Chicken Okra Gumbo
You may purchase roux already made from your grocery store. I use Tony Chachere's or Richard's Roux.
You may purchase roux already made from your grocery store. I use Tony Chachere's or Richard's Roux.
- 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 pound hen (or chicken) cut into pieces, up to 6 pounds
- 1 cups oil (roux)
- 1 cups flour (roux)
- 1 cups fresh okra chopped (optional)
- 1 large onion & bell pepper chopped
- 1 sticks of celery chopped
- 1 cloves of garlic minced
- 2 tbsp green onions (scallions) chopped
- 5 chicken bouillon
- 3 tbsp tony’s creole seasoning or seasoning mixt black and red pepper, garlic and onion powder)
- 1 quarts water
- 1 tbsp filã©
- Carbohydrate 3.68234 g
- Cholesterol 20.934 mg
- Fat 29.63346 g
- Fiber 0.627000012069941 g
- Protein 5.82356 g
- Saturated Fat 2.901386 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (130g)
- Sodium 58.376 mg
- Sugar 3.05533998793006 g
- Trans Fat 1.48065800000001 g
- Calories 301 calories
Step-by-step
- Season meat with Tony’s or seasoning mixture (lightly).
- In a large aluminum stock pot fill ½ full with water. Add seasoning to water mildly to moderately.
- Using 2 tbs of oil fry chopped okra for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to keep from burning. Add to water in stock pot.
- Add roux until it is a thick consistency; but, not too thick. To make homemade roux use 2 c oil and 2 c flour mixed together, cook in black iron pot on medium low, stirring constantly until it comes to a chocolate caramel brown color.
- Add seasoned chicken, Worcestershire sauce, chopped onion, celery, bell pepper, garlic powder, green onions and filé (2tbs) to water.
- Simmer 2 or 3 hours (hen) or until meat is tender (if using chicken simmer 1 ½ -2 hours).
- Skim off excess fat (oil) and serve in large soup bowls with white rice. Aslo, serve as a side item, potato salad and bread.
Most home cooks rush the roux and ruin the gumbo before the chicken even hits the pot. Dumping flour and oil into a pan on high heat produces burnt specks and bitterness rather than the necessary chocolate caramel brown hue. Patience dictates the process, requiring a medium-low flame and constant motion in a heavy black iron skillet until the starches brown thoroughly. Okra introduces another textural trap. Frying the chopped pods in two tablespoons of oil for ten full minutes before adding them to the water breaks down the mucilage that causes unwanted slime. Stir that okra frequently to prevent scorching while the interior moisture cooks out. When substituting standard grocery store chicken for a tougher hen, expect the simmer time to jump from ninety minutes to a full three hours to break down connective tissues effectively. Filé powder, ground sassafras leaves, provides a final thickening agent and aromatic punch, but it must be stirred in properly at the correct stage rather than boiled away at high heat. Leftovers improve significantly by the second day as the starches hydrate completely and the savory notes cohere, provided the pot sits covered in the refrigerator below 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Skimming excess fat from the surface just before ladling the hot soup over white rice balances the richness of the finished dish.
