Being from New Orleans, this recipe is a real taste of home!
There’s nothing on a cold day better than a big hot bowl of seafood gumbo to warm your belly and your soul! It’s quickly becoming a Christmas tradition around my house, but any time of year is a good excuse for gumbo.
Traditionally it’s a great way to get folks to stop in and pass some time! Just let everybody know you’re putting a pot of it together and the only way they’re getting some is to come pay a visit and you’ll have a full house for sure!
This particular recipe is based on my great great grandmother’s ( Mammaw as she was known!) recipe that originated in Ocean Springs Mississippi in 1935 and was later written down in 1977 by my grandma June Scott. It’s got a few changes that I made myself (like the choice of linguica over andouille sausage ) just to make it my own and as the original recipe made a whopping FIVE GALLONS I’ve trimmed this down a bit for smaller portions. I’d say this recipe makes about 15 good sized bowls depending on how much rice you serve it over.
Makes 1 gallon
CHOP FINE
1 medium bell pepper
2 stalks of celery
1 medium white onion
1/4 bunch parsley
1 cloves garlic
1 link linguica sausage
1 handful of Okra
1 lb of ground beef
1/2 cup grease
1/2 cup flour
4oz tomato paste
3 bay leaves (cracked)
1 tsp file gumbo powder
2 lbs peeled raw shrimp
1 lbs crab meat
Salt and pepper to taste
1 gal water or crab stock
You’re going to start by browning up your hamburger meat. Cook until done and SAVE THE GREASE! You will need it for the roux.
Go ahead and cut up your vegetable ingredients (trinity etc) and set them aside in a bowl.
Make a roux using the grease from the ground meat. You may not have quite enough so feel free to cook up some bacon and use that grease or use shortening. I cut my grease about half hamburger half bacon and it made it wonderfully smokey!
If you are not familiar with making a roux, here’s a video from Justin Wilson! Study up! Roux is what takes your gumbo to flavor bayou!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eK4umRMJlrs&t=502s
Roux Progression
You must stir this gumbo almost constantly until you add the stock/water but it is worth it! Once your roux is as dark as you like add in the cooked ground beef, cut up vegetables and let cook until the onions start turning translucent. Add in your stock/water. If you’re going to use water you can skip making stock but making your own crab stock or using some from the store adds a whole other level of flavor to this dish.
Let this cook for about 10 minutes before adding file powder, (cracked) bay leaves, okra, and tomato paste. Stir and cook for another 10 minutes.
Add your raw shrimps, sausage, and crab meat. Let this cook on a slow simmer for about 45 minutes. Serve over white rice or eat like a soup! YUM!
This recipe is delicious but like most soups and stews it’s even better the next day!
In addition, if you find you’ve made too much it freezes well so just put some in containers by the second day if it looks like you made too much. When you’re ready to eat it just take it out of the freezer and put it in a pot on low to defrost until it’s warmed through and enjoy again!