Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

Ok, this is a tough (easy) one.  Gumbo is the dish of Louisiana.  Everyone has a recipe and everyone thinks theirs is the best.  It’s an Auburn/Alabama, East Coast/West Coast thing.  I have been involved with many heated conversations on this subject.  When I moved to Lake Charles from Mobile, I went into a restaurant one day at lunch and ordered, along with a shrimp poboy, a cup of gumbo.  Being from Mobile, I was looking for the only gumbo I had ever had, seafood-based gumbo.  Seafood-based gumbos are generally made with shrimp, crab, oysters, and okra. This is not a roux-based but tomato-based gumbo.  I picked up my spoon and almost choked.  This was NOTHING like I have ever had and frankly, I did not like it.  Muddy looking water with sausage and what was in it…….CHICKEN.  I remember asking my lunch partner what was this.  He looked at me funny and said, “gumbo.”  I said that is was not and proceeded to tell him about real gumbo.  He listened to my tirade, and when I had finished he said “What you are talking about is New Orleans gumbo, not cajun gumbo. Cajun gumbo does not have seafood or okra.”  All I could think about was Marlon Brando in Apocalypse Now saying “The horror, the horror.”

Over the next 10 years or so, I came to love chicken and sausage gumbo and now if I have the choice to have either one, I will pick the chicken and sausage every time; in Louisiana it is called “Gumbo Ya Ya.”

This is my version and it is simple to make and is also very inexpensive.  You can feed 8-10 people for about $25 vs. at least a $100 for seafood.

This sounds like a lot of trouble and it does take a while, but I have never done this gumbo where I did not hear, “This is the best I have ever had.”

2 whole 3-4 pound chickens

2 pounds of andouille sausage, quartered

2 large or 3 medium yellow diced onions

2 large or 3 medium green diced bell peppers

6 ribs of celery, peeled with a vegetable peeler and quartered, with celery tops chopped up also

2 baked sweet potatoes, skinned and cut into rounds

1 cup of vegetable oil

1 1/2 cup of all purpose flower

1 cup of long grain rice (before cooking)

maybe salt (more about that later)

3 beers

nothing else

Here is the fun part.  Take the skin off the whole chickens.  This is messy but you will have to skim off the fat later, and this will cut down on the amount of fat in the chicken stock.  Place the skinned chickens in a large pot of water and bring to a boil.  They will need to boil for 45 minutes to an hour.  Carefully take the cooked chickens out of the pot and allow to cool for say, 1 hour.  After the chicken stock cools a bit, place the pot in the refrigerator, usually overnight.  This cooling process of the water will allow any fat to rise to the top of the pot and you will be able to skim it off easily.  The cooling step, overnight, is not 100% necessary but I think the gumbo is better without the grease from the chicken floating on top of the finished gumbo. It’s more about eye appeal than taste.

The next morning, using a large serving spoon, lift the fat off of the stock and strain the stock over a colander with either cheese cloth, a kitchen towel, or even paper towels.  This is messy, but it’s worth getting all of the left over chicken particles out of the stock.  Place the stock in a pot and reheat.

Pick the chicken from the bones and set the meat aside, discarding the bones.  Believe me, this is best done with the chicken cool and not hot.  Also, I used to cut up my chicken into bite-sized chunks, but no longer do.  The chicken pieces when put in the pot to simmer for several hours will have a tendency to break apart and shred.  I take the breast and pull it apart into maybe 3 pieces.  The larger the chicken pieces,  the better for the visual effect of the dish; the taste will be the same, however.

Cut up and dice the onions, bell peppers, and celery.  This can be as small or as large as you want.  I usually have mine a little larger than I did years ago, maybe 1/4 inch.  I also peel my celery with a vegetable peeler and I also dice the tops of the celery stalk and add them to the pot.

Cut up the sausage into quarters.  I like to quarter them rather than cut them into rounds.  It doesn’t matter to the final flavor but I feel the quartered sausage is easier to handle with a spoon.  Just a note on sausage.  I grew up in Alabama and South Carolina and the type of sausage that we had was a smoked, oily (greasy) link sausage.  Conecuh Sausage from Alabama comes to mind.  I love Conecuh Sausage; it is my favorite to grill and for breakfast. However, it is not good, in my opinion, for gumbos.  The hickory smoked flavor and the amount of grease, though good for a sausage dog, is not to my liking in gumbos.  Cajun style sausages, andouille for instance, do not have the tendency to overpower the dish with a strong hickory smoke flavor or too much oil in the sausage.  I also know I am going to get some flak about disrespecting Conecuh Sausage.  Auburn and Alabama football and Conecuh Sausage are religions here.  I love them all,  just not in my gumbo.

