Gumbo

Ingredients

• 1 cup vegetable oil218 g
• 1 cup all-purpose flour120 g
• 1 pound andouille or smoked sausage, sliced 1/4 inch thick454 g
• 2 celery stalks, chopped80 g
• 1 large green bell pepper, chopped120 g
• 1 large onion, chopped150 g
• 4 cloves garlic, minced12 g
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 pinch Creole seasoning, or to taste
• 6 cups chicken broth1440 g
• 1 bay leaf1 g
• 1 rotisserie chicken, boned and shredded1800 g

Method

1. Gather all ingredients.
2. Heat oil in a stockpot over medium heat; whisk in flour until roux is smooth and has cooked to the color of chocolate milk, about 8 to 10 minutes. Be careful not to burn the roux. If you see black specks in the mixture, it's best to start over.
3. Add sausage, celery, bell pepper, and onion into the roux; cook and stir 5 minutes. Add garlic; continue to cook and stir another 5 minutes.
4. Season with salt, pepper, and Creole seasoning; stir well to blend. Pour in chicken broth and add bay leaf. Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
5. Stir in the chicken and simmer 1 hour more. Skim off any foam that floats to the top during this time.
6. Serve and enjoy!

Watch out for: The blend carries the salt — commercial Cajun seasonings pushed saltiness to 8-9/10 with no added salt (4 cooks). Season at the end, from a low-sodium base.

Ingredients

• 4 tbsp. unsalted butter57 g
• 1/4 c. all-purpose flour30 g
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped150 g
• 1 medium green bell pepper, seeds and ribs removed, chopped120 g
• 2 stalks celery, finely sliced80 g
• 12 oz. andouille sausage, sliced into 1/2" rounds340 g
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped6 g
• 1 tbsp. Cajun seasoning (without salt)8 g
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 4 c. low-sodium chicken broth960 g
• 1 (15-oz.) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes425 g
• 1 bay leaf1 g
• 1 lb. medium shrimp, peeled, deveined454 g
• 3 scallions, sliced
• Cooked white rice, for serving

Method

1. In a large, deep skillet over medium-low heat, melt butter, then add flour. Cook, stirring constantly, until roux is dark caramel colored, 12 to 15 minutes.
2. Add onions, peppers, and celery and cook, stirring, until softened, about 8 minutes. Stir in sausage, garlic, and Cajun seasoning; season with salt and pepper. Stir in broth, tomatoes, and bay leaf and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 1 hour.
3. In the last 6 minutes of cooking, add shrimp. Once shrimp is pink and cooked through, taste and adjust seasonings. Stir in scallions, reserving some for serving.
4. Divide rice among bowls. Spoon gumbo over. Top with reserved scallions.

Watch out for: The seafood clock is minutes, not hours — every rubbery-shrimp report we have came from seafood cooked on the chicken's schedule. And tomato is identity, not mechanism: it thins and brightens, it does not thicken.

Ingredients

• 1 (14 ounce) package Hillshire Farm® Smoked Sausage397 g
• 0.25 cup cooking oil54 g
• 0.25 cup flour30 g
• 1 onion, chopped150 g
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded, chopped120 g
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded, chopped120 g
• 1 cup chopped celery101 g
• 1 cup frozen sliced okra
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped6 g
• 2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning5 g
• 2 cups chicken broth480 g
• 0.5 teaspoon hot pepper sauce1 g
• 0.5 teaspoon ground black pepper1 g
• Salt to taste
• 0.5 pound large raw shrimp, peeled, deveined227 g
• 3 cups hot cooked long-grain white rice555 g

Method

1. Cut sausage into 1/2-inch slices; set aside.
2. Combine oil and flour in a 4-quart heavy saucepan; mix until smooth. Cook and stir over medium-high heat for 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium; cook and stir until roux is a dark reddish brown, 6 to 8 minutes.
3. Stir in onion, bell peppers, celery, okra and garlic; cook and stir until vegetables are tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in Cajun seasoning.
4. Pour in broth; bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 1 minute. Reduce heat to low; add sausage, pepper sauce, black pepper and salt. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
5. Remove the lid and bring to a boil; add shrimp and cook until shrimp turn pink, about 3 minutes.
6. Portion rice into bowls. Ladle gumbo over rice.

