Best Gumbo Recipes for This Cooler Weather in Louisiana

SHREVEPORT,  LA - As this cooler weather rolls in, you might be thinking about making chili or some sort of homemade soup. My "go-to" dish for the first cool spell in the fall is gumbo. We have a family recipe that comes from my Great Grandmother and it is spectacular. But I want to venture out and try some new gumbo recipes this year.

I have been checking out so many and I've whittled the list down to these recipes from several famous chefs. Below these recipes you will find videos so you can see exactly how they make these amazing dishes.

Chef John Folse's "Death by Gumbo"

Ingredients:

1 pound (35-count) shrimp, peeled and de-veined
1 pound jumbo lump crabmeat
2 dozen shucked oysters, reserve liquid
3 quarts shellfish stock
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup flour
2 cups chopped onions
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped bell pepper
1/4 cup diced garlic
1/2 pound sliced andouille sausage
1 pound claw crabmeat
2 cups sliced green onions
1/2 cup chopped parsley
salt and cayenne pepper
Louisiana Gold Pepper Sauce

Method:
In a 7-quart cast iron dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Sprinkle in flour and, using a wire whisk, stir constantly until brown roux is achieved. Do not allow roux to scorch. Should black specks appear in roux, discard and begin again. Once roux is golden brown, add onions, celery, bell pepper and garlic. Sauté approximately 3-5 minutes or until vegetables are wilted. Add andouille, blend well into vegetable mixture and sauté an additional 2-3 minutes. Add claw crabmeat and stir into roux. This will begin to add seafood flavor to the mixture. Slowly add hot shellfish stock, one ladle at a time, stirring constantly until all is incorporated. Bring to a low boil, reduce to simmer and cook approximately 30 minutes. Add additional stock if necessary to retain volume. Add green onions and parsley. Season to taste using salt, pepper and Louisiana Gold. Fold shrimp, lump crabmeat, oysters and reserved oyster liquid into soup. Return to a low boil and cook approximately 5 minutes. Adjust seasonings and serve over cooked rice.

Justin Wilson Famous Chicken and Andouille Gumbo

Ingredients

3⁄4 cup olive oil
1 1⁄2 cups flour
1 cup onion, chopped
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 cups cut up andouille sausages
2 -3 lbs chicken, cut into small size parts, including gizzards
2 1⁄2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1⁄2 teaspoons louisiana hot sauce
2 1⁄2 teaspoons salt
4 cups water
4 cups sauterne white wine
file powder

Directions (in Justin's own Words)

"Firs', you gotta make-a-roux, you know dat".

In a cast iron dutch oven, combine oil and flour on MED heat. Stir the mixture constantly and slowly until it browns.
"You cook dat til you tink, dat's gonna burn, but dat's not what it did, see y'gots to cook dat til it's like Dutch chocolate, y'see?".
When the roux reaches it's proper, aforementioned color, you add the onion. Once that onion has cooked clear looking, add your garlic, and whisk in 4 cups of water.
Next you stir in the worcestershire and hot sauce, and add your andouille sausage.
Now it's time to add your chicken. "I put the pieces I like most of all, which is all the shicken, and the part what go over de fence last, I like dat.".
Add your 4 cups of Sauterne wine, and 2.5 teaspoons of salt. Stir all this together and your gumbo is completed,. except for the cooking.
" What you did with dis, now you cook dis today, an don' serve it today, no. You put it in you icebox tonight, an tomorrow, bring it to a boil an let it simmer for about an hour, an den eat dat, cause it taste more batter den, hoooo, it always does.".
Whether you can wait until the next day or not, cook it a long time until the chicken is ready to fall off the bone.

Serve it with hot cooked rice.

John Besh Makes a Classic Family Gumbo

Ingredients

1 cup canola oil
1 cup flour
2 large onions, diced
6 jumbo blue crabs, each cut into 4 pieces
1 pound spicy smoked sausage links, sliced 1/2 inch thick
1 stalk celery, diced
1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup fresh okra, sliced
Leaves from 1 sprig fresh thyme
3 quarts Basic Shellfish Stock
2 bay leaves
1 pound medium Louisiana or wild American shrimp
1 cup shucked oysters
1 cup lump crabmeat
1 cup minced green onions
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Basic Creole Spices
Worcestershire
Tabasco
4–6 cups Basic Louisiana White Rice, cooked

Basic Creole Spices:
2 tablespoons celery salt
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
1 tablespoon coarse sea salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

Basic Shellfish Stock:
1/4 cup canola oil
1 onion, coarsely chopped
1 stalk celery, coarsely chopped
1 carrot, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 leek, white part, coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 pound shrimp shells
1 bay leaf
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 teaspoon black peppercorns

FOR THE GUMBO
Make a roux by heating the oil in a large cast-iron or heavy-bottomed pot over high heat. Whisk the flour into the hot oil. It will immediately begin to sizzle. Reduce the heat to moderate and continue whisking until the roux takes on a deep brown color, about 15 minutes. Add the onions, stirring them into the roux with a wooden spoon. Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue stirring until the roux is a rich, dark brown, about 10 minutes.