Ok, let’s recap what you have ready, because from here on out it is non-stop.  You should have your chicken and sausage in one big bowl.  You should have your green bell pepper, onion, celery and celery tops in another. You should have the 3 beers by the stove.

Here we go.

In a large cast iron pot, 7 quart minimum (I do this in a 13 1/4 Le Creuset pot, bought for me by my lovely wife, Robin), I heat 1 cup of the oil until it shimmers (approximately 350 degrees) and then put the 1 1/2 cups of  flower in the oil.  Do this a little at a time and using a whisk stir like a mad man.  The mixture will be white and liquid.  IF YOU BURN THIS ROUX YOU HAVE TO START OVER.  You can NEVER quit stirring.  I have an electric stove and leave the heat on 6-7.  I guess you are now wondering what the beers are for.  You will stir this for 30 minutes or so.  It will take your drinking 3 beers for you to finish the Roux.  No bathroom breaks, answering the phone, texting, facebooking, changing channels, etc.  The roux will go through a metamorphosis.  It will go from white to off-white to chocolate-milk colored.  Here is where you can put your own spin on the gumbo.  I like dark roux, almost black, dark chocolate colored.  This roux is what gives the gumbo its taste, really not the ingredients.  Here is the problem, the roux will go from brown to black in seconds; if it burns and you have been stirring for 30 minutes (3 beers) you have to start over, 3 more beers.  Judge where you think you can’t stand another second and……….

Quickly pick up the bowl of vegetables and throw them into the roux.  You made it, no worries now. The vegetables will cook for 8-10 minutes stirring steadily.  After 8 minutes or so, add, in 3-ladle increments, the hot chicken stock.  Stir in each addition of the 3 ladles until you get say 12 ladle fulls in.  Add the chicken and sausage and turn the heat down to simmer.  Adjust the consistency by adding more chicken stock or if you put in too much just simmer longer.  I like to simmer mine for a hour and then cut it off.  Put the lid on the pot and let it sit.  It will stay hot for a long time.

This is where the salt comes in.  I sometimes put in maybe one to two teaspoons of salt in the pot after I let it simmer.  I do it one teaspoon at a time and I use Kosher or sea salt.  Let it incorporate for 10 minutes and then re-taste.

Did you notice something?  No other spices were put in the pot, none.  Just the flavor from the main ingredients.  Now to finish the dish, put a spoonful of rice into a bowl, add the gumbo, and place a, no kidding, sweet potato round (cut an inch or so thick) on top of the gumbo.  That is a Lake Charles, addition and it absolutely makes the dish.  I have also had it with a spoonful of mustard based potato salad on top, but that is another story…………………

Robin’s Red Beans and Rice

Sam Inge, from Mobile, hated two things: Auburn and Pat Dye.  Watching an Iron Bowl with Sam is a trip.  He never shuts up.  Watching the game with Sam when Auburn wins is priceless.  Sam came up with this Red Beans a Rice recipe and over the years Robin has modified it.  What is great about this recipe is it is easy and can be fixed fast.  Most red bean and rice recipes take a long time to cook and the consistency is like mud.  This is a “pretty” recipe with the individual ingredients separate, it is not the classic New Orleans “creamy” red beans and rice recipe.  The secret ingredient is Old Bay Seasoning.  It gives the red beans a Gulf flavor.

2 pounds hickory smoked sausage

1 chopped green bell pepper

1 chopped red bell pepper

2 chopped onions

2 stalks chopped celery hearts (pealed)

1 tablespoon of Old Bay Seasoning

1 stick of butter

3 swooshes Ball’s Cajun Seasoning

6 big dashes Paul Prudohommes Vegetable Seasoning

1 fresh bay leaf (3 dried)

2 cans of light kidney beans (drained)

2 cans of dark kidney beans (drained)

2 cans of low sodium chicken broth

½ jigger of sherry

6 quart cast iron pot

In a cast iron pot brown the 2 pounds of cut up sausage, one pound cut up in quarters and one in rounds.  Remove the sausage from the pot and place aside when brown.  Sauté the green and red bell pepper, onions and celery in a stick of butter.  After the trinity is soft add on can of chicken broth and the Cajun seasoning.  Simmer for 15 minutes. Add Old Bay Seasoning, Paul Prudohommes Vegetable seasoning, bay leave(s), kidney beans, the other can of chicken broth and the sherry to the pot and add back the sausage. Cook for 15 minutes and serve over rice.  This recipe can be thickened with corn starch or flour (mix with water first).

