Best Louisiana Chicken File Gumbo Recipes

AUTHENTIC NEW ORLEANS STYLE GUMBO

Steps:

• Make the Roux*: In a large, heavy bottom stock pot combine flour and oil. Cook on medium-low heat, stirring constantly for 30-45 minutes. This part takes patience--when it's finished it should be as dark as chocolate and have a soft, "cookie dough" like consistency. Be careful not to let it burn! Feel free to add a little more flour or oil as needed to reach this consistency.
• Brown the sausage. In a separate skillet on medium-high heat place the sausage slices in one layer in the pan. Brown them well on one side (2-3 minutes) and then use a fork to flip each over onto the other side to brown. Remove to a plate.
• Cook the vegetables in broth. Add 1/2 cup of the chicken broth to the hot skillet that had the sausage to deglaze the pan. Pour the broth and drippings into your large soup pot.
• Add remaining 5 1/2 cups of chicken broth. Add veggies, parsley, and roux to the pot and stir well.
• Bring to a boil over medium heat and boil for 5-7 minutes, or until the vegetables are slightly tender. (Skim off any foam that may rise to the top of the pot.) Stir in cajun seasoning, to taste.
• Add meat. Add chicken, sausage, and shrimp.
• Taste and serve. At this point taste it and add more seasonings to your liking--salt, pepper, chicken bullion paste, garlic, more Joe's stuff or more chicken broth--until you reach the perfect flavor. Serve warm over rice. (Tastes even better the next day!)

GOOD NEW ORLEANS CREOLE GUMBO

Steps:

• Make a roux by whisking the flour and 3/4 cup bacon drippings together in a large, heavy saucepan over medium-low heat to form a smooth mixture. Cook the roux, whisking constantly, until it turns a rich mahogany brown color. This can take 20 to 30 minutes; watch heat carefully and whisk constantly or roux will burn. Remove from heat; continue whisking until mixture stops cooking.
• Place the celery, onion, green bell pepper, and garlic into the work bowl of a food processor, and pulse until the vegetables are very finely chopped. Stir the vegetables into the roux, and mix in the sausage. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-low heat, and cook until vegetables are tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat, and set aside.
• Bring the water and beef bouillon cubes to a boil in a large Dutch oven or soup pot. Stir until the bouillon cubes dissolve, and whisk the roux mixture into the boiling water. Reduce heat to a simmer, and mix in the sugar, salt, hot pepper sauce, Cajun seasoning, bay leaves, thyme, stewed tomatoes, and tomato sauce. Simmer the soup over low heat for 1 hour; mix in 2 teaspoons of file gumbo powder at the 45-minute mark.
• Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons of bacon drippings in a skillet, and cook the okra with vinegar over medium heat for 15 minutes; remove okra with slotted spoon, and stir into the simmering gumbo. Mix in crabmeat, shrimp, and Worcestershire sauce, and simmer until flavors have blended, 45 more minutes. Just before serving, stir in 2 more teaspoons of file gumbo powder.

SOUTH LOUISIANA CHICKEN AND SAUSAGE GUMBO (NO OKRA!)

Steps:

• For the Roux.
• Heat bacon grease in large skillet.
• Add flour when melted.
• The mixture should be liquidy, If not add a bit more bacon grease.
• Stir mixture constantly over a med-high heat, be careful not to scorch.
• Stir until the mixture is the color of peanut butter.
• For Gumbo.
• Add chopped vegetables to roux in skillet, stir and allow to cook until onions are clear.
• Meanwhile in a large sauce pan, warm 3 cans of broth.
• Once onions are clear, stir in one can of broth, stir until smooth.
• Add roux mixture to saucepan of broth.
• Use the roux skillet for the chicken,cook sausage and chicken until chicken is no longer pink, add to broth.
• Pour the 2 remaining cans of broth into the skillet, bring to a boil, stirring, cleaning the remaining roux and the flavors from the skillet.
• Add skillet broth to sauce pan.
• Stir in Cajun seasonings and bouillon.
• Let simmer on low for 2 hours.
• Serve over cooked white rice.

LOUISIANA CHICKEN GUMBO

Steps:

• Combine flour and salt in a plastic or paper bag.
• Add chicken pieces, close bag, and shake to coat well.
• Heat oil in a large, heavy Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
• Shake excess flour from chicken and place in hot oil, cook until browned on all sides, about 10 minutes.
• Remove chicken from pot and set aside.
• Add onion, celery, green onion, and garlic to pot and cook 5 minutes, stirring often.
• Return chicken to pot.
• Stir in broth, tomatoes, bay leaf, and TABASCO Sauce and bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add okra and cook 10 minutes longer.
• Serve in bowls and top each serving with a scoop of rice.