Seafood Gumbo

 

This Gumbo was the talk of the town in Lancaster Ca. I own a  restaurant there for six years and when I cook Gumbo it seem like the word spread around. You can make Gumbo many ways and add all kinds ingredients. I am giving you this easy step so you can go out and create your own.

Ingredients:

2 cups chopped onions

2 tablespoon chopped garlic

1½ cups chopped green bell peppers

1 cup chopped celery

2 whole bay leaves

2 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

½ teaspoon red pepper

½ teaspoon thyme

¼ teaspoon oregano

¾ cup vegetable oil

¾ cup flour

1 cup dice tomatoes

5-1/2 cups shrimp stock (keep the shells and the heads to make the broth).

1-1/2 pounds crabs, bodies and claws

2-3 pounds shrimp clean, deveined and shelled (keep the shells and the heads to make the broth).

1 pound Cob (Fish) in medium chuck or the fish of your choice

Put the flour and oil in a heavy skillet over medium high heat. Stir constantly until it turns dark brown. Be very careful not to splash any of the roux on you, it will burn you badly. Do not let the roux burn. Adjust the heat lower if it looks like it may burning. 

A very dark roux is very essential to a gumbo. It should look like dark chocolate and smell like roasted peanuts. Roux can be made very quickly by heating the oil until it's smoking, then adding the flour. After 30 mins it will be dark enough.

When the roux is done, add the Holy Trinity (onions, bell pepper, and celery), garlic and herbs to the roux and saute for a few minutes. at this point you can add slice okra if you like ( okra is an thickening).

Add the shrimp broth and dice tomatoes to the boiling stock pot and stir. Then, cook this for about 45 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Add Seafood and raw cob fish and cook about 10 minutes, then turn the heat off and let it srand for a few minutes more. Serve over hot rice.