Sausage & Chicken Gumbo

 Note: I don't measure with cups but by sight.

Heat some vegetable oil in a pot - added some flour and stirred until it looked a little darker than milk chocolate. Stir over medium-high heat until smooth and thick! It was a beautiful roux!

Holy Trinity of Cajun Cooking: chopped onion, bell pepper and celery - throw that into the roux. And cooked them down for about 5 or 6 minutes - stirring constantly!

To the roux:  I added some sliced smoked sausage, minced fresh garlic, about 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of cumin, a bit of salt, black pepper, red pepper, parsley, 5 or 6 drops of Worcestershire Sauce, 5 to 6 drops of Kitchen Bouquet, and 5 to 6 drops of Liquid Smoke. I cooked about 5 minutes - stirring constantly.

Time to add about 2 1/2 to 3 cups of chicken broth to the pot! (Made from Better than Bouillon)... stir well, bring to a boil  - then lower the fire to simmer the gumbo.

Meanwhile: I cut chicken breast into bit size pieces - I made a mix of (tad) cumin, salt, black pepper, red pepper and parsley... sprinkle over the chicken (mix to cover the chicken) -- then I let chicken sit in a covered container for about 1 hour.

Then I added the chicken to the Gumbo as well as a few drops of liquid from the bottle of Tabasco Peppers and simmered for about 2 hours. I skimmed the fat off the top of the Gumbo before serving.

I made a pot of rice and heated up some good bread (today Hawaiian Sweet Rolls).  I put some rice in a bowl, added a bit of Gumbo File to the top of the rice (as suggested by someone to be the best way to add the file) then ladled some Gumbo on top of the rice, sprinkled some chopped green onion on top and ate a good meal today!


Note: The Gumbo I made is NOT pepper hot.... I only added about 7 to 8 drops of Tabasco Pepper liquid to the pot and a very very minimal amount of red and black pepper - just enough to add an underlying of flavor without the heat.  If one wants their Gumbo pepper hot then add it to your bowl not the pot.

Also: there are 4 other ingredients I used in the Gumbo that one has to be very careful using: Cumin, Worcestershire Sauce, Kitchen Bouquet and Liquid Smoke. All 4 of these should be used a little at a time because they are "potent" (strong in flavor).



I do not have many eggs right otherwise I would have boiled one or two then added the (peeled) boiled egg to my bowl of Gumbo - real Cajun style! (My 3 eggs I have left until I get back to the store is being reserved for a breakfast meal soon!)

Another good thing to serve with Gumbo is Potato Salad - added directly (your personal) bowl of Gumbo instead of the boiled egg is good!!