30 by 30: Chicken and Smoked Sausage Gumbo
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Before I get to this (absolutely amazingly delicious) gumbo, I wanted to wish my friend Kelsey a happy virtual bridal shower, and give her my best wishes as she gets married in just over a week! I am so incredibly happy that she has found someone she is absolutely smitten with and is looking forward to spending the rest of her life with. I was set to make something for her virtual shower but I ended up making it at the 11th hour (because I never learn) and it was a total flop. Completely unbloggable. Sigh. Kelsey, hopefully your wedding day goes more smoothly than my mini cheesecake experience. 😉 Please be sure to check out the shower round-up on Amy and Kelsey’s blogs, including contributions by some really great bloggers.
Onto the gumbo from my 30×30 list. I found this recipe by googling Emeril + gumbo. 🙂 I figured he would have a good, authentic recipe. This is the first one that came up, though he also has other versions, including one with seafood. I am more of a chicken and sausage person than a seafood person, anyway, so I went with this. The results? Seriously, seriously delicious.
I’ve always been a huge gumbo fan, though I don’t eat it very often (because I don’t really know of many places with authentic gumbo) and I definitely have never made it before (mostly because of 1. the fat content, of the roux, mainly; 2. the time factor).
Honestly, just smelling this gumbo before I even had a bite, I was positive it was going to be fantastic and at least as good as gumbos I’ve tried, if not better. And I was right in that assumption. It’s incredibly flavorful, hearty, and downright awesome.
This is not a difficult recipe, but it is definitely time-consuming. It takes about 3.5 hours from start to finish, although 2.5 of those hours are simmering so you can do other exciting things, like wash dishes. I’m normally a prep-as-I-go kinda gal (which may not be the best way to do things, but it’s always worked for me), but you’ll definitely want to prep your vegetables ahead of time here, as the roux needs constant stirring and babysitting. I followed the recipe almost exactly, making very few changes, but I did decrease the amount of rice. Emeril calls for 2 cups and I used 1.5, which was more than enough (I also just made mine in water, not stock, since it was already going to be added to the flavorful gumbo).
I’m so happy to have this recipe in my back pocket!
Chicken and Smoked Sausage Gumbo
Serves 6-8
Adapted from Emeril Lagasse
1 Tbsp. + 1/2 cup canola oil
1 lb. smoked sausage, such as kielbasa or andouille, cut crosswise into 1/2″ pieces
4 lbs. bone-in chicken thighs, skin removed
1 Tbsp. creole/Essence seasoning
1 cup AP flour
2 cups chopped onions
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped bell peppers
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cayenne
3 bay leaves
9 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup chopped green onions
2 Tbsp. chopped parsley
1 Tbsp. filé powder
1.5 cups white rice, cooked
hot sauce (optional) for serving
Heat the tablespoon of oil in a large enameled Dutch oven or pot over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook until well-browned, about 8 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and place onto paper towels to drain.
Season the chicken thighs with Essence and add to the pot (in batches, if necessary) to brown on both sides, about 6 minutes total. Remove the chicken, cool slightly, and store in the fridge until later.
In the same pot, combine the remaining oil and flour over medium heat. Stir slowly and constantly until a dark brown roux is formed, that looks chocolatey in color. This will take about 20-25 minutes.
Add the onions, bell peppers, and celery and cook about 5 minutes. Stir in the reserved sausage, salt, cayenne, bay leaf and cook for 2 minutes.
Slowly add the chicken stock, stirring, until well combined. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 1 hour.
Add the reserved chicken to the pot and simmer for 1.5 hours, skimming off any fat that rises to the surface.
Remove the pot from the heat. Use a slotted spoon to take out the chicken thighs. Shred the meat off the bones and add the meat back into the pot, along with the green onions, parsley, and filé powder. Stir to combine.
To serve, spoon rice into bowls and then top with a serving of gumbo. Serve with hot sauce, if desired.
I’ve always thought of gumbo as a labor of love and you’ve definitely shown the beauty that results when you put in a little bit of time and effort! Looks fantastic.
Gumbo is one of my absolute favorites as well but I’ve also been hesitant to try it at home. This looks amazing. I will be making this soon for sure!
I have bookmarked this recipe for the coming winter months…I too have never indulged in making a gumbo. It looks very hearty Elly…and LOL at your comment regarding washing dishes!
Nice work, Elly! I actually have not had too much gumbo in my 30 years here on planet Earth. You make it sounds delicious. I like anything with sausage. Bravo on the 30×30 conquest!
Looks delicious! I have never made gumbo – definitely putting this on my list of things to try at some point.
Having lived in Louisiana my entire life, I have to say that this is a pretty straight-forward and typical recipe for gumbo. If you are looking for something authentic, this recipe pretty much nails it. We use Tony Chachere’s seasoning (what Emeril calls “essence”). In fact, I’m not sure I know how to cook many things without using Tony’s. It’s a Louisiana pantry staple. If you want to skip the browning of the chicken, you can just boil it in a separate pot and use the stock from that and add your seasoning into the flour that you use for the roux. 🙂
P.S. Gumbo just gets better the longer it sits in the fridge.
This looks really, really tasty! I’ve never had gumbo before, but your recipe makes me want to try it 🙂
Thank you so much, Elly! While I love mini cheesecakes (or really big ones!) I also love gumbo. This recipe looks outstanding. I cannot wait to give it a shot. Thank you again for taking the time to make the cheesecakes and thank you for your kind words. I truly appreciate it!
Happy bridal shower to Kesley! And that Gumbo looks so delicious. Man, I’m so hungry now! 😀
Looks delish. And I agree with Amy….Tony Chachere’s in the green canister is a staple in my pantry. Other than Italian food, there’s not much that I don’t use Tony’s for. They even have a lower salt Tony’s that I use. All the flavor and less sodium.
The fat content and roux initially scared me away from trying my own gumbo too, but this looks so delicious, I have to try! Thanks for sharing!!
Mmmm…I love gumbo! Your recipe looks incredible! 🙂
This looks fantastic! My hubs would love this!
Thanks for sharing. I’m making this tonight for Mardi Gras. I miss Louisiana!
Do you know about how many pounds of chicken you ended up using? Thanks for your help!
Hi Heather – I used right around 4 lbs. Sorry I fixed it above. Hope you enjoy it!
Fabulous, thanks! I’ll let you know what I think after I make it! 🙂
It would be nice if there was a clean way to print this recipe.
I just added printing functionality to recipes recently and am slowly going back to old ones. Just added it to this post.
Great recipe! I made this for last nights dinner .. its DEF a keeper!
Happy to hear you enjoyed it, Jae!
I’ve made this four or five times now, always with different variations of sausage. I honestly can’t recommend one or the other. Andouille, spicy cajun, smoked cajun, all fantastic. The one item you can’t change if you’re going to make it from scratch like this one is the roux. It has to be made in the pan used for browning the chicken and the sausage. I tried it once in a separate pan and there was no flavor because I lost the crispy bits from the browning. You have to brown the sausage and the chicken then make the roux. It’s CRITICAL! Trust me, it may smoke a bit when browning the flour in the oil, but the end result is totally worth it. A great recipe indeed.
Glad you liked it, Chuck!
This looks and sounds delicious, it’s going straigh onto my stuff-to-try list, thanks!
This dish looks amazing and rich with the roux but I wonder if reducing the fat would bring out a similarly delicious dish. Thanks!