Chicken and Sausage Gumbo
Before we get going on this, let it be known that everyone who cooks gumbo has their own style and recipe–just like chili. There are also several different kinds of gumbo and today we are cooking chicken and andouille (ahn DOO wee) gumbo.
Get you a nice heavy or stainless steel sauce pot and warm it up. Cover the bottom with your favorite oil. Add 2-3 medium onions chopped. Simmer on medium, stirring very often. We call this “browning” the onions, although they don’t really get brown unless you don’t tend to your pot and they burn!
TIP: A good bayou cook always tends to her/his pots.
When the onions are clear, add about 6-8 celery stalks, chopped and continue to stir and saute`. When the celery starts to soften, add one large bell pepper chopped and 3 cloves of garlic chopped. Continue to stir and saute`.
TIP: All good bayou cooks bang the spoon on the side of the pot. If your family doesn’t hear that banging sound, they know you’re goofing off in the kitchen!
In bayou or Cajun cooking, onions, celery, and bell pepper are referred to as “the trinity”. So, when your trinity (plus garlic) looks like the above photo, it’s time to add a little hot water to help the veggies break down and blend a little more making a nice base.
TIP: A good bayou cook always has the kettle on the back burner full of hot water, thereby not cooling down the base when adding water.
Next add your chicken, cut into small pieces. I used two boneless, skinless thighs and 2 boneless, skinless breasts. In the not too distant past (and some folks still do this) folks would cut up a whole chicken, rendering the fat from the skin to use for browning the veggies. Or they would boil the chicken and make their own stock. However, I do it the healthier, easier way. (I’m sure someone is going to let me know that I’m cheating, though!)
When the chicken looks like the above photo, it’s time to add this sausage.
This is pork andouille made by our local supermarket. You can read the history of this savory sausage and how it’s made by Chef John Folse.
Said in pure love and jest, in case you Yankees can’t get your hands on andouille, you can use any kind of smoked sausage. And I guess Polska Kielbasa would do in a pinch! Slice it thinly, add to pot, and continue to saute` on low stirring often and don’t forget to BANG THAT SPOON!
After about, oh, ten minutes more, add about 16 ounces of fat-free chicken broth. Add more hot water to desired thickness.
After stirring well, taste for flavor. The andouille is chock full of flavor and seasonings, which will impart to the liquid as it simmers. The broth and sausage both add salt, so there is no need for more salt unless your broth is weak. If you want more kick, then add cayenne pepper to taste and a couple dashes of black pepper, too.
Add a half a bunch of chopped green onions. This is a “secret” tip. Lower the fire/heat as low as it will go, cover, and let simmer for about half an hour, stirring occasionally.
Serve over a bed of rice with a side salad and warm crusty French bread. Some folks like to add file` at this point, but this gumbo was delish without!
I look forward to hearing everyone else’s variations to this bayou staple–gumbo.
Chicken and Sausage Gumbo
Ingredients
- 3 medium onions chopped
- 6 stalks celery chopped
- 1 large bell pepper chopped
- 3 cloves garlic chopped
- 2 chicken breasts and 2 thighs
- 1 pound andouille or smoked sausage sliced thinly
- 16 ounces chicken broth
- 1/2 bunch green onions chopped
Instructions
- Cover the bottom of a heavy duty pot with your favorite oil.
- Add the onions.
- Simmer on medium, stirring very often.
- When the onions are clear, add the celery and continue to stir and saute.
- When the celery starts to soften, add the bell pepper and garlic.
- Continue to stir and saute.
- Add a little hot water to help the veggies break down and blend a little more making a nice base.
- Add the chicken, cut into small pieces.
- When the chicken is no longer pink, add the sausage.
- Continue to saute on low heat, stirring often for about 10 minutes.
- Add the chicken broth and more hot water to desired thickness.
- Add the green onions.
- Lower the fire/heat as low as it will go, cover, and let simmer for about half an hour, stirring occasionally.
BB is down and we are working hard to knock out the “punch list” for Camp Dularge. The gumbo pot is empty.
Cooking and working,
BW
You are trying to kill me….. *rubs eyes* THIS looks so dang good – that I am seriously considering comeing down for a taste!!! YUMMY!!!!
Oh yeah, I loves my gumbo. This Yankee can get great Andouille sausage from a local award winning butcher and sausage maker. He also makes Boudin. You see, us Yankee’s are enlightened.
http://www.elburnmarket.com/specials.htm
– Suzanne, the Farmer’s Wife
Nice! Gumbo sans the roux. We might have to send you back to “Coonass University”.
I’ll have you know, that BAYOU gumbo is NOT Coona** gumbo, my dear!!!
Im a Texas fellar and i agree no rue taint gumbo 🤣
That looks SO good! I am considering making this for dinner!!!!