Add the blue crabs and smoked sausage and stir for a minute before adding the celery, bell peppers, garlic, and okra. Increase the heat to moderate and cook, stirring, for about 3 minutes. Add the thyme, Shellfish Stock, and bay leaves. Bring the gumbo to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 45 minutes. Stir occasionally and skim off any fat from the surface of the gumbo.

Add the shrimp, oysters, crabmeat, and green onions to the pot and cook for 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, Creole Spices, Worcestershire, and Tabasco. Serve in bowls over rice.

Jean-Pierre Makes His Version of Paul Prudhomme's Gumbo

For the Creole Seasoning:
3 tablespoons Smoked Paprika
2 tablespoons Garlic Powder
2 tablespoons Onion Powder
1 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
2 tablespoons dried Leaf Oregano
2 tablespoons dried Thyme
2 tablespoons dried Sage
2 tablespoons Salt
2 tablespoons Black Pepper

For the Gumbo:

3 approx. cups All Purpose Flour
5 tablespoons Creole Seasoning (See recipe below)
1 Chicken cut up into 8 pieces, 2 legs, 2 tights, 2 breasts cut in half
½ cup Clarified Butter
¾ cup Flour
1 large Onion diced (about 2 cups)
1 Green Bell Pepper diced
2 cups of Celery diced
4 cups Chicken Stock
4 cloves Garlic finely chopped
¼ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper (optional)
1 dash Louisiana Hot Sauce (optional)
1 pound mixed smoked or cured Sausages, such as Andouille and Kielbasa, sliced 1/4 inch thick
¾ pound Large Shrimp cut in half lengthwise
1 teaspoon Gumbo File Powder (grounded Sassafras leaves)
2 tablespoons Parsley chopped

RECIPE INSTRUCTIONS

Make the Creole Seasoning:
In a mixing bowl mix all ingredients together.
Make the Gumbo:
In a mixing bowl, mix the flour and 3 tablespoons of seasoning and dredge each chicken piece. In a large frying pan or an enamel cast iron pot, heat the clarified butter, and then add the chicken and sauté until golden brown. Remove the chicken from the pot and reserve.
In the same pot, scrape the burnt bits into the bottom of the pot and mix well with the butter. Add the flour and mix well to make the roux. At medium heat, keep cooking the roux to a dark chocolate color this could take 30 to 40 minutes depending on your heat source.
Add the onion, bell pepper, and celery, cook for a couple of minutes and add the stock, garlic, and cayenne and cook for 5 to 7 minutes. Add the chicken and the remaining 2 tablespoons of Creole seasoning and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Cook for another 15 minutes. Add the sausage cook for another 3 minutes and add the sausages and cook another 5 minutes.
Add the shrimp, scallion, and Gumbo file, 2 tablespoons chopped parsley, and cook for a few more minutes just enough to make sure the shrimp are cooked through.

Chef Paul Prudhomme Andouille Sausage and Chicken Gumbo

Ingredients
1 cup of all-purpose flour
1 cup of vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
4 cups of chicken stock
1 lb of Andouille sausage, sliced
1 lb of chicken breast, cut into small pieces
1 tbsp of Cajun seasoning
2 bay leaves
Salt and pepper, to taste
6 cups of cooked white rice
Chopped green onions, to garnish

Instructions
In a large Dutch oven, heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat.

Add the flour and stir constantly for 15-20 minutes until it turns into a dark brown color, making a roux.

Add the onions, celery, bell pepper, and garlic. Saute for 5-7 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

Add the chicken stock, Andouille sausage, chicken breast, Cajun seasoning, bay leaves, salt, and pepper.

Bring the gumbo to a boil, then reduce the heat and let it simmer for at least 2-3 hours.

Serve the gumbo hot over bowls of cooked white rice. Garnish with chopped green onions.

Leah Chase Famous Dooky Chase Restaurant Gumbo

INGREDIENTS

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup diced red onion
1/2 cup diced red peppers
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon Freshly ground black pepper
4 ounces ground chorizo
1 (14-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
12 ounces fresh okra, diced small
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 tablespoon filé powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 cups fish stock
2 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
8 ounces smoked andouille sausage, sliced ¼ inch thick
6 cups cooked rice, for serving
Chopped scallions, for serving
Chopped fresh parsley, for serving
INSTRUCTIONS

Heat the vegetable oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven set over medium-high heat. When the oil shimmers, add the celery, onion, peppers, garlic, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the chorizo and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the tomatoes, okra, paprika, filé powder and cayenne and continue cooking for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the stocks and vinegar and bring to a simmer. Decrease the heat to low, cover, and cook for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. The filé powder, which is made by grinding sassafras leaves, will thicken the stew.
Add the shrimp and andouille and stir to combine. Continue to cook for 4 to 5 minutes, until the shrimp are just cooked through. Serve the gumbo over rice, topped with scallions and parsley.