Classic Gumbos of New Orleans
You most certainly have often heard of, that one should partake when visiting New Orleans Mardi Gras.

Gumbo is a spicy, hearty stew or soup, found typically in the states on the Gulf of Mexico in the United States, and very common in the southern part of Louisiana. It is eaten year round, but is usually found during the colder months. This is due to the extended cooking time required, as a large pot full Gumbo has been called the greatest contribution of Louisiana kitchens to American cuisine. When the first French settlers came to Louisiana, they brought their love for bouillabaisse, a highly seasoned fish stew. Having none of the usual ingredients necessary to make a typical French bouillabaisse, they substituted local ingredients.

Gumbo is made in as many different ways as there are parishes in Louisiana. Our gumbo is dark and sultry. The andouille or smoked sausage is the most important ingredient in this dish.

After about a century, with the Spanish, Africans, and Natives of the region offering their contributions of food, the stew was no longer recognizable as bouillabaisse and became gumbo.

The dish named gumbo usually consists of two components, rice and broth, and is usually made in large batches. Left-over broth is frozen for later use. Rice is made fresh daily. The rice is prepared separately from the broth, and are mixed only in the serving bowl.

The gumbo broth can contain seafood (typically crab and shrimp from the Gulf of Mexico), fowl (usually duck, quail, chicken), and other meats, used as seasoning (smoked or fresh sausage, tasso [Cajun smoked pork], andouille [AHn-dOO-Ey] sausage [Cajun smoked sausage], and other smoked or preserved meats). A traditional lenten variety called gumbo z'herbes (from the French gumbo aux herbes), essentially a gumbo of smothered greens thickened with roux, also exists.

The defining characteristics of gumbo are the type of stock used and the thickening agent used.

A second characteristic, though not necessary, is that the ingredients (base, roux, stock, meat, etc.) are cooked separately, then added together and allowed to simmer.

The stock is always as rich as possible, made with whatever complements the type of gumbo (seafood stock for seafood gumbo, chicken stock for chicken gumbo, etc.) This usually means roasting bones with mirepoix in the oven and then simmering in water for several hours.

Common thickening agents used are okra, filé powder and roux. The classic recipes ask for okra or filé powder. Roux may be added to either, and nowadays it is quite common for roux to be the sole thickening agent itself. Okra is the most popular, especially in restaurant kitchens. Mixing okra and filé is considered a cardinal sin in Louisianan cuisine, as filé was originally an okra substitute when okra was not in season.

How To Make Real New Orleans Gumbo Directions:

New Orleans Okra Gumbo

4 bunches green onions, cleaned and chopped
2 fryers, boiled and deboned (reserve broth)
2 cans chicken broth
1/2 to 1 cup shortening or oil
3 (10 ounce) packages okra or about 2 pounds fresh okra, cut up
3 cans stewed tomatoes
Gumbo file
3/4 cup all-purpose flour

Melt shortening in a cast iron Dutch oven. Add flour and stir together over high heat until mixture forms a thick, but stirrable paste. Brown until mixture is a deep dark brown, almost burning.

Add chicken broth from boiled chickens and canned broth. Let mixture come to a rolling boil; reduce heat, then add deboned chicken, chopped green onions and tomatoes.

In a skillet, slowly fry okra in a little oil, until no longer slimy, but not black. Add okra to gumbo mixture in the Dutch oven. Bring to a slow boil, stirring occasionally for about 20 minutes.

Turn off heat. When mixture is no longer boiling, sprinkle file over top and stir lightly. Let stand about 15 minutes.

Serve over rice.
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Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

1 pound hot smoked sausage, cut into 1/4-inch slices
4 chicken breast halves, skinned
1/4 to 1/3 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup sliced celery
2 quarts hot water
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons Creole seasoning
1/2 teaspoon dried whole thyme
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 to 1 teaspoon hot sauce
1/2 cup sliced scallions
1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)
Hot cooked rice
Gumbo filé (optional)

Brown sausage in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Remove to paper towels, leaving drippings in Dutch oven. Brown chicken in drippings; remove to paper towels, reserving drippings.

Measure drippings, adding enough vegetable oil to measure 1/2 cup. Heat in Dutch oven over medium heat until hot. Add flour to hot oil; cook, stirring constantly, until roux is the color of chocolate (about 30 minutes).

Add onion, green pepper and celery; cook until vegetables are tender, stirring often. Gradually stir in water; bring to a boil. Return chicken breasts to Dutch oven; add garlic and next 5 ingredients. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 1 hour.

