The dish to eat in New Orleans · United States

Gumbo

Name: Chicken and andouille gumbo
Total time: 3 h
Yield: 8
Cuisine: United States
Ingredients: 3/4 cup (180 ml) neutral oil; 3/4 cup (95 g) all-purpose flour; 2 large onions, chopped; 1 green bell pepper, chopped; 3 celery stalks, chopped; 6 garlic cloves, minced; 1 lb (450 g) smoked andouille sausage, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds; 3 lb (1.4 kg) bone-in chicken thighs, skin removed; 2 1/2 quarts (2.4 l) chicken stock, warm; 3 bay leaves, 1 tsp dried thyme; 1 1/2 tsp Creole seasoning, 1/2 tsp cayenne, 1 tsp black pepper, salt to taste; 1 bunch scallions, sliced, and 1/2 cup chopped parsley; Filé powder, hot sauce and cooked long-grain rice, to serve

Photo: stu_spivack, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source

A dark roux stew with the 'holy trinity' (onion, celery, pepper), andouille and chicken or seafood, over rice.

New Orleans in one pot: a French roux, African okra, Choctaw filé, Spanish peppers and Louisiana sausage. Every family has its gumbo, and every restaurant too.

Where to eat it Cook it at home

Where to eat it: the best three in New Orleans

Dooky Chase's Restaurant
Orleans Avenue, Tremé
Order: Gumbo and the fried chicken
Leah Chase's Creole institution, where civil rights leaders met over dinner.
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Li'l Dizzy's Café
Esplanade Avenue, Tremé
Order: Seafood gumbo with the Creole lunch buffet
A Tremé family café run by the Baquet family, Creole cooking at lunch.
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Mr. B's Bistro
Royal Street, French Quarter
Order: Gumbo ya-ya (chicken and andouille) and BBQ shrimp
A Brennan family bistro whose dark gumbo ya-ya is a city favorite.
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All three are on Chef Amazing’s list The best gumbo in New Orleans, which you can save and take with you.

Cook it at home: Chicken and andouille gumbo

Serves 8Time 3 hr

The roux is everything: stir flour and oil for about 45 minutes until it's the color of dark chocolate. Don't leave it, and don't let it burn (black flecks mean start over).

Pans and tools

Large heavy pot or Dutch oven (at least 7 quarts)
Flat wooden spoon
Ladle
Skimmer

You’ll need

3/4 cup (180 ml) neutral oil
3/4 cup (95 g) all-purpose flour
2 large onions, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb (450 g) smoked andouille sausage, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
3 lb (1.4 kg) bone-in chicken thighs, skin removed
2 1/2 quarts (2.4 l) chicken stock, warm
3 bay leaves, 1 tsp dried thyme
1 1/2 tsp Creole seasoning, 1/2 tsp cayenne, 1 tsp black pepper, salt to taste
1 bunch scallions, sliced, and 1/2 cup chopped parsley
Filé powder, hot sauce and cooked long-grain rice, to serve

Steps

Brown the andouille in a large heavy pot over medium heat, 6 to 8 minutes; lift out. Season the chicken with salt and Creole seasoning and brown it in the fat in batches, 4 minutes a side; set aside.
Add the oil to the pot and heat over medium. Whisk in the flour. Cook, stirring constantly with a flat wooden spoon, for 40 to 50 minutes, lowering the heat if it smokes, until the roux is very dark brown and smells nutty.
Immediately add the onions, pepper and celery (this stops the roux cooking) and stir 8 to 10 minutes until soft. Add the garlic for 1 minute.
Gradually whisk in the warm stock, a ladle at a time at first, so the roux dissolves smoothly.
Add the chicken, sausage, bay, thyme, cayenne and black pepper. Bring to a boil, then simmer gently, uncovered, for 1 1/2 hours, skimming off the oil that rises.
Lift out the chicken, pull the meat from the bones in big pieces and return it to the pot. Simmer 15 minutes more. Taste for salt and heat.
Stir in the scallions and parsley. Serve in bowls over a scoop of rice, with filé (a pinch to each bowl, never boiled) and hot sauce at the table.

Chef’s tips

Have the trinity chopped and ready before you start the roux; you'll need it at once.

Gumbo is better the next day. Chill and lift off the fat.

For seafood gumbo, add shrimp, crab and oysters in the last 5 minutes instead of chicken.

Contains: Wheat.

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