Good luck and let us know how it goes! Oh, and what kind of sausage you use up there in OK!
You are making my mouth water! I’ve used other smoked sausages for my gumbo; however, NOTHING is as good as Andouille!
Welcome, Marty! Nice to have you stop by and comment! Drop by any time!
Ok, you warned me about this post when we visited this afternoon, and even mentioned Choupiquer’s comment. I wholeheartedly agree with him. A Gumbo is not a Gumbo without a Roux. I’m sure it tasted good, but …..I would say that is Chicken and Andouille SOUP! The poor “Yanks” (north of Alexandria, La.) are gonna make this SOUP and pass it off to friends and relatives as Gumbo. Re: MrsCoach’s comment. I will say this though, it is healthier than the real stuff. Just go back and retitle it as Faux Gumbo. LOL! P.S. Camp Dularge (AKA Cypress Cottage) looks great! Inside and out.
Okay, Steffi and Choup. I was expecting y’all to chime in with your variations of cooking gumbo, but I was not expecting you to “dog” my gumbo! But since you did, I’ll just have to educate you (and defend myself). This is not a Cajun gumbo–it’s a “bayou” gumbo. This is not even “honky” gumbo or North Louisiana soup gumbo. This is the original Houma Indian gumbo. And if we want to get really technical about what constitutes a real gumbo, then it must have okra in it, because “gumbo” is the African word for “okra”. But we all know how things change over the years and get lost in translation AND how people change recipes! The Native American bayou women (i.e. my mother-in-law) make another gumbo called “shrimp-okra gumbo”, which is full of okra. They also make a gumbo without okra, which they call “shrimp file` gumbo”. File`, dried ground sassafras leaves, is a Native American creation.
So, Mrs. Coach, (who works with Native Americans), if you want to make this gumbo, go right ahead and know that you are making a “real” bayou gumbo! LOL!
Coming soon: Bayou Woman Cooks Faux Gumbo ala Shreveport, LA LOL!
Hats off mam never really had gumbo that wasn’t good a course Being 7th gen Texan I don’t go north of the Red River
Glad to hear that!!!
I cover all the bases when I make gumbo. Here’s how I do it. Turkey or chicken calls for andouille and okra. Shrimp or shrimp and crab ( no oysters though, I only like them fried crisp, it’s a texture thing) , no okra, but they all get file’ and a ROUX! I made a deal with the kids when they were growing up. The boys didn’t really care for okra but my daughter loves it. So, we compromised and I didn’t have to listen to any complaining. I might have to try “Bayou Gumbo” one day soon. Being part Cherokee (a VERY small part), I just couldn’t relate to the Houma Indian recipe. LOL You know we love ya!
Mmmmm. It all sounds good!! And you know I love you back! *wink* It was great seeing you and BH today!!!
OK, OK….I was agonna defend my dear BW on her gumbo recipe, like she points out, EVERYone has their own sworn by gumbo recipe….til I read that comment…………………..”This is not even “honky” gumbo or North Louisiana soup gumbo……..” I usually say hey, if I didnt have to cook it..then its darn good!…but then what would I know…Im one of those honky-yankee-exNorth Louisiana soup makers now frying up chicken fried steaks in the big state of Texas ….so maybe I’ll just rearrange my pantry, scratch my watch and wind my butt and see if I can find where I left my roux…………………cuz ya’ll know I HAVE ONE round here somewheres, probably in my pot of gumbo!
ROTFLMBO……ya’ll crack me up
Deb
That’s right, Deb!!! A merry hearts does good like a medicine!!!! And you are kinda hilarious yourself, up there in Texas frying chicken steaks and winding your butt!!!
Using a roux makes gumbo more French in nature.
Sans roux and with file’ makes it more Native American. Gumbo with okra is influenced by the West African slaves, who brought it from their homelands. PBS said so (and so did my Mommer!) so I believe it!
I was a Sesame Street kid… Love me some PBS!
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/neworleans/sfeature/food.html
One question though: My gumbo comes from a box… Mam Papaul’s. So what does that make mine? Cardboard in nature??? 😉
You guys just wait for that north Louisiana faux gumbo recipe! It’s one of my very favorite meals!
Dotter, do you REALLY think I should share that old secret “Redneck Gumbo” recipe with them? They might run me off the bayou on a pirogue with holes in it! LOL!
Not once they taste it! I could probably eat a pirogue full! Okay, I retract that. That’s a little gross when I actually think about it.
Well, I’ve been educated! I didn’t think anything in southern Louisiana could be cooked without a roux! In fact, I had to go to great lengths to learn how to make a healthy roux without oils and with whole wheat flour! Lol!
You continue to broaden my mind, BW!
Love you!!!
Now I see how to make gumbo! My Dad, raised in New Orleans, ate so much of it as child that he forbade it in the house when we were children. I’ve always wanted to try it. Now I have a recipe that even I can follow. Thank you, BW!
