Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

I realize that my original intention for this blog was to post my experiences on my Big Green Egg, but I've decided to expand its scope. Here is my dad's recipe for chicken and sausage gumbo. I realize purists may give me grief about not making my own roux. The store bought is significantly easier and I already know how to make a roux so cheating is OK.

Ingredients List

I package of boneless, skinless chicken thighs (Usually several pounds)

2 - 2.5 pounds of smoked sausage (whatever you like, andouille is best)

5-6 ribs of celery

2 bell peppers (pick the color you like)

2-3 onions

2 tablespoons of garlic

Dark roux (I usually use a store bought jar of roux)

Recipe

Chop all the vegetables and put in a large bowl.

In a large pot, brown the chicken, then brown the sausage (cut into slices). I season the chicken heavily with Tony Chachere's. Once browned, cut the chicken into bite sized chunks and set aside. (This step is not necessary, but adds significant flavor) (Medium high heat)

In the same spot you browned the chicken and sausage; cook the vegetables (except garlic). Make sure and scrape the bottom of the pot so that all of the charred bits are removed and add flavor to the veggies. After veggies are cooked down, add garlic. (Medium high heat)

Add several tablespoons of the roux (I usually use at least 3-4) and stir until the roux softens and is fairly well blended with the veggies. Make sure it does not burn. (Medium heat)

Add as much water as you would like gumbo (I don’t measure, but make sure and leave room for when you add meat back to pot). If you really want it to be flavorful substitute chicken stock for the water. I almost never have chicken stock so I use bouillon cubes instead. It works the same.

Add meat back to pot, stir to mix.

Turn heat to high till it comes to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat to a simmer and simmer uncovered for at least 30 min to 1 hour depending how hungry you are.

Serve over rice and enjoy.

Quick Method: If you are in a hurry and don’t want to brown the chicken and sausage:

Boil the chicken thighs in a separate pot while you cook the vegetables. If the chicken was frozen it will take around 20 minutes of boiling to cook it. Once it is ready just put it in at the stage you normally would and use the liquid as stock.

Browning Chicken Thighs

I used this sausage this time. I normally use Rouse's brand. use whatever you like. Andouille works very well.

Cooking the veggies.

The browned chicken after being cut into smaller pieces.

Garlic added to the nearly cooked vegetables

This is the roux I used

After adding the roux

Nearly done

Serve with potato salad if you want a true Cajun experience