Watch out for: The slime and the body are the same molecule — you cannot eliminate one and keep the other entirely. Dry heat moderates; it does not switch mucilage off.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds (900g) skinless chicken thighs900 g
• salt and pepper (to taste (see notes))
• 1 tablespoon (12g) Creole seasoning (or to taste)12 g
• 2 tablespoons (30ml) canola oil27 g
• 8 ounces (250g) smoked sausage (andouille, kielbasa, and Polish sausage work well)250 g
• ¼ cup (60g) unsalted butter60 g
• ½ cup (60g) flour60 g
• 1 medium onion, (diced)150 g
• 2 teaspoons (10g) minced garlic10 g
• 1 medium green bell pepper, (diced)120 g
• 1 cup (120g) chopped celery (about 3 stalks)120 g
• ½ pound (250g) crab legs250 g
• 1 tablespoon (12g) Creole seasoning12 g
• 1 tablespoon (10g) chicken bouillon powder (1 cube)10 g
• ½ tablespoon (4-5g) smoked paprika3 g
• 1 tablespoon (6g) thyme (fresh or dried)6 g
• 2 bay leaves2 g
• 1 14-ounce can tomatoes, (chopped (optional))397 g
• 6 cups (1.5l) chicken stock (or 6 cups water and 6 teaspoons of bouillon)1440 g
• 1 pound (450g) shrimp, (peeled and deveined)450 g
• 1 tablespoon (6g) gumbo filé6 g
• 2 green onions, (chopped)300 g
• ¼ cup (15g) chopped parsley15 g

Method

1. Lightly season the chicken with salt, pepper, and Creole seasoning.
2. Heat the oil over medium heat in a heavy-bottomed Dutch oven. Then cook the chicken until browned on both sides, remove it, and set it aside.
3. Brown the sausage, and set it aside.
4. Melt the butter with the oil in the same pan, then sprinkle in the flour and stir until smooth.
5. Cook on medium heat, stirring continuously, for about 20-30 minutes or until it turns a rich dark brown color, just like chocolate. Please don't walk away from the stove during this process, or it could burn. The time it takes is so worth it.
6. When you have achieved your desired color, remove the Dutch oven from the heat and let it cool slightly.
7. Return it to the heat. Add the onion, garlic, green pepper, and celery, and cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring frequently.
8. Then add chicken, sausage, crab legs, Creole seasoning, chicken bouillon or cubes, paprika, thyme, and bay leaves, and let it cook for 5 minutes.
9. Follow with the tomatoes (if using) and about 6 cups of chicken stock, then bring to a boil and simmer for 45-50 minutes. After that, add the shrimp and simmer for 5 more minutes.
10. Stir in filé powder, green onions, and parsley. Adjust the soup's thickness and flavor to preferences.

Watch out for: Table-side is the zero-risk play — individual bowls, no reboil possible. The 'never filé AND okra' rule has no chemical basis found in the audit; treat it as regional identity, not physics.

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour40 g
• 1/3 cup cooking oil (a neutral-flavor oil, such as corn oil or canola)73 g
• 3 cups chicken broth720 g
• 12 to 16 ounces smoked sausage (spicy sausage, such as andouille), sliced about 1/2-inch thick397 g
• 2 to 3 cups diced cooked chicken350 g
• 1 1/2 cups sliced okra
• 1 cup chopped onion160 g
• 1/2 cup chopped green pepper74 g
• 1/2 cup chopped celery50 g
• 4 cloves garlic, minced12 g
• Dash of salt, to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper1 g
• 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper1 g

Method

1. In a heavy 2-quart saucepan stir together flour and oil until smooth.
2. Cook over medium-high heat for 4 minutes, stirring constantly.
3. Reduce heat to medium.
4. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, for about 15 minutes more or until roux is dark reddish brown.
5. Let the roux cool.
6. Add chicken broth to a 3 1/2- to 6-quart slow cooker. Stir in the roux.
7. Add sausage, chicken, okra , onion, green pepper, celery, garlic, salt, pepper, and red pepper.
8. Cover and cook on low for 7 to 9 hours, or on high for 4 to 5 hours.
9. Skim off fat. Serve and enjoy.

Watch out for: Margarine and low-fat spreads are the documented roux killers — Smart Balance capped browning at 3/10 (1 cook), and a doubled margarine roux is the only broken gravy anyone reported (1 cook, 1/10). Use real fat.