Seafood Gumbo and how to make roux

Mardi Gras begins twelve days after Christmas, on January 6,
and ends on the Tuesday before Fat Tuesday, the start of Lent.
Guess it's time to learn to make Seafood Gumbo.

I have never made gumbo of any sort that I can remember, and never attempted to create a deep, copper colored Cajun roux. My mother's country milk gravy recipe used a similar flour-oil combination, but she certainly never stirred it for an hour. Milk gravy is a soft, creamy white, served over chicken fried steak or used to top biscuits and gravy. At most it takes about ten minutes beginning to end. But that would soon change.

Milk gravy for Chicken Fried Steak is also made with a white roux.

My friend's mom, Carol Ann by name, but everyone lovingly calls her Granny, always makes her signature seafood gumbo when she visits Austin. I watched her make it last year, and asked her to write down the recipe so I could try it on my own. Granny shared the recipe; but like most good cooks, measurements began with "about this much", and ended with "it's done when it looks and tastes right." I decided it was time to attempt her gumbo, but only after her daughter promised she would give an honest critique. I really wanted it to taste as close to her mom's as possible. So here goes!

Seafood Gumbo: definitely a work in progress.

I made a phone call to Granny in Pascagoula, Mississippi to go over her written instructions (such as they were), and to find out how she made her roux (left out of recipe). Then after a little online gumbo recipe research and a helpful trip to the local fish market, I was finally ready for the challenge. The fish monger must have been from Louisiana. When I told him about my gumbo challenge, his eyes lit up. He told me to be sure and boil the shrimp shells and add that broth to his homemade crab stock. He then directed me to a cooler filled with freshly made, golden crab stock--definitely something to be admired-and purchased.

I covered the shrimp shells with water, added onion skins, a few stray celery stalks
and simmered for about an hour. Good tip Mr. Fishmonger.

Granny just used water, but she did say that fish stock would be just fine to use instead. After my new best friend at the seafood market described how he made his golden brown broth--a two day affair of simmering, straining, chilling, reducing--and at $8/quart, I was easily sold. I did not want to make homemade fish stock. If you've never done it, let me assure you that it is well worth the effort, but your kitchen and whole house will be stinky for a week! If you can find a fish guy who loves to make stock, take advantage and nurture that friendship. That settled then--on to making a roux.
 

Looks creepy, smells awful, but homemade fish stock can't be beat.

If I had only followed Carol Ann's suggestion to just make it in the microwave! Granny told me that now she only cooked her roux in the microwave now--"the modern way, so much easier and it tastes the same." I wasn't convinced and wanted to make it the traditional way the first time. It had to be easy to stir flour and oil together to the color of a penny. Oh novice roux maker. Easy--yes if you're careful. Time-consuming--keep reading.

Granny said to whisk together flour and oil in pot, then heat over medium-low.
Emeril said to heat oil, then add flour and cook.
I did it both ways, but used the hot oil/flour mixture for the final roux.

After reading all the warnings from other cooks' recipes, I knew I had to proceed slowly, lest the roux burn, no matter how long it took. In the end, it took 1 hour 20 minutes total (I timed it), to get my flour and oil to transform into that pretty copper color I was supposed to achieve. I so wanted to cook it just a bit darker, like Emeril or Edna Lewis might have done; but I heeded the warning that just a bit longer was sometimes the death of a roux. My arm was exhausted, my back ached, and had I watched three online episodes of my favorite BBC comedy Outnumbered--crazy funny show like Modern Family, but very English. I settled for what you see in the photo. My friend said it was a great color, but asked why I hadn't just used the microwave like everyone else!

Fresh medium Gulf shrimp, peeled and deveined, cooked andouille sausage,
and crab claw meat will be added to the pot just before serving.

The holy trinity of Cajun and Creole cuisine--
diced onion, celery and green bell pepper.

The holy trinity, Tony Chachere's Famous Creole seasoning,
chile powder, a pinch of cayenne, garlic,
and browned andouille sausage ready for the roux.

Sauté the green pepper, onion, celery, and garlic in a bit of vegetable oil.
I used the andouille sausage drippings also.
Fishmonger's crab stock with added shrimp broth simmers away along side the veggies.

Granny said to mix equal parts flour and oil, stir on medium-low heat
until the roux turned the color of a copper penny.
Emeril said to heat the oil over medium heat for 5 minutes, add flour
and cook for 20-25 minutes until the color of milk chocolate.
Alton Brown said to cook it in the oven for 1 1/2 hours to a brick color.
I decided to follow Emeril's roux recipe and cook over low heat to be safe.