Remove chicken; let cool. Return sausage to Dutch oven; cook gumbo, uncovered, 30 minutes. Stir in scallions; cook, uncovered, an additional 30 minutes. Add salt, if desired. Bone chicken breasts and cut into strips. Add to gumbo and cook until thoroughly heated. Remove bay leaves.

Serve gumbo over rice. Sprinkle with gumbo file, if desired.
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New Orleans Crawfish Gumbo

1 1/2 cups crawfish tails
2 tablespoons butter
Crawfish fat and water to make 3 1/2 pints
1/4 cup cooking oil
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup canned whole tomatoes, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon green onion tops
1 tablespoon gumbo file

Make a golden roux. Take pot off heat. Add onion, garlic and celery, stir and cook 4 minutes. Return to heat. Add tomatoes, and cook for 5 minutes.

Add fat, water and bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer and add salt and pepper. Simmer for 40 minutes.

In another skillet, fry in butter over low heat, green onions and tails, for 2 to 3 minutes. Add to gumbo. Put in file.
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Creole Gumbo

3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 (16 ounce) cut up tomatoes, undrained
1/2 cup chopped green bell peppers
2 bay leaves
1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 ounces crab meat
3 tablespoons flour
1 clove minced garlic
1 teaspoon oregano
1 cup sliced okra
1 teaspoon thyme
1 1/2 cups water
1 pound cooked, cleaned shrimp
1 tablespoon file powder

Mix flour and butter and brown flour. Stir in the onion and garlic. Cook until onion is tender, but not brown.

Stir in tomatoes, oregano, green pepper, okra, bay leaves, thyme and Tabasco sauce. Add water and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer covered, for about 20 minutes.

Remove bay leaves. Stir in shrimp and crab meat and heat through. Remove from heat.

Blend moderate amount of hot gumbo into the file powder. Add to gumbo. Serve over rice.
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New Orleans Gumbo

2 tablespoons shortening
2 green onions, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 jalapeño pepper (optional)
1 tablespoon chopped fine parsley
1 quart cut-up okra
1/2 can tomato paste
1 tomato paste can of water
1 (18 ounce) can stewed tomatoes, chopped
1 pound crabmeat
1 pound shrimp
1 cup diced cooked ham
1 cup diced, cooked chicken
1 jar oysters (optional)

In a 10-inch frying pan melt the shortening. Add the onions, celery and peppers. Cook for 3 minutes. Add parsley and cook for 2 minutes. Add okra, reduce heat and cook for 15 minutes.

Pour all frying pan ingredients into a Dutch oven and add tomato paste and water, stirring frequently. Add 4 cups water and the tomatoes and cook for 30 minutes.

Add all the meats and cook for 20 to 25 minutes more, stirring frequently. Serve over hot, cooked rice.
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Cowboy Gumbo

1/4 cup butter, margarine or oil
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
2 cups water
1 (14 1/2 ounce) can tomatoes
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons instant beef bouillon
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon basil
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 (16 ounce) package fresh or frozen fish
1 pound okra, sliced
2 to 2 1/2 pounds peeled, de-veined shrimp, crabmeat or crayfish
3 cups hot cooked rice
File powder (optional)

Combine flour and fat in a heavy saucepot or dutch oven and cook low heat stirring constantly 10 to 15 minutes or until the mixture is light brown (roux). Add garlic, onion and peppers. Cook until tender.

Stir in water, undrained cut up tomatoes, paste and seasonings and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook covered for 30 minutes.

Add okra and seafood and return to boil. then reduce heat to a simmer and cook another 10 to 15 minutes until heated through. Remove bay leaf.

Serve with rice and sprinkle with file powder.
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Hoodoo Gumbo

1 (3- to 4-pound) chicken, cut into
serving pieces and floured
3 tablespoons peanut oil
2 onions, peeled and chopped
4 tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 quart chicken bouillon
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 pound okra
1 tablespoon flour, mixed with 1/4 cup water

Brown chicken pieces in hot oil in stew pot. Add onions, tomatoes, bouillon, salt and cayenne. Simmer covered until chicken is tender.

Wash okra; snip off ends and cut into rounds. Add okra and simmer uncovered until tender. Thicken with flour.

