Best File Chicken Gumbo Recipes

GUMBO - SHRIMP, TASSO HAM, ANDOUILLE SAUSAGE, CHICKEN, FILE'

Steps:

• Separately, chop / prepare all ingredients necessary as defined above and set aside.
• Heat a large heavy pot (cast iron / enameled cast iron) on medium high until pre-heated. Add some oil and saute each meat separately and in batches to brown nicely. (A pain, but worth it, I promise). Start with Andouille, then Tasso, and chicken. Some of the meat will stick and that is perfect. It imparts a rich flavor that is important to your gumbo. After browning, set aside.
• ROUX: This is a critical step that requires constant tending. The goal is to cook this flour until it is somewhere between brown and black without burning it.Go for the color of a Hershey's kiss or darker. It is required to make the gumbo you want to make and well worth it. This takes me 45 minutes to an hour to get the right color. Each time I make gumbo I try to get it darker and darker. Don't be afraid to turn the heat up and down even if it take you longer. Better to take longer than to burn it. If you have black flecks, you have burned it and must start over. (You can do it perfectly though!).
• Add 2 cups oil and 2 cups flour to the.
• Pour the 2 cups oil and 2 cups flour into your pot. Stir slowly, consistently until it is brown / black. (It will happen. Just keep going.).
• When the roux has reached the desired color, add the chopped celery, onion and peppers and stir constantly for 8-10 minutes. Be careful not to burn. Cast irons hold heat well, so feel free to lower your temperature and just cook longer).
• Add chicken stock one ladle / cup at a time, stirring in between each addition to keep temperature and to make sure your roux doesn't break).
• Add all meats and drippings (except shrimp) and reduce to simmering uncovered for three hours stirring delicately and occasionally. Add shrimp and cook for 15 minutes more.
• Taste a little to adjust seasonings to your preference and then refrigerate in pot for three - four days.
• Reheat when ready to serve. Serve over rice topped with fresh parsley. Allow each diner to sprinkle their own file' for thickening and flavor.

SUNNY'S BIG EASY CHICKEN AND ANDOUILLE FILE GUMBO

Steps:

• Add the oil, chicken and sausage rounds to a stockpot on medium-high heat. Sear the chicken to get color and sausage to get color and render fat, but not to cook fully. As the parts finish searing, use a slotted spoon to remove them and place on a plate, leaving the fat in the pot, about 10 minutes total.
• Add the butter, flour and Cajun seasoning to the pot. Cook on medium heat, constantly stirring, until the roux becomes a rich, dark caramel color, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Add the bell peppers, onions, celery, jalapenos and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, to coat, until everything gets tender, 5 to 8 minutes, then add the stock base and 8 cups water and stir to mix the base into the pot. Add the bay leaves and cover the pot to simmer until the gumbo is thickened, 30 minutes to 1 hour.
• Add the reserved chicken and sausage, then stir in the file powder. Simmer, uncovered, for another 30 minutes.
• Shred the chicken in the pot. Serve over rice with a shake of hot sauce and file powder.

CHICKEN & SAUSAGE FILE GUMBO

Steps:

• Put the chicken in a pot and add enough water just to cover. Boil just until done.
• Remove the chicken from the pot, reserving the liquid. When the chicken cools enough to handle, remove the skin, take the meat off the bones and cut into bite sized pieces. Set aside.
• Melt the butter and oil in a large pot over medium high heat, then add the flour. Cook, stirring constantly, until it is a medium brown, lowering the heat to avoid burning, if necessary.
• Add the sausage, ham, onions, bell pepper, and garlic. Cook over low heat for 10 minutes.
• Add about 2 cups of the reserved chicken broth, the chicken, and all seasonings except the file powder. Stir in the rest of the reserved chicken broth.
• Bring to a boil, then simmer for one hour, uncovered.
• Remove from the heat, stir in the file powder, then let stand for 5 minutes.
• Serve over steamed rice.

FILE CHICKEN GUMBO

Steps:

• To make chicken stock, place all ingredients into 8-quart stockpot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes, skimming impurities off the top. Remove chicken pieces. Allow chicken to cool, remove meat from bones, and then return bones to stock. Reserve chicken meat for the gumbo. Continue to simmer stock for additional 2 1/2 hours.
• To make gumbo, begin by heating oil in a large pot (preferably an enameled cast iron or other heavy-bottomed pot) and cooking garlic, onions, peppers, and celery until soft and translucent. Add sausage, tomatoes, tomato paste, and stock. Bring to boil, reduce to simmer and add okra and reserved cooked chicken meat. Season with hot pepper sauce, cayenne, salt, pepper, and file. Simmer for 1 hour until flavors meld together. Stir in chopped parsley. Serve over hot rice and garnish with julienned scallions.

