Several years ago I had the pleasure of inviting a dear friend of mine from Louisiana into my kitchen to teach me her secret family Gumbo recipe. I don’t’ mind telling you that I was quite shocked at her methodology when she got started. I had never seen an oil based roux made quite like hers. Warning, there is a ton of oil to start. 98% of it is gone by the end but it was certainly very disconcerting to see so much at the beginning. Whatever you do, do not use less oil. I have tried and it is just not the same. It is a bit of work at the beginning but gets very easy after the roux is done. I have tried many different Gumbos over the years and this is definitely my favourite. Thank you so much Kayla. I hope you like this as much as I do. The picture doesn’t do it justice.
Ingredients: Kayla’s Chicken and Andouille Gumbo.
Ingredients
- 2 cups ( 475ml.) All purpose flour.
- 4 cups (950 ml.) Canola oil.
- 6 large chicken thighs. (deboned)
- 16 oz (450 gr.) Andouille sausage. (or another smoky sausage)
- 6 cups( 1.4 liters) no salt chicken stock.
- 1 green bell pepper rough diced.
- 1 large onion rough diced.
- 3 stalks celery rough diced.
- 2 tbsp (28 ml) minced garlic.
- 1 bundle tied of fresh thyme
- 3 bay leaves.
- 1.5 tbsp (21 ml) cayenne pepper.
- 2 tbsp (28 ml) cajun spice.
- 1 tbsp (14 ml) pepper.
Directions for Kayla’s Chicken and Andouille Gumbo
Directions
- Par cook the chicken.
- Cut Andouille into slices and fry until a little crisp on the edges.
- Add flour to a very heavy or cast iron pot. (enameled)
- Add Oil and whisk until no lumps.
- Set stove top to 70% heat.
- Continually scrape the bottom of the pot. (see video)
- Keep scraping until roux is a dark chocolate color. About 35 minutes. ( Be careful! Do not let burn or you have start all over.)
- Preheat oven to 300 F (150 C)
- Add all vegetables into roux.
- Once it starts to simmer add chicken stock. Wait
- Add chicken, andouille, cayenne, garlic, bay leaves ,cajun spices and thyme. Mix well.
- Once it starts to simmer again cover and place in lower rack in oven.
- Stir every 30 minutes for a total of 90 minutes.
- Let rest for 20 minutes.
- Skim all the oil off the top.
- You can heat and serve immediately with a rice side dish (dirty rice is my favourite) or… refrigerate overnight and reheat the next day. The flavours will intensify even more!
- Bon fete!
I hope you enjoy this dish and if you have any questions please leave a comment below. If you are interested in seeing the process, watch the video above.