Variation
Substitute 2 pounds washed, shelled and deveined shrimp or prawns for chicken.
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Seafood Gumbo

1/4 cup roux
2 large onions, chopped
3 cups okra, chopped
2 tablespoons oil
1 can (14.5 ounces) stewed tomatoes
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 quarts water
salt
black pepper
cayenne pepper
1/2 cup parsley, finely chopped
6 to 8 green onions, finely chopped
2 pounds shrimp
1 cup oysters
1 cup crab meat
crab claws
hot cooked rice

Add shrimp to roux and cook for a few minutes. Set aside. Cook okra and onions in hot oil. Add tomatoes and garlic when okra is almost done. Cook a few minutes longer, then add water, salt and pepper.
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Black-Eyed Pea Gumbo

4 cups black-eyed peas
1/2 pound salt pork
1 cup onions, chopped
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped bell pepper
1 clove garlic
1/2 pound okra, cut up
1 quart or 2 cans tomatoes
2 cans Ro-Tel tomatoes
1 pound popcorn shrimp *
3 tablespoons margarine
Salt and pepper to taste
Soak peas overnight.

Add salt pork; start cooking. Sauté onions, celery, bell pepper and garlic. Add to peas with shrimp. Add both the regular canned tomatoes and the Ro-Tel tomatoes and simmer until done.

*Substitute with your favorite meat, thinly sliced chicken, round steak or hamburger meat.
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Catfish Gumbo

1 cup chopped green pepper
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans beef broth
1 (16 ounce) can tomatoes, undrained and chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried whole oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried whole thyme
1/2 teaspoon red pepper
1 bay leaf
2 pounds farm-raised catfish fillets
1 (10 ounce) package frozen sliced okra, thawed
Hot cooked rice

Sauté green pepper, celery, onion and garlic in hot oil in a Dutch oven until tender. Stir in broth and next 6 ingredients; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Cut catfish into 1-inch pieces; add to gumbo and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in okra; cook an additional 5 minutes. Remove bay leaf.

Serve over rice.
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Bayou Chicken and Andouille Sausage Gumbo

1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup flour
2 cups chopped onions
1 cup chopped green pepper
1 cup chopped celery (optional)
1 pound andouille or smoked sausage (cut crosswise into 1/2-inch slices)
2 or 3 bay leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
6 to 7 cups water
2 pounds white/dark chicken meat
1 tablespoon file powder

Combine oil and flour in large cast-iron or heavy-duty pot over medium heat. Stir constantly while browning. The roux will take approximately 25 minutes to cook. It will become dark brown. If small chips develop, stop and start over. Stir continuously and watch the heat.

Add onions, peppers and cook until they are translucent. Add the sausage and the seasonings and bay leaves. Continue cooking for 5 minutes, stirring often.

Add the water. Stir until all ingredients are well combined. Bring to a rolling boil, then reduce heat to simmer. Simmer for about 1 hour.

Season chicken and add to pot and simmer for 2 hours. Add filé powder. Skim any fat that rises to the top.

Serve over steamed rice and garnish with a little chopped parsley.
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Duck Gumbo

4 large ducks, cut up
4 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons oil
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
2 cups fresh okra, cut up
1 large onion, chopped
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons scallions, chopped
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
3 quarts water
Gumbo filé
Salt and pepper, to taste

Place ducks in Dutch oven with water, celery salt, salt and pepper and boil until tender. Remove ducks and set aside.

Fry fresh okra in oil about 10 minutes.

Make a roux using the stick of butter and 4 tablespoons flour, until the roux is chocolate brown. Add cut-up ducks and 3 quarts of water. Bring all to a boil and simmer 2 to 3 hours. Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with a little rice in soup bowls and garnish with the filé and chopped scallions.
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New Orleans Restaurant Chicken Gumbo

1 chicken
4 links hot sausage
5 onions
5 to 6 ribs celery
1 bunch green onions
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1/3 bunch fresh parsley
4 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1 tablespoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 to 6 chicken bouillon cubes
8 quarts water

Boil the chicken in the 8 quarts of water, remove, cool and bone the chicken. Be sure to save the broth. Cut sausage into rings and brown either in the oven or in pot. Chop all the veggies.

Now make your roux (see below). When it gets to the right color, immediately add celery and onions and cook until wilted, stirring constantly. Slowly add broth, stirring continuously. When this is all together, add chicken, sausage and other ingredients and cook for about 3 hours over medium to low heat.

Serve over hot rice topped with fresh green onions. In Louisiana, they like to serve potato salad as a side dish and, of course, hot-toasted French bread.

Roux
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup all-purpose flour

Heat the oil to hot, add flour, stirring constantly, cook over medium heat until the color of dark chocolate. You must stir it continuously.
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Shrimp and Oyster Gumbo

1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 to 5 medium onions, chopped
2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
2 (16 ounce) cans tomatoes
4 cups fish or chicken stock
2 pounds raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon seafood seasoning
2 (10 ounce) packages frozen okra
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 to 2 pints oysters, undrained
1 tablespoon gumbo file
Cooked rice

Heat oil in a heavy saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat; add flour very slowly, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until flour is very brown.

