Best Shrimp Gumbo From Scratch 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!)

HUSBAND'S GRANDMOTHER'S SHRIMP GUMBO

Steps:

• Brown the sausage in a skillet over medium heat, discard the fat in the skillet, and drain the sausage slices on paper towels to absorb any excess grease. Set the sausage aside. Cook and stir the chopped bacon in the skillet until crisp, 6 to 8 minutes, remove the bacon, and set aside. Stir the okra into the hot bacon drippings, and cook and stir until the okra is tender, about 5 minutes. Drain the okra in a colander, and discard bacon drippings.
• Place the okra and diced tomatoes in a saucepan over medium heat, and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer the okra mixture for about 10 minutes.
• In a large soup pot, melt the butter over medium heat, and cook and stir the onion, green onions, green pepper, celery, parsley, and garlic until the onion begins to turn brown, about 10 minutes. Remove the vegetables but leave the butter in the pot. Stir in the flour, reduce heat to low, and cook the roux, stirring constantly, until it turns the color of milk chocolate, 30 to 45 minutes. Do not let the roux burn.
• When the roux reaches its correct color, whisk in 2 cups of water. Raise the heat to medium; stir in salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, thyme, and bay leaves, bring the mixture to a boil, and stir in the sausage, bacon, okra-tomato mixture, and 6 more cups of water. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer the gumbo, stirring occasionally, until the soup has thickened and the flavors are blended, about 45 minutes. Stir in the shrimp, and simmer until they turn pink and opaque, 6 to 8 more minutes. Discard bay leaves and adjust the seasonings, if desired, before serving.

NEW ORLEANS GUMBO WITH SHRIMP AND SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large dutch oven or a heavy bottom pot over medium-high heat. Whisk in the flour until combined and smooth. Switch to a wooden spoon and continuously stir for 15-22 minutes or until the roux darkens to just past a deep peanut butter color. Do not let the roux burn! (if you smell it burning, you will need to throw is out, clean the pot, and start over, unfortunately there's just no saving burnt roux!)
• Once the roux reaches that deep rich brown color, stir in the onions, bell peppers, and celery and continue to cook, stirring as needed so the vegetables don't stick. About 8-10 minutes or until the veggies soften. Add the garlic, andouille sausage (if using tofurky, do not add yet), and bay leaves. Continue to cook for an additional 1-2 minutes until the garlic is nice and fragrant.
• Add the cajun seasoning, tabasco sauce, and cayenne along with the chicken broth and stewed tomatoes and bring to a high simmer before lowering the heat to medium-low, covering and simmering for 15-20 minutes.
• IF USING TOFURKY: Add a teaspoon of oil to a skillet over medium high heat. Add the slices and cook for a quick 90 seconds (turning half way) just to sear the outside before adding to the gumbo.
• Add the shrimp and tofurky (if using) to the gumbo, give it a stir and allow to continue to simmer for an additional 10-15 minutes or until the shrimp is opaque and the veggies have softened. Taste and season with salt and pepper as desired. Add the gumbo filé and stir. Remove bay leaves before serving.
• TO SERVE: Serve warm with white rice or quinoa with sliced scallions on top.

SHRIMP GUMBO

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Place the vegetable oil and flour into a 5 to 6-quart cast iron Dutch oven and whisk together to combine. Place on the middle shelf of the oven, uncovered, and bake for 1 1/2 hours, whisking 2 to 3 times throughout the cooking process.
• While the roux is baking, de-head, peel and devein the shrimp. Place the shrimp in a bowl and set in the refrigerator. Place the heads and shells in a 4-quart saucepan along with the 2 quarts of water, set over high heat and bring to a boil. Decrease the heat to low and simmer for 1 hour or until the liquid has reduced to 1-quart. Remove from the heat and strain the liquid into a container, discarding the solids.
• Once the roux is done, carefully remove it from the oven and set over medium-high heat. Gently add the onions, celery, green peppers and garlic and cook, moving constantly for 7 to 8 minutes or until the onions begin to turn translucent. Add the tomatoes, salt, black pepper, thyme, cayenne pepper, and bay leaves and stir to combine. Gradually add the shrimp broth while whisking continually. Decrease the heat to low, cover and cook for 35 minutes. Turn off the heat, add the shrimp and sausage and stir to combine. Add the file powder while stirring constantly. Cover and allow to sit for 10 minutes prior to serving. Serve over rice.

SEAFOOD GUMBO

Steps:

• In a heavy Dutch oven, combine flour and oil until smooth. Cook over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium. Cook and stir about 10 minutes more or until mixture is reddish brown. , Add the onion, celery, green pepper and green onions; cook and stir for 5 minutes. Add the chicken broth, water, okra, paprika, salt, oregano and pepper. Bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. , Add shrimp and parsley. Simmer, uncovered, about 5 minutes more or until seafood is done. Remove from heat; stir in Cajun seasoning.

HOMEMADE SHRIMP GUMBO FROM SCRATCH

Steps:

• 1. Peel shrimp, devein and set aside in cold water. Never leave peels on the shrimp. Chop onion, celery, and saute in butter until tender. This is going to be your roux. Don't let it burn but once it has browned sprinkle 2 tablespoons of flour and stir just like you are making gravy. I use fresh tomatoes that I freeze and put the tomatoes in (you may need to add water). Add all the seasonings bay leaves, garlic powder, etc. I use the Gumbo File throughout the process of cooking gumbo. I usually start by adding a tablespoon of File to this. I let this cook until the frozen tomatoes are thawed and everything is blended well.
• 2. After I allow this to cook I add the cut sausage and more Gumbo File and let cook for a few minutes, then add the cut okra and shrimp. I add more Gumbo File. The Gumbo File will make it dark and I also add more salt and pepper. I do a lot of tasting and adjust the seasonings as I go. I let it cook until all the vegetables, shrimp and sausage are done. I give it a final taste. Take the bay leaves out and throw them away. Serve over hot rice with crackers on the side.
• 3. Some of the other seasonings used in the past are oregano which added a different flare to it. My uncle cooked it with lemon slices and Rotel tomatoes. I just stick with this recipe because I don't like the citrus flavor of the lemons. I also used the lesser measurements for this gumbo shown because it was just for my husband and I. I increase if my family visits. Also, if you add crab make sure you add it toward the end. Many people add chicken. Enjoy and have fun making this dish.

SHRIMP GUMBO FROM SCRATCH

Steps:

• Stir together oil and flour in a cast iron skillet.
• Cook over medium low heat 30 to 40 minutes stirring constantly, until chocolate brown, adding thyme, oregano, parsley and salt halfway through.
• In a seperate skillet, melt butter and saute white onion,celery, bell pepper and garlic until tender.
• In a stockpot combine chicken broth, water, tomatoes, tomato paste, green onions, sauted vegetables and 1 Tbl Slap Ya Mama and heat to warm.
• Add cooked roux to stockpot and slow simmer 2 hours adding the shrimp and okra the last half hour.
• The last half hour is also the time to add more Slap Ya Mama and salt to taste.
• Serve over rice.