CHICKEN, SAUSAGE, OYSTER AND FILE GUMBO

Steps:

• On medium heat warm cooking oil, then add flour. Stir constantly until roux turns medium/dark brown. Add onion and saute until onions are translucent. Add the chicken, livers, green onion and parsley. Mix well. Stirring constantly cook over medium/high heat until a gravy is made from chicken and chicken is slightly browned. Turn heat down to sliimer/low and add enough boiling water to just cover. Cover pot and cook until chicken is almost done. Add the smoked sausage, Andouille sausage and salami. Add the remaining boiling water and chicken stock/broth and cook 2 - 3 hours covered, stirring occasionaly. Add the oysters and reserved liquid and cook for 10 minutes or until edges of oysters curl. Turn off heat. Skim most of the fat from gumbo, if desired. Remove the bones and chicken skin. Add the file and stir. Serve with cooked rice on side for individuals to pepare thier own bowl. Have salt, pepper and hot sauce on tables for each individual to season their own gumbo.

FRIED CHICKEN AND ANDOUILLE-FILE GUMBO

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a heavy 5-quart pot over medium heat. Add the chicken and brown on all sides. Remove chicken and set aside.
• Make a roux by blending the flour into the oil in the pot and stirring constantly with a long-handled spoon until the mixture is a deep coffee brown. Add the sausage, ham, onion, green pepper and celery. Saute, stirring, for about 10 minutes. Add the browned chicken, scallions, garlic, parsley, thyme, bay leaves and enough water to cover, stirring to incorporate the roux into the liquid.
• Stir in salt and pepper and simmer the soup slowly, partly covered, until the chicken is tender, about 1 hour. If you are using the very spicy rind of tasso ham, you will probably not need cayenne or Tabasco. Otherwise, add either toward the end of cooking.
• Take out the chicken and set aside just until cool enough to handle. Pull off the skin and bones and return the chicken to the soup in large pieces. Adjust seasoning if needed. The soup can be prepared in advance up to this point and stored, covered, in the refrigerator for 2 days. Skim fat from soup.
• Bring the soup to a simmer. Five minutes before serving, remove from heat and stir in the file powder. Cover and let stand for about 5 minutes. Do not boil the soup after the file has been added. Mound rice in soup plates and ladle the gumbo over.

CHICKEN-ANDOUILLE FILE GUMBO

Steps:

• Heat a medium, heavy duty skillet over medium-high heat. Add andouille sausage and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer sausage to a large bowl. Add 1/2 cup water to skillet and scrape bottom to release any browned bits. Set this liquid aside.
• Heat oil in an 8 quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper and saute until golden brown, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to bowl containing sausage.
• Add the flour to the remaining oil in Dutch oven, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon over medium-high heat until roux turn caramel-colored, about 6-8 minutes. Add onion, stirring constantly until roux becomes the color of milk chocolate, 2-3 minutes. Add celery, bell pepper, and garlic, and cook, stirring often, until vegetables are softened, about 4 minutes. Stir in chicken broth, 1 qt of water, the reserve sausage liquid, and the andouille, chicken, bay leaves, and thyme.
• Bring to boil, reduce heat, and simmer uncovered until chicken is falling off the bone, about 45 minutes.
• Transfer chicken pieces to a plate and allow to cool. Once cooled, remove skin and bones from chicken, pull meat into bite size pieces and return to gumbo. Season to taste with salt and pepper if needed.
• Serve in large bowls over 1/4 cup of hot cooked rice per serving. Add scallions and hot sauce to taste. Pass file at the table for everyone to add to taste.

LOUISIANA CHICKEN FILE GUMBO

Steps:

• Season chicken with salt, thyme, pepper, and cayenne.
• In an iron soup pot, heat oil over medium high heat until hot, then fry chicken until golden brown.
• Pour excess oil out of pot, and reserve for roux.
• Add onions, celery, and garlic to the pot with the chicken, and cook, uncovered, over low heat until onions are wilted.
• Season flour with Creole seasoning.
• In a heavy iron pot, heat the reserved oil over medium heat to make roux.
• When oil is hot, stir flour in gradually.
• Lower heat to very low, and cook to desired darkness - golden brown to chocolate brown, stirring constantly (It is VERY important that you continue stirring constantly).
• Pour excess oil off the top to prevent the gumbo from being too rich.
• Slowly stir in water, dissolving roux.
• Add the water to the chicken mixture.
• Allow to boil over medium low heat until meat is tender.
• Serve in soup bowls with rice.
• Just before serving sprinkle parsley and a dash of file on each serving.

CHICKEN GUMBO FILE SOUP

Steps:

• Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper, then slowly brown them in the lard (or oil). When brown, remove the chicken pieces, pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the oil and whisk in the flour, making a roux.
• Add the chopped onions, parsley, and thyme and fry for several minutes. Pour in the boiling water, whisking hard, then add the bay leaf, cayenne, and country ham cubes. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for about an hour, until the chicken is tender.
• Pick out the chicken pieces, let cool a bit, then take off the bone -- stirring the meat back into the soup and discarding the bones and skin. Taste for seasoning again, and add as much salt and pepper as you like.
• When ready to serve, pour in the oysters with their juice and stir in the cooked rice. Turn up the heat and continue cooking for about 3 minutes. Don't let the oysters overcook. Remove gumbo from heat, and add filé powder just before taking to the table.