Acorn Squash and Sausage

One Acorn type squash

(Acorn, Carnival, Butternut, etc.)

½ pound of Jimmy Dean patty sausage

Cane syrup

This dish is very good in the winter time when the squash are in season.  It is a surprising dish because the combination of the ingredients, at first, does not appear to go together.  This combination is always a hit.

First cut squash length-wise and scoop out the guts of the squash.   I then cut the bottom of the squash a bit, in order for it to sit upright in the pan.   Place squash face up, in a Pyrex dish with about ½ inch of water in the bottom.  Set aside.

Then brown the sausage in a cast iron skillet until crumbly and put sausage in the hole of the squash.

Drizzle cane syrup over the sausage and bake in oven for 30 minutes at 350°.  The acorn will be soft and the differences between the sausage and cane syrup are wonderful.

Excellent lunch.

Red Snapper Vera Cruz

I cooked this dish for Earl and Carol McMurphy in June of 2004 at the Ono Island house.  Also at dinner that night was Dr. Donald Kirby and his wife Jean.  I believe, even though Donald humbly denies, that he saved David McMurphy’s life 15 yearsago when David had Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.  Almost impossible to detect and not something that you would think someone would have here in Alabama, Donald gave the necessary antibiotic to treat David.  Only later was it discovered that Donald was correct.  (He claims he had some help from other doctors.  I say let me tell this story the way I want to tell it.)

This dish is for you.

28 ounce can diced tomatoes in juice, well drained, juices reserved

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

¼ cup finely chopped white onion

3 large garlic gloves, chopped

3 small bay leaves

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano

¼ cup chopped pitted green olives

2 tablespoons raisins

2 tablespoon drained capers

6 red snapper fillets

3 pickled jalapeño chilies, halved lengthwise

Place drained tomatoes in medium bowl.  Using a potato masher, crush tomatoes to coarse puree.  Drain again, reserving juices.

Place olive oil in skillet and sauté onions for one minute. Add tomatoes, cook for one minute. Add garlic, bay leaves, parsley, oregano and ¼ cup of reserved tomato juices.  Simmer until sauce thickens, about 3 minutes.  Add olives, raisins, capers and all remaining reserved tomato juices.  Simmer until sauce thickens again, stirring occasionally.  About 8 minutes.  Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper.  (Best if made 1 day ahead.  Cover and refrigerate).

Preheat oven to 425°F. Spread 3 tablespoons sauce in bottom of 15x10x2 inch glass baking dish that has been sprayed with Pam.  Arrange fish atop sauce.  Sprinkle fish lightly with salt and pepper.  Spoon remaining sauce over fish.  Bake uncovered until fish is just opaque in center, about 18 minutes.  Garnish with pickled jalapeño halves.

Martin’s Ribs – AKA Coonass Ribs

The object is not to cook the ribs on the Grill but infuse smoke into the Ribs.  Ribs are notorious for being tough.  Most gook rib cookers will not admit that they pre-boil their ribs before putting them on the grill.  I am one of them.  Craig and Nancy Ferguson said I had the best ribs they ever had.  Not bad for an Alabama country boy feeding Oakies, but I admit I boil them for 20 minutes before I put them on the grill.  My friend Martin  has a twist.  He puts them on the grill away from the heat and smokes them first – then puts them in the oven.

Slabs of pork ribs – not beef

Charcoal

Pieces of pecan – water soaked (preferably from a tree in your yard – minerals and stuff)

Prepare charcoal on grill and wait until they turn white always stack my charcoal on one side of the grill and do not spread the coals out.  The heat stays on one side.  Place the pecan wood on the coals.  They will smoke like mad.  Place the ribs on the cooler side of the grill.  I use a Webber Kettle grill and stack the ribs on top of one another.  Rotate the ribs so all sides receive the smoke treatment.  Do this until the coals go out.  This will be an hour to an hour and one half.  If you wish add pecan to coals periodically to keep smoke going.

This technique allows you to cook ribs without worrying about burning them.  I don’t even watch the grill.  I only move the ribs up and down on the stack. After they have been on the grill for 1 ½ hours or so take them off, put them in and aluminum pan or roaster cover with foil and put in the oven at 275 – 300 for 2 hours.

