Chicken and Andouille Sausage Gumbo

½ cup
¾ cup
​
2 cups
1 cup
1 cup

4 cloves
1 t
1 t
2
½ t 
½ t
​½ t
¼​ t

4 cups
1.5 lbs
10 oz
3 medium
​1 bunch

1 t
​4

vegetable oil
​flour (see notes for gluten free version)

diced onion
diced green bell pepper
​diced celery

garlic
thyme
smoked paprika
bay leaves
ground cumin
salt
pepper
​cayenne pepper

chicken stock (sub in 1 cup beer if you like)
bonless skinless chicken thigh (see notes for vegetarian version)
andouille sausage
carrots, peeled and sliced
kale or other greens

white vinegar
scallions, sliced thin, mostly just the green parts

• Read everything first. Pre-chop everything and have it ready to go before you start the roux.  Bell pepper and celery can go in one bowl but keep onions separate.  Third set can be mixed together. Chicken stock should be heated up.  Slice sausage in half lengthwise.  Ideally you would grill it hard to get a good char.  Or you can just slice it into half-moon shapes.  Kale stems should be diced and kept separate from the leaves. Kale leaves should be chopped into bite sized pieces.
• Make a dark roux from the 1st set.  Heat oil to shimmer point over medium heat then add flour and cook on medium low to medium, stirring constantly, until it is the color of milk chocolate. Darker than ground cinnamon but not black. This should take 30 to 45 minutes. Don't splash this on yourself. People call it Cajun napalm for a reason. If you see lots of black specks at any point then you've burnt it and you should start over. Be sure you are getting the edges and corners when you stir. Much of the gumbo flavor comes from this dark roux. You want it dark, but not black and burnt.
• Quickly add onions and let them cook for a few minutes. The roux will darken a bit more as the onions caramelize.
• Add bell peppers and celery and cook a few more minutes. You'll probably want to turn up the heat a bit.
• Stir in 3rd set and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Add broth, adding and whisking it in small amounts at first to keep roux from clumping.
• Simmer covered for 1 hour
• Add chicken, carrots, and kale stems and simmer covered for another 1 hour
• Add sausage and simmer covered for another 15 minutes (or if you are grilling the sausage you can add it at the end)
• Add greens towards the end but be sure to remove the bay leaves or they get lost.
• Shred chicken if desired (I like it shredded somewhat).
• Stir in vinegar and scallions and remove from heat
• Adjust taste as needed with salt, cayenne, a touch of sugar, and/or more acid, or even ½ t of liquid smoke.

• Notes for GF version: For a nearly identical gluten free version substitute chickpea flour for the wheat flour. It browns and thickens almost identically to wheat. Before finding chickpea, I tried millet and rice.  Both of those smoke and burn as soon as they change color.  In addition, millet thickened to the point of glop and rice fell out of suspension leaving coagulated bits of burnt flour in a pool of oil.
• Notes for vegetarian version: To make this vegetarian, replace chicken stock with veggie stock, add 1/2 t liquid smoke to the stock to amp up the smoke, add 1 can of navy beans or some other kind of beans at the end, and roast up 3 large portables with some andouille type seasoning (10 oz portables sliced into planks tossed in 1T liquid smoke, 2 T olive oil, 1 t paprika, 1 t smoked paprika, ½ t garlic powder, ¼ t onion powder, ¼ t black pepper, ¼ t thyme, ¼ t cayenne, ¼ t cumin, ¼ t mustard powder, single layer on a sprayed sheet roasted at 400 degrees for 15 to 30 minutes until dark and concentrated.  Add these right at the end, maybe just on top of the dish if serving it family style.

• Yield: 8 to 10 servings
• Source: Me and a bunch of books and websites

Category:  American                                                                                                                                                     Modified 5/7/18