there's gumbo z'herbes, a Lenten version made with an acre's worth of sundry greens and not a scrap from the animal kingdom. Speaking of vegetables, some gumbos, Creole ones, have tomato; others, Cajun ones, do not.