Bushwacker

This is one of the great drinks of the upper Gulf Coast. There are a number of bars that carry the drink and all a good, some better than others. The first one that I had was from the Oyster Bar in Perdido Key, FL. We used to go by boat to the bar. It was on the bottom of the restaurant, and you docked by the bar. The other two places that have great Bushwhackers are Tacky Jack’s in Orange Beach and Pirates Cove in Josephine, AL. Tacky Jack’s are very good and they add Bacardi 151 to the top of the drink. In my opinion, though, Pirates Cove has the best. They also add Bacardi 151 to the top of drink (a lot of 151) or you can get orange juice added. The OJ makes it taste like a dreamsicle. I have tasted the OJ version and it is great, but I always get the 151 on top. At $8 a drink, you feel you need to get your moneys worth.

¼ cup 151 Rum

¼ cup Meyers Rum

¼ cup Mount Gay Rum

¼ cup Kailua

2 Cups of Vanilla Ice Cream

¼ Cup Canned Coconut (Jose’)

2 Cups of Ice

Add all rums, the canned coconut and ice to blender and “slush”and then blend in the ice cream.

This version is different in texture than any of the “commercial” versions. The addition of the ice cream at the end gives it a thicker feel. This is the best that I have ever had.

Footnote: This is an expensive drink to make the first time. You need 4 different liquors, up front. It is worth every cent (dollar).

moxiemeals.com

Ok, I am going to shamelessly plug my sister, Alison’s, blog, moxiemeals.com.  Her site is designed for meals that are 30 minutes from start to cleanup.  The recipes are simple and need no fancy ingredients.  They live in a small 7500 person southern town, with the grocery stores consisting of Piggly Wiggly and Winn Dixie (no offense to the Pig or Winn Dixie).  Just very hard to get, say, smoked hot paprika there.  Salt, pepper and generic cajun seasoning is about all you can find.  She also has a different philosophy than me on food.  Although we both like good food; she likes to get it done and go on with life.  I like to have fun cooking, with a drink in my hand.  She likes to eat at 6:00, I eat most often at 10:00.  Follow her site.  The site is good and she is better. Sam

Bread Pudding With Whiskey Sauce

 There are about 1 million ways to make the greatest of all the simple deserts.  I can remember going to New Orleans restaurants and having a great meals but I think the best part of the meal was the bread pudding.  It is the only desert I ever order.  Most of the time the sauce poured over the bread pudding is rum sauce. It is made in the same way as the following whiskey sauce but with rum, not bourbon.  I think the bourbon is much better, more American.

Large loaf of French bread

1 – 12 ounce can of evaporated milk

1 quart of whole milk

2 cups of sugar

3 eggs

¼ cup of raisins

1 pealed diced Red Delicious apple

2 tablespoons of vanilla

1 tablespoon of powered cinnamon

Purchase a large loaf of French bread.  If it is a day or two old all the better.  Bread pudding is better with old hard bread.  Don’t ask me why, it just is.  I have known people to place the bread in the back window of their car for a few days just to get the bread hard.  Cut the bread into small pieces and place in a large bowl.  Pour the milk and evaporated milk over the bread.  Stir well.  Add the sugar, eggs, raisins (they can be omitted), diced apples, cinnamon and vanilla.  Stir well with large wooden spoon.  Here is the trick to the whole process.  Refrigerate overnight.  This refrigeration allows the bread to emulsify and become smooth.  I use two 8-inch square glass baking pans.  The amount of the bread pudding will make two batches.  Place in baking pans (sprayed with Pam) oven at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

Whiskey Sauce

1 sick of unsalted butter

¾ cup of sugar

1 jigger of bourbon

4 tablespoons of milk

In a saucepan melt the butter and add the sugar, milk and bourbon.  This mixture will be thin.  I do not use a thickener although I have had sauces for bread pudding that is thick.

Serve the bread pudding and the sauce hot.

Pan-fried Catfish with Warm Andouille Potato Salad & Grown-up Tarter Sauce

I picked up a copy of Emeril’s book Prime Time and immediately fell in love with this recipe.  I modified this recipe from the book to lessen the effects of what I consider too much garlic.  The recipe contains 3 separate parts but this can be cooked in an hour.  The only problem with time is the tarter sauce, which if you want to serve it cold you have to put in the refrigerator for about an hour after it is prepared.  It is best to make the tarter sauce the day or morning before you cook the final meal.  Although I have never served the tarter sauce room temperature, I believe it would be good.  I don’t think it will be good warm. I have placed the three parts of the recipe in preparation order.

I have served this at dinner parties for 6 people or less.  This is a labor intensive dish that requires timing.  I love doing this dish because everyone, I mean everyone, loves it.  It will guarantee an invitation to their home later.

