How to Make Evelyn's Seafood Gumbo - The "right" way and the "easy" way!

My mother-in-law use to make gumbo every Christmas Eve. They would have family and friends stop by throughout the night. I thought it was a great idea! My family use to go to church on Christmas Eve and then we would rush home and have to go straight to bed. It was so boring. I loved the idea of having family and friends pop in and out throughout the night and to offer them some great Gumbo.

Needless to say, as the years went by, I started to understand why my sister-in-laws never carried on the gumbo tradition. It takes an incredible amount of time (and expense) to do it properly. As our family has grown, I have adapted the original recipe to be more time friendly.

I make “Evelyn’s Seafood Gumbo” once a year on Christmas Eve. I make the “Cheater’s Gumbo” all year long especially when fresh okra and veggies are in season!

EVENLYN’S SEAFOOD GUMBO – Serves 8-10

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups of chopped onions
• 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 cup of green bell pepper chopped
• 1 cup of celery chopped
• ½ cup of green onion chopped
• 2 tablespoons of chopped parsley
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 2 cans of skinless crushed tomatoes
• 2 lbs. peeled shrimp
• 2 lbs. crabmeat or 4 cans of crabmeat (can be reduced or omitted altogether)
• 2 lbs. fresh okra (frozen ok but fresh is better)
• 1 whole small chicken
• 1 lb andouille sausage, sliced
• 1 chicken breast cooked & minced
• Additional seafood (Optional): Clams, oysters, mussels, etc

LIQUIDS AND SEASONINGS:

• Broth from chicken and water to measure at least 2 ½ quarts.
• 1 ½ teaspoon dried thyme or 2-3 springs of fresh thyme
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper (adjust to taste)
• 1 teaspoons salt (adjust to taste)
• ½ teaspoon of pepper (adjust to taste)
• 4 bay leafs (remove after cooking)

ROUX:

1 1/2 cups Butter

1 cup plain flour

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COOKING DIRECTIONS

Chicken & Chicken Broth:

Cook the chicken the day before you plan to make the Gumbo. Place the whole chicken in a large pot and cover with water. Bring water to boil and then simmer. If the chicken is 5-7 lbs., it will take about 1 ½ to 2 hours. Once it is done, remove the chicken to a plate or bowl. Run the chicken broth through a strainer and place the leftover chicken broth in the refrigerator. The next day, the congealed fat from the broth will be on top and can be removed easily. This broth will be used below in step 7. You will need 2 ½ quarts. If you do not have enough chicken broth, add water to get to the 2 ½ quarts.

Take one chicken breast and mince. You can use more or less depending on your preference. If you are not planning to use crabmeat, then add extra chicken. This chicken will be added in step 10 below.

Clarified Butter:

In a heavy saucepan, melt the butter over a very low heat. Once it is melted, let it sit for five minutes. There should be foam on the top. Using a spoon, skim the foam off the top. Next, slowly pour the butter into a bowl and discard the milky solids on the bottom of the saucepan. Clarified butter can be prepared up to a month in advanced. It just needs to be kept in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator.

Roux:

Pour clarified butter into a Dutch oven or any heavy pan. If you have refrigerated your clarified butter, allow it to melt slowly on low heat. Once the clarified butter is melted, slowing add a little bit of flour at a time (low heat). Continue to cook on very low heat, stirring frequently until the mixture turns a reddish brown. This process will take at least 3 hours and must be watched.

Creating the Gumbo:

While the roux is finishing (2 1/2 to 3 hours after the roux has started), you can start the next steps of putting the Gumbo together:

1. In a heavy skillet, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
2. Cook okra until they are no longer slimy. Remove okra to large bowl and set aside.
3. Next, cook sausage, onion, green pepper, garlic and celery in skillet and add 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil (if needed).
4. Cook until almost tender then add the vegetable mixture to the roux.
5. Immediately turn off roux and remove from heat.
6. Add cooked okra to vegetable / roux mix.
7. Add the liquid and spices to the vegetable / roux mix
8. Stir well and turn heat back on and bring to a boil.
9. Reduce heat to a simmer.
10. Add crab meat and shredded chicken.
11. Simmer until it is cooked down and gumbo thickens. – This usually takes 3+ hours.
12. A few minutes before serving, add shrimp, mussels, etc.
13. Cook until shrimp turn pink and mussels pop open – Usually only takes 3-4 minutes.
14. Serve over rice and with some cornbread

Serving Tips:

• Place some of the gumbo mixture into a separate, smaller pot and add the shrimp / mussels to this pot. Serve a ladle of gumbo without shrimp into each bowl and then a ladle of the gumbo with shrimp into each bowl. Continue to add gumbo to the smaller pot as needed and then add more shrimp. This will help to keep the shrimp/mussels from getting overcooked. If the pot is left unattended, the shrimp will stick to the pot of the pot.

Day before Tips – makes it much easier and quicker on the day you are making the gumbo:

• Prepare the vegetables the day before and place them in plastic bags.
• Cook the chicken the day before, bone it and mince the meat and put in plastic bags.
• Peel the shrimp
• Clarify the butter (see above in cooking directions)

This recipe can be multiplied for a bigger crowed. The gumbo freezes well too. However, I would recommend freezing the gumbo without the shrimp or mussels.

Since preparing Evelyn’s Gumbo is an all day event, below is another version of her recipe that is much faster to prepare and equally delicious!

CHEATER’S GUMBO – Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 chicken breast
• 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 lbs. fresh okra (frozen ok but fresh is better - optional)
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 cups of chopped onions
• ½ cup of green bell pepper chopped
• ½ cup of celery chopped
• 1 cans of skinless crushed tomatoes
• 1 ½ cup chicken broth or 1 cup of chicken broth with ½ cup of dry white wine
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tablespoons of chopped parsley
• 2 tablespoons of plain floor
• 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
• Seafood (optional): Clams, shrimp, crabmeat, oysters, mussels, etc.

COOKING DIRECTIONS:

• Using a Dutch oven over medium heat, sauté whole chicken breast until brown on each side and remove to a plate. Shred / dice chicken. It is ok if it is not cooked all the way.
• Using same pan, add 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil and cook okra until no longer slimy.
• Next, add green pepper, celery, onion, and garlic to the okra. Add a little more olive oil if you need it.
• Add the crushed tomatoes, chicken broth, white wine, bay leaf, parsley, lemon, flour, butter, and shredded chicken. Stir together.
• Reduce heat and simmer for 30-60 minutes. The longer it simmers, the more intense the flavors mingle together. Sometimes, I will fix this on the weekends to have during the week. It seems to taste better once it “sits”.
• A few minutes before serving, add shrimp, mussels, etc. (Often times, I leave the seafood out altogether and just have chicken gumbo.)
• Cook until shrimp turn pink and mussels pop open – Usually only takes 3-4 minutes.

• Serve over rice and with some cornbread.