Foodie Tuesday: Chicken & Sausage Gumbo

And the last post from the Houston trip. This time I promise!!

Chicken & Sausage Gumbo

(This one was good, but plan on cooking it for up to 4 1/2 hours.)
1 Tbsp plus 1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 lb andouille sausage
4 lbs chicken thighs
1 Tbsp creole seasoning (mix found in spice aisle)
1 cup flour
2 cups chopped onions
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped green bell peppers
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne
3 bay leaves
9 cups chicken stock
1 Tbsp file powder
cooked white rice
hot sauce of choice

Since I had no idea what I was doing, I prepped all my ingredients before hand.  I find that this makes it very easy to work on new recipes.

Start with a large Dutch oven (thank you, Mom!), and heat 1 Tbsp of vegetable oil. Cook your cut up andouille sausage in the oil until its well browned. Mine took 8 minutes.  I followed the times of my recipe religiously, and all worked well. Take out the sausage and leave it on a paper towel to drain.

Next, brown your chicken thighs with skin on. Cook for 6 minutes (3 on each side) until browned. Remove the chicken, let it cool, the put it back in the fridge.  The chicken is not fully cooked at this point, so don't leave it on the counter.

The most important part of a gumbo is the roux.  This was first attempt at a roux so I followed the instructions verbatim.  I've quoted them for this next part so I don't mess it up for you. "Combine the remaining 1/2 cup oil and the flour in the same Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook, stirring slowly and constantly for 20-25 minutes, to make a dark brown roux, the color of chocolate." Below is the progression of my roux.

I actually Googled some images of roux to see if I got the right look.  The picture looks really light, but I promise it was dark enough.  After this, add the onions, celery, and bell peppers.  Cook them in the roux for 5 minutes.  Add back in the sausage, then add the salt, cayenne, and bay leaves. Slowly add the chicken stock while stirring.  Bring everything to a boil, then reduce the heat and cook uncovered for an hour.  

Add the chicken into the stock mixture and simmer for an addition 1 1/2 hours.  Skim the chicken fat from the service as it rises. Once the cooking time if over, remove the mixture from the heat, and remove the chicken.  Take the skin off and throw it away, then pull the chicken off the bone and shred it.  Add the chicken back to pot.  Stir in the green onions and file powder and remove the bay leaves. Serve over the cooked white rice and enjoy! Laissez les bon temps rouler!