Grown-up Tarter Sauce 

1½ teaspoons unsalted butter

½ cup fresh or frozen corn kernels (2 ears)

Pinch of salt

Pinch of cayenne

1 cup mayonnaise

1 medium chopped and seeded tomato

2 tablespoons chopped green onion tops

1 tablespoon minced canned jalapeño

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

½ teaspoon Cajun seasoning

Cut off corn from the cob or thaw out ½ cup of frozen corn.   Place corn in a small skillet with butter, salt and cayenne and cook until corn starts to turn brown.  My experience is this takes 5-6 minutes.  Remove corn from heat and place in mixing bowl and allow to cool.  While corn mixture is cooling, de-seed and chop up a tomato.  Chop the green tops off green onions. Chop up 5-6 rings of jalapeño peppers from a jar and chop up parsley. After the corn mixture cools add the above items along with a cup of mayonnaise and ½ teaspoon of Cajun seasoning. Mix and place in refrigerator to cool. Now prepare the potato salad.

Andouille Potato Salad

2 pounds new potatoes

1 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 link andouille or other Cajun smoked sausage

2 cups chopped onions (2 medium onions)

2 tablespoons of green onion tops

1 pint of whipping cream

2 tablespoons Creole mustard

Fresh ground pepper

Wash, scrub and quarter 2 pounds of small red new potatoes.  Place in large pot and boil for approximately 15-20 minutes.  While potatoes are cooking, take the casing (skin) off of a link of andouille sausage (or any Cajun style sausage you prefer) and chop up into small pieces.  Heat oil in skillet and cook sausage for 3-4 minutes.  Add 2 cups of onions to sausage and continue to cook until onions turn clear.  Add green onion tops and cook 1-2 more minutes.  All the vegetables should now be soft.  Pour 1 pint of heavy whipping cream in mixture, turn down heat so as not to scorch the cream, add Creole mustard to the mixture and simmer for 2-3 minutes.  Drain the potatoes and place back in their large pot and pour the sausage mixture in the pot and stir.  I prefer to mash them slightly.  Do not cream the potatoes but leave them lumpy and dry. Place cover on pot and set aside.  The potatoes will be served warm. Before serving top with fresh ground pepper.

Catfish

¼ cup bleached all-purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoons of Cajun seasoning

Four 6 to 8 ounce catfish fillets

½ cup of vegetable oil

1 stick of unsalted butter

Once the tarter sauce has had time to cool and the potatoes are done you can prepare the catfish.  Place catfish in a mixture of ¼ cup of flour and 1 ½ teaspoons of Cajun seasoning.  Shake each piece of fish to knock off the excess flour.  Heat 1 stick of unsalted butter and ½ cup of vegetable oil.  I find the oil will allow you to cook at a higher temperature than with just butter but the flavor of the butter is retained.  Place fish in heated oil/butter and pan-fry for approximately 4 minutes on each side.  The fish should be a golden reddish-brown color when done.  Take fish out of pan and place on cooling rack or paper towels.

Presentation

Place potatoes in the center of the plate and flatten.  Grind black pepper over the potatoes and place a piece of fish on top of the potatoes.  Put a dollop of tarter sauce on top of the fish.  Add hushpuppies or corn bread.  Incredible.

Speckled Trout Done Cajun Style

Kim King, my next door neighbor in Lake Charles, gave me this technique.  I call it a technique and not a recipe because you can use this for any fish.  I mean any fish.  I have cooked this technique with flounder, speckled trout, redfish and even largemouth bass.  This is so versitile that you can use a lot of different ingredients, not just what I have listed.  For instance, if you do not have lemons, use limes.  If you do not have red bell peppers, use green or yellow.  If you want to use Greek or Old Bay seasoning instead of Cajun, use it.

4-6 Speckled Trout Filets

1 Lemon sliced into thin rounds

1/2 stick of melted butter

1/2 red bell pepper sliced Julianne style

1/2 medium onion sliced into rounds

Salt and Pepper (or the seasoning of your choice)

That’s pretty much it.  Now to put it together.

Place the fish filets in a 9″ X 13″ Pyrex dish.  Cover the fish with your seasoning of choice and then pour the butter over the pieces. Next place the lemons , bell pepper and the onions on top of the buttered fish.  Place the uncovered Pyrex dish in a 375 degree oven for 30-35 minutes.

The great thing about this dish is it is so simple.  You can put it in and entertain your guest.  My wife cooked this recipe tonight and used purple onions and red bell peppers. She has also added Feta Cheese, tomatoes and capers to this. This is the go-to fish dish.