Chicken and Sausage Gumbo
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1-2 Hours
Cleaning Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: Ngl it’s about 3 Hours…
Ingredients
1 lb. Andouille sausage, cut into half moons
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch chunks
6 oz. any light beer
1 Stick of Butter
½ Cup neutral oil
1 Cup of AP Flour
1 Cup yellow onion, chopped (1 Large onion)
1 Cup celery, chopped (about 2 stalks)
1 Cup Green bell pepper, chopped (about 1 large pepper)
6 Cloves Garlic, minced
4-5 Cups of Chicken stock
3 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Ground black pepper
1 tsp. Creole seasoning
¼ tsp. Cayenne pepper
3 Bay leaves
Handful fresh thyme
Directions
Start by placing your sausage in a large pot or cast iron Dutch oven with the heat off. Turn the heat up to medium-high and cook, stirring occasionally, until the fat is rendered from the sausage and you see some light browning. Remove the sausage with a slotted spoon, leaving the fat in the pot. Reduce the heat to medium and cook the chicken chunks, turning once or twice, until both sides are lightly browned. Don’t overcrown the pan here and work in batches if you need to. Remove the chicken and set aside with the sausage.
Next, deglaze the pot with your beer, stock, or broth of choice by pouring over the hot fond and scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Reduce the liquid while stirring occasionally to release the brown bits until almost no liquid remains – we call this stage “au sec” in the culinary world! There should still be SOME liquid left (fat from the sausage doesn't evaporate, but not much beer/stock at all)
After the reduction stage, add in the butter and oil. Let the butter melt and immediately add the flour. Whisk or stir slowly and constantly for anywhere between 20 to 45 minutes to make a dark brown roux (think the color of a milk chocolate bar).
Once the roux is dark enough, add the onions, celery, and bell peppers and continue to stir for another 5 minutes or so until the vegetables are tender and incorporated. Add the garlic and stir for another minute or two. Yeah I know… lots of stirring.
Next, add the chicken broth in 1 cup at a time, stirring for 30-60 seconds with each addition until you find the consistency you like. I will typically go through about 4 cups of stock, but pour to your preference – this is an art, not a science.
Lastly, add back the sausage and chicken you’ve set aside plus the salt, black pepper, Creole seasoning, cayenne, bay leaves, and Thyme. Continue to stir until well combined. Bring the gumbo to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 1-2 hours.
To serve: Remove the bay leaves and thyme. Then add rice to a bowl followed by a few ladles of gumbo garnished with parsley and green onions.
Notes & Free Game
For your roux, don’t be afraid to use another fat like bacon grease, beef tallow, Ghee, or duck fat! Just make sure the ratio is 1:1 with the flour and the fat has a decent smoke point. I would avoid olive oil or coconut oil here because it clashes with the gumbo flavor
For God’s sake, please don’t stir the roux too violently! It will splash up and burn you pretty bad. Don’t be afraid, just take it slow and you will be good.
Chill and scrape off the fat from your gumbo that rises to the top. This makes for a smooth roux that has no separation of oil when you serve it. Just make sure you chill it in an uncovered container until the gumbo is completely cool to avoid bacteria growth!