Yo Mama | Seafood Gumbo

We have dairy farm friends from Upstate New York who've never had gumbo before. So I made it! I tried not to put anything strange in it, as to not scare them. I've been eating gumbo my entire life and sometimes the things my mom puts in there still scare me. As a result, I left out the okra, oysters, chicken hearts, and alligator boudin this time around. If you like those little accoutrements though, feel free to add them to the recipe.

I heard on TV once that the Holy Trinity of Creole cooking was onions, bell pepper, and celery. However, in my family the it's definitely onions, garlic, and celery. I always have those three in the fridge drawer. And I know I get crazy with garlic, but I just can't help myself.

Roux is also an integral part of Creole cooking. I don't have the attention span to make it on a high heat in one shot, so I keep it on low and multitask. How dark you make your roux in the beginning determines how dark your gravy will be in the end. I like mine dark brown. That's why Cajun gumbo is so black - the roux is nearly burnt. I'm not a fan.

I see in some of Julia Child's ridiculously difficult recipes that she always browns the chicken, no matter how enormous the bird. My mom says browning the chicken is only important in gravy-based recipes. In gumbo, it's pretty easy. Just add the chicken to the roux and let it cook on medium-low heat for a bit.

I have a small pot, so I did crab claws instead of crab legs. If your pot is big enough, I recommend legs over claws because they're easier to crack with your teeth. You'll have to pass around a nutcracker if you use claws. Or if you don't want to pop crab juice on your friends and family, you can just put in one piece of crab for flavor and save it for yourself when everyone is gone.

And if you ever want people to come back to your place for dinner, don't forget to devein the shrimp. Cook's Illustrated has some fancy way of deveining shrimp without slitting the back, but I like to see the back split and have no doubts the shrimp is clean.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup flour
• 3 stalks of celery
• 1 onion
• 5 cloves garlic
• 1/2 can (8oz) stewed tomatoes
• 2-3 tbsp Zatarain's Creole seasoning
• 3 bay leaves
• 3 chicken thighs
• 1/2 lb shrimp
• 3/4 lb crab legs and/or claws
• 2 pork sausage links
• 1 tbsp ground file
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Clean seafood.
2. Cut chicken into pieces of you bought a whole chicken, season with salt and pepper
3. Make roux and add onions, celery, and garlic (and okra).
4. Add chicken and brown.
5. Add tomatoes and water to cover chicken, season with Zatarain's.
6. Add crab and cook down chicken for an hour or so.
7. Add sliced sausage (and oysters), cover and cook for 30 minutes.
8. Add shrimp about 30 minutes before done.
9. Turn off heat and stir in filé.*
10. Serve over white rice with Tabasco.

 *Warning: Be very careful with the filé! Do not add filé when gumbo is boiling. It will turn the taste of the gumbo and destroy your hard work.