Best Spicy Bean And Sausage 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!)

CHICKEN AND SPICY SAUSAGE GUMBO

Steps:

• Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the sausages and brown until nicely colored all the way around, about 7 minutes. Remove from the pan and let rest; reserve the drippings. When cool, slice the sausages into 1/4-inch rounds and set aside.
• Add enough oil to the sausage drippings to make 1/2 cup. Add the flour to the fat and cook over medium heat, stirring slowly and continuously and scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan, until the mixture has thickened somewhat and turned chocolate-colored, 25 to 30 minutes. Add the onions, bell peppers and fennel and cook until soft, about 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the paprika, oregano, thyme, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, black pepper and cayenne. Mix to blend, then add the Worcestershire sauce. Set aside.
• To the softened vegetables, add the garlic; cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Add the spice mixture and stir until well combined. Stirring continuously, slowly add 6 cups of the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add the bay leaves. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until thickened, 30 to 40 minutes.
• Return the sliced sausage to the pan. Add the shredded chicken and all but a few handfuls of the green onions. Cook for another 30 to 40 minutes, until the flavors have melded and the gumbo has thickened further, adding more stock if the gumbo gets too thick (you should still see some liquid).
• Serve in bowls and garnish with green onions.