30 minutes into the roux preparation the color is still light gold and the roux is thin.
The smell becomes nutty and mildly smokey.
After an hour I was nervous that I would never achieve copper,
but then the color began to change very quickly and the roux was thickening.
I think if I had been more confident cooking on medium or even medium-low, 
this would have all happened a lot faster. 
Novice.....

After one hour and 20 minutes of constant stirring--SUCCESS--copper penny coloring.
Alton Brown's oven recipe takes it to a brick color
after 1 1/2 hours baking at 350°F with only 3 stirs.
I didn't get Emeril's milk chocolate color--too afraid to continue on any longer.
Next time I'll try Alton's oven recipe.
But remember I wanted to do it the traditional way first.

Frozen sliced okra is traditionally added and to thicken the gumbo.
Don't worry--it won't be slimy after it cooks with the rest of the ingredients for an hour.

Okra, sautéed celery, green pepper, garlic, and onion are added to the pot,
along with one can of tomato paste.
Stir and cook for a 5 minutes.

Add warm (not hot) fish stock and shrimp broth to gumbo.

Sliced andouille sausage, creole seasoning to taste (I used 3 tablespoons),
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, 1/2 teaspoon chile powder, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper,
and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (this is plenty to start) are added to gumbo.
Simmer uncovered on low for an hour, stirring occasionally.
Adjust seasoning and add additional stock, if needed.

Add shelled and deveined medium Gulf shrimp to the pot,
along with a 1/2 pound crab claw meat.
Turn off the fire, cover, and let sit for about 10 minutes.
The hot liquid will cook the seafood perfectly.
Serve over white rice.

Seafood Gumbo
adapted from Carol Ann Larson's Seafood Gumbo recipe
with assistance from Emeril*, Alton**, and Edna Lewis***

2 large green peppers, seeded and diced
2 medium onions, peeled and diced
1 large celery stalk, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
Vegetable oil
1 small can tomato paste
1 large bag frozen cut okra
1 1/2 pounds medium Gulf shrimp, peeled and deveined (save peels for extra broth)
1/2 pound crab claw meat, picked over for shells
1/2 pound Andouille sausage, cooked and sliced
6 cups seafood stock, warm not hot, plus about 2 cups shrimp broth
3 tablespoons Tony Chachere's Famous Creole Seasoning
1/2 teaspoon chile powder
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon black pepper or to taste
Salt to taste
Roux, see below

For the shrimp stock:
Place shells in pot. Cover with water, add a stalk of celery and the onion skins. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for at least half an hour. Strain.


For the gumbo:
Sauté chopped onion, green pepper, celery, and garlic in oil over medium to medium-low heat for about 15 minutes or until tender. Set aside. Make roux.

For the roux:
4 ounces vegetable oil
4 ounces flour (Alton say to weigh rather than use a measuring cup)

Heat oil over medium heat for 5 minutes in a 5-6 quart heavy Dutch oven. Add flour to hot oil and stir with wooden spoon to blend and form the roux. Lower the heat to medium-low and continue to stir constantly with wooden spoon until roux is the color of a copper penny. This will take a minimum of 20 minutes, and per my experience, a maximum of 1 hour 20 minutes. (If you prefer, use Alton Brown's method. Whisk weighed flour and oil together in Dutch oven, place on middle shelf of oven, uncovered, and bake for 1 1/2 hours, whisking 2 to 3 times throughout the cooking process. Roux should be a brick color rather than copper penny color.)

Once roux is done, add in the frozen okra and vegetables and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in warm seafood and shrimp stocks, and one can of tomato paste. Add Creole seasoning, chile powder, Worcestershire sauce, cayenne pepper, and black pepper. Bring gumbo to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for one hour, stirring occasionally. At the end of the hour, turn off heat, add shrimp and crab to the pot, cover, and let stand for about 10 minutes. Shrimp will be perfectly cooked. Serve over white long grain rice. Any leftover gumbo can be frozen.

Printable Recipe

Enjoy!

Seafood gumbo is traditionally thickened with okra rather than sassafras powder (filé).

*http://www.emerils.com/recipe/6791/Emerils-Classic-Seafood-Gumbo

**http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/shrimp-gumbo-recipe/index.html 

***http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Seafood-Gumbo-241194