Add onion and garlic; cook until onion is soft but not brown.

Add tomatoes, fish stock, shrimp and bay leaves; simmer for 30 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add seafood seasonings; simmer for 45 minutes.

Add okra, salt and pepper; continue to simmer for 5 minutes.

Add oysters and simmer 10 minutes or until edges of oysters curl. Just before serving, stir in gumbo file.

Serve over rice.
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New Orleans Voodoo Gumbo

2 cups vegetable oil
4 cups flour
2 cups diced onions
2 cups diced celery
2 cups diced bell pepper
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 cups chopped green onions
3 gallons water
1 pound fresh or frozen okra
1 (28 ounce) can Ro-Tel diced tomatoes or 2 (10 ounce) cans
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon black pepper
2 ounces crab boil
8 dashes Tabasco sauce
8 dashes Louisiana hot sauce
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 ounce Paul Prudhomme's Seafood Magic seasonings
1 ounce Cajun seasoning
1 ounce dried basil
1 ounce dried thyme
3 pounds peeled and deveined shrimp (70 to 90 count)
1 pound claw crab meat
2 whole crabs, cleaned and halved
1 pint fresh oysters
1 ounce file or to taste

First, you make a roux. In large, heavy stock pot on medium heat, add 2 cups vegetable oil and bring to temperature. Add flour gradually. It will sizzle when it is at the right temperature. Using a whisk, stir roux constantly. Stir until it reaches a peanut butter color. When it reaches the desired color, add the onions, celery, bell pepper, garlic and 1 cup of green onions (in that order) until all ingredients are cooked down or caramelized.

Next, add water, okra, Ro-Tel tomatoes, seasonings and bring to boil. After it reaches boiling, reduce heat to low and let simmer for at least an hour. Add seafood and continue to cook on medium heat for about 15 to 20 minutes.

Taste for seasoning and texture. Add file to thicken. Stir in the remaining green onions and simmer for a few more minutes. Serve as a soup with a little steamed rice. Makes about 8 to 10 gallons of gumbo. Can cut recipe in half to reduce.
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Rabbit Gumbo

1 small onion, chopped
1 small green bell pepper, chopped
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 dressed rabbit (about 3 pounds), cut into pieces
1/2 pound smoked sausage, halved and cut into 1/4-inch slices
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup sliced okra
Hot cooked rice

In a Dutch oven, sauté onion and green pepper in oil until tender. Add rabbit and enough water to cover. Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until meat is very tender.

Add sausage, salt, thyme, pepper and cayenne. Simmer, uncovered, for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove rabbit; cool.

Debone and cut rabbit into bite-size pieces; return to pan. Stir in okra; bring to a boil. Serve in bowls over rice.

Yields 4 to 6 servings.
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Ham Gumbo

2 cups cooked ham, diced
1 cup green bell pepper, chopped
1 cup chopped onion
1 (10 ounce) package sliced okra
1 (16 ounce) can tomatoes
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup uncooked rice

Combine all ingredients except rice in a large, cast iron skillet; bring to a boil. Cover and simmer 10 minutes.

Stir in rice and simmer tightly covered, 20 minutes longer, or until rice is tender.
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Shrimp and Okra Gumbo

1 pound okra
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 cup butter
2 large onions
2 green bell peppers
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 (1 pound 12 ounce) can tomatoes
2 (13 3/4 ounce) cans chicken broth
2 cups water
2 bay leaves
1/4 teaspoon leaf thyme, crunched
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
2 teaspoons salt
1 pound shrimp (or more)
Hot, cooked rice
Gumbo file, as desired

Heat oil and butter in heavy saucepan over medium heat. Sauté okra, onions and green peppers for 3 to 4 minutes. Sprinkle with flour. Stir until flour becomes golden brown.

Add remaining ingredients, except shrimp, rice and gumbo file. Simmer for 45 minutes.

Add shrimp. Cook 5 minutes longer. Season with gumbo file.

Serve over rice.
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Mojo's Gumbo
Source: Mojo & the Bayou Gypsies

1 (4- to 6-pound chicken
1 to 2 pounds smoked sausage (hotter the better)
1 or 2 smoked turkey legs or wings
1/8 pound tasso (optional)
1 big onion, sliced or chopped
1 green bell pepper (optional)
1/2 cup green onion tops (bottoms ok, too)
1/4 cup chopped parsley
4 1/2 quarts water
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 pickled cayenne pepper (optional)
1 tablespoon pepper vinegar (optional)
1 to 3 tablespoons Louisiana hot sauce
1 cup Roux

Boil the water, then slowly add and dissolve the Roux (take your time to make sure it dissolves). Add remaining ingredients. Boil slowly with pot cover open slightly for 2 hours. Taste and season during the last hour of boiling. You may add 1 pound sliced okra during last 30 minutes (optional).

