Authentic Cajun Gumbo - A Step-By-Step Guide - with Photos

2LB's smoked sausage/andouille - sliced

4LB bone-in chicken pieces, cut up into sections - I used thighs, breasts and drumsticks for this one

1c Bell pepper - diced- I used red and yellow, but green is fine

1c yellow onion - diced

1c celery - diced

2Tbsp fresh chopped garlic

3-4 quarts stock - I used 2 quarts each of chicken and beef

1c vegetable oil

1.5c flour

long grain rice for serving - traditionally basic long-grain white rice is used here, but I personally find basmati makes a noticeable improvement in the end result

2 bay leafs

salt - to taste - I used kosher - some people stick to a cajun seasoning blend for their salt like Tony Chacherie's.

Cut up your veggies and have these ready. You do not want to be doing this during the next step. I typically chop all of my veggies into 1/4” squares, give or take, for a gumbo.

Make the roux. If you've never made a traditional roux, be prepared as this can take 30-60 minutes depending on your heat. I set my burner to medium. Get the 1c of oil pretty warm and whisk in the 1.5c flour. Make sure everything is combined well. DO NOT LEAVE THE POT. A burned roux is a sad thing and very easy to do. You need to keep stirring and get some maillard reaction going on. For my gumbo's I like a mid-dark roux(roughly the shade of an old penny), but this isn't required. anything tan to dark is okay, but any differences will make a noticeable change in the end result. Just remember that the lighter the roux, the more thickening power it has, so make changes as necessary.

Add the vegetables to the roux. Once the roux has reached the color you are comfortable with, add the chopped vegetables to the roux and mix well. This stops the browning of the roux and wilts the vegetables. Cook this over medium heat for 15 minutes or so, stirring everything around every 5 minutes or so.

Prep the sausage and chicken. While the vegetables are cooking, you can start chopping your sausage and getting your chicken ready. If you opted for a whole chicken, quarter it. If you bought pieces, just place them in with the sausage. I personally remove as much skin as possible from the chicken here. Also, the sausage you use will make a huge difference in the end result. Hillshire farms, Bryan, etc just do not make a sausage of good enough quality to use here. Splurge and find a good smoked sausage, preferably an andouille if accessible. My two personal favorite brands that are easy to find (In Louisiana at least) are Richards and Veron's.

Add the chicken and sausage. Once the vegetables have wilted, toss in your chicken and sausage. Steps are same here as they were for the vegetables. Stir every 5 minutes, making sure to scrape the bottom of the pot while stirring. Sausage and chicken will start browning on the bottom of the pot here. Browning is good, burning is not. I typically do this for 15-20 minutes to get good browning going.

Now you can start adding your stock. I highly recommend starting slowly, adding a cup or so at a time to make sure it's completely incorporated before adding more. This will make sure the roux is perfectly mixed with the broth so you don't have any clumps lingering around. Add around 3-4 quarts total. Volume depends on the consistency you would prefer for your gumbo. I personally used 4 quarts here, half chicken and half beef stock.

Bring everything to a simmer/soft boil and add some seasoning. I add some salt and pepper here to get things started. Let this roll for around 1 hour, lid on, then come back and spoon off the oil that has accumulated at the top of the gumbo.

Pull out the chicken, remove meat from bones and add back to the pot.

Add bay leaves, salt/pepper to taste. You can add some fresh basil or thyme here if you'd like. I liked, so I did. Cook for another hour, lid off.

Give her one last taste test before serving. It's okay to slightly over season your gumbo since it will be served over rice, but be careful to not go overboard.