Well this gumbo recipe smells like my chicken sausage jambalaya. Savoie’s or my fave Richard’s andouille and grilled boneless chicken thighs.
Some pecan liquid smoke some crystal hot sauce. I been tossing rosemary in everything lately and parsley been a staple since first trip to CwitdeR’s.
A can of chili tomato’s Rotell if your a bayou beauty or RedGold if you are supporting local Midwest economy.
Oh yeah Tony’s spice n herbs……
Then I been using brown rice. Little more than cup and a quarter lightly browned in olive oil before adding to the big 7 quart dutch oven. That is almost a roux, ain’t it???? OK maybe not.
Ten Louisiana cooks will give you ten different recipes for gumbo. No matter now you cook it, there is something therapeutic about cooking gumbo.
It’s a common denominator. Grandma cooked. Aunt Sally cooked it. The preacher’s wife cooked it. Even old MS Connors, the school marm, who’s not even from here, cooked it. It’s like a sisterhood except for all those brothers who cook it too! 🙂
It’s been done for hundreds of years so the old nostalgia bug kicks in and you picture hunting and fishing ancestors and such. You can feed an army with a pot full of it, so there’s that wonderful nuturing feeling. And it can be done relatively inexpensively, so there’s the pat on your own back feeling of contributing to the household economy.
Roux, – no roux, tomatoes – no tomatoes … who cares! It’s all good.
Thanks BW for yet another way to make gumbo.
Cynthia, I love this comment!!! You are so right about the gumbo. Okra, no okra? Who cares?!
Now I got a cravin’ for some gumbo. May have to do that next weekend for mom’s b-day.
What constitutes veggies here lately.
You get your sausage searing and your leftover bacon. (possibility escapes me)
Then you got carrots, onions, parsley, garlic, celery, green pepper, yellow idaho taters with rosemary and marjoram and mustard seed and pecan liquid smoke and crystal hot sauce and bit of Lee & Perrin’s. Get that all up to a good simmer then cover with sliced up cabbage. Slap that lid on as good as possible. Let simmer till cabbage collapses. Toss in bay leafs somewhere with the can of maters after the taters with half can water or so.
enjoy till thursday then let dog lick the pot.
No gumbo jumbo but you can eat a hard boiled egg with it. Or a yam…
Rolling into Loozy morning of 21st.
Yeah, I think you oughta share the Redneck Gumbo recipe – everybody needs another way to make gumbo! I want to know from blu where you get pecan liquid smoke – don’t think I’ve ever seen it.
Blu, I like this recipe you shared – sounds like a great veggie soup – where’s the pics?
Colgin,is the company that makes ‘pecan liquid smoke’. It’s the brand that you see most often. FYI, pecan oil makes a good roux. 5 years late….I know, but I’m slow.
Ah yes,the number of gumbo recipes is endless! People tend to experiment and make their own recipes ,so that is why is out there so many gumbo recipes! But who cares, I agree! How ever they make it, I like it!
I understand that everyone makes their gumbo differently depending on where they grew up. Some even get their roux from a jar. Where I grew up it isn’t gumbo unless you whip out your cast iron skillet and get down to making the roux until it’s a dark chocolate. We believe that is what gives the gumbo it’s depth and makes the gumbo. So I will be sticking with my gumbo I was taugt here in coon#!# country in honor of my ancestors as everyone should.
Hi Marie and welcome! Regarding your encouragement to stick to ancestors and heritage, I agree, and this is how my Houma Indian mother-in-law made gumbo. She only made a nice, dark brown roux as a base for stews! Thank you for the input and happy gumbo making, Coona$$ style!!! BW
I just read this. MY wife’s family is from Houma and they have ALWAYS made their Gumbo this way. I think it is definitely a Houma area way of doing things.
You might be right, Dwight, except that this way of making gumbo comes from the Houma Indian bayou people! Close enough, I reckon! Regardless, it’s delicious! Thanks for stopping by and come back any time! BW
Well i for one thank you. I have been loom for a bayou gumbo for over 25 years since my madear-in-love passed away. She was Louisiana born and raised and this was the type of gumbo she made. The one’s with roux are “fine” but i perfer this recipe with file of couse.
Hi Tee and welcome. Even though I return emailed you, I’d like to thank you again for leaving your comment and I’m so happy that you’ve found a gumbo recipe “without the roux”!!! I hope it served your purposes well! Drop by anytime! BW
Yes it did serve my purpose well and reminds me very much of the bowl served to by Ma’dere. It brings back memories of her every time i cook it. As it happens it will be easter dinner tomorrow as requested by the hubby and children who like both gumbos roux or no any protein and vegs. So thanks again for helping me find the memories along with the recipe
Simple and lovely recipe! I love okra in mine but you’re right, who really cares?!