Serve over fresh rice in a big bowl. Serves about 15 to 20 average people, or 4 to 5 Cajuns, Creoles or musicians.

Roux
1/4 cup oil
1 cup all-purpose flour

Heat oil in cast iron skillet over medium flame. Slowly add flour, stirring constantly. Brown flour slowly (allow 20 minutes) until the color of caramel. Scoop all into a jar or cup.
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Ninth Ward Gumbo

1 1/2 cups crab meat
2 pounds shrimp, in shells
3 quarts water
2 bay leaves
2 slices lemon
2 slices onion
Salt
Red and black pepper
Parsley
2 pounds okra, sliced
6 tablespoons bacon grease, divided
4 tomatoes, peeled and chopped
2 onions, finely chopped
2 green bell peppers, finely chopped
2 red pepper pods, finely chopped
4 tablespoons brown roux
Reserved shrimp stock
Salt, pepper, thyme, parsley, to taste
Hot boiled rice

In a large Dutch oven boil the water with bay leaves, lemon, the 2 slices of onion, and judicious amounts of salt, pepper, cayenne and parsley. Wash shrimp and add to pot; boil for 2 minutes. Peel shrimp and return shells to the stock for later use. Set shrimp and crab meat aside.

Sauté okra slices in 3 tablespoons bacon grease in large cast iron skillet. The okra will turn darker and lose some of its stickiness as it cooks. When soft, transfer to a stew pot and add tomatoes. Stir and mix together well. Clean skillet and heat 3 tablespoons bacon grease in it. Sauté the finely chopped onion, green pepper, and red pepper pods. When soft, add these ingredients to the stew pot.

In a saucepan, warm the roux; strain and stir in 2 cups of the shrimp stock. When well-blended, add to the large stew pot with the other ingredients. Bring to a boil and simmer for 2 hours, adding more strained stock if needed for consistency. Adjust seasonings with the salt, pepper, thyme, and parsley. When it has simmered for at least 3 to 4 hours and the flavors have begun to blend, add the shrimp and crab meat and cook for 15 more minutes.

Serve with fresh boiled rice in soup bowls.
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Green Gumbo

4 cups coarsely chopped kale
4 cups coarsely chopped spinach leaves
4 cups coarsely chopped mustard greens
3 cups shredded green cabbage
2 cups coarsely chopped watercress
1/2 cup coarsely chopped parsley
4 green onions, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 bay leaves
8 cups water
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 celery stalks, chopped fine
2 green bell peppers, chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon hot pepper sauce
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
2 tablespoons olive oil (optional)
2 cups sliced mushrooms (optional)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
12 cup cooked rice
Bottled pepper sauce

In 8-quart saucepan, combine kale, spinach, mustard greens, cabbage, watercress, parsley, onions, bay leaves, and water. Bring to boil, reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered for 20 minutes.

While greens are simmering, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil to medium heat. Add celery, green pepper and garlic. Sauté over medium heat for 10 minutes. Add to saucepan. Add hot pepper sauce and spices, then simmer all for 40 minutes.

Remove bay leaves. Remove 2 cups of vegetables and set aside.

In blender or food processor, purée remaining vegetables (in batches) and return to saucepan.

Sauté optional mushrooms in optional olive oil 10 minutes. Add to saucepan.

In skillet, brown flour to light golden rue. Gradually stir in 2 cups reserved vegetables, stirring constantly until mixture thickens. Return mixture to saucepan and bring all to boiling.

To serve, mound 1 cup rice per serving in center of bowl. Carefully surround with gumbo, then serve.

Place bottled pepper sauce and remaining rice on table to be added as desired.
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Roux

A roux begins by mixing oil and flour in a pot. The roux is always made from oil or sometimes lard, not butter, since a much darker color can be achieved with the high flashpoint of oil (butter based roux is typically very light colored). This mixture is stirred constantly until the desired color is reached. That color can range from a light yellow-brown, to very nearly black. The exact color of roux for a perfect gumbo is a point of contention. If roux is the sole thickening agent, it should be almost black, but not burnt. If okra is used, a lighter color may be desired, as the flavor of a dark roux is quite overpowering. Every family has its own taste. A roux based gumbo will also use "the trinity" of onion, celery, and bell pepper — sometimes cooked in the hot roux itself before added to the stock. The roux based gumbo will use nearly any type of fowl, shellfish, or processed meat.
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