Big Daddys Seafood Gumbo Recipes

BIG CHARLIE'S GUMBO

Steps:

• Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook garlic, onions, celery and okra, stirring constantly until golden brown. Set aside.
• In a large heavy bottomed stock pot over medium-high heat, combine 1/4 cup of butter and flour. Cook, stirring constantly, until the roux becomes chocolate brown. Stir in the vegetable mixture, and stew meat. Cook, stirring, until vegetables are tender, and meat is evenly brown. Stir in water, tomatoes and sugar. Season with parsley, thyme, bay leaves, salt, cayenne pepper and black pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 2 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
• Add shrimp, crabmeat and andouille to stock pot. Stir in hot pepper sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Remove seeds from lemon and squeeze juice into stock pot. Simmer an additional 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove bay leaves, sprinkle with filé powder, if using, and serve over rice.

PAPA'S SEAFOOD GUMBO

Steps:

• Make a roe with the oil and flour in a skillet. Add more of either flour or oil as necessary. It should be a medium dark brown, and a thin syrup. You should have approximately 3 cups of roe when finished.
• Add celery, garlic and onions to the roe and cook until translucent. Pour this into a very large 20 gallon stock pot.
• Add white wine, and approximately 1 gallon water. Add more as necessary, this is hard to measure but it should be about 2/3 water and 1/3 wine.
• In your original skillet, brown the sausage. Add this to the pot.
• Add seasonings to taste.
• Boil for 1-2 hours on medium high. When it starts to smell good, you know you are starting to get there. Start tasting at this point and add more seasonings as necessary.
• Add okra and oysters.
• Let cook for another 40 minutes or so.
• Add shrimp and crab.
• Let cook until shrimp is pink.
• Serve over white rice.

BIG DADDY'S SEAFOOD GUMBO

Steps:

• Make a roux by melting the butter in a small sauce pan over low heat and gradually sprinkling in the flour and immediately start stirring constantly until it reaches a nice golden brown color. This may take 10- 20 minutes. Remove from heat and continue stirring until cool. If black specks appear it is burned and you will have to start over.
• Add onions, celery and peppers and roux to a large pot over medium heat and saute until the vegetables are tender.
• Add in water, rice, tomatoes, okras, seasonings, Worcestershire sauce and tomato sauce.
• Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
• Add fish, raw shrimp and crawfish.
• Add more seasonings if needed.
• Continue cooking for an additional 10 - 20 minutes.
• Add the mussels and simmer an additional 5 minutes, once the mussels open, they are ready.
• The longer this cooks the better it tastes.

"BIG EASY" GUMBO

Steps:

• In 4- to 6-quart Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Gradually stir in flour with whisk; cook 5 to 7 minutes, stirring constantly, until flour is chocolate colored. (Do not burn mixture.)
• Reduce heat to medium. Stir in onion, bell pepper, celery, Creole seasoning and garlic. Cook 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Gradually stir in broth. Add chicken, sausage and black-eyed peas. Heat to boiling over medium-high heat; reduce heat to low. Simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Stir in shrimp; cook 5 minutes or just until shrimp are pink.

CAJUN SEAFOOD GUMBO

Steps:

• Prepare rice according to package directions.
• Make roux by browning flour in melted shortening.
• Add celery, onions and bell pepper and cook slowly until onion is clear.
• Add other ingredients with exception of shrimp and parsley.
• Simmer for at least 1 hour.
• Add shrimp about 10 minutes before serving.
• Just before serving add parsley.
• Serve over hot cooked rice.

CAJUN SEAFOOD GUMBO

Steps:

• TO MAKE STOCK: boil the shrimp peelings and heads for approximately 2 hours.
• Start with plenty of water because you need to end up with enough for 10 cups.
• Make roux.
• This is done by browning flour and lard/oil stirring frequently until DARK brown.
• Add chopped vegetables and sauté.
• Pour 10 cups of stock (hot) in separate large pot and add roux slowly, stirring often until well blended.
• Add bay leaves and seasonings and peeled tomatoes.
• Sauté okra then add to pot (until no longer stringy).
• Add sausages to pot.
• Simmer on low for 25-30 minutes.
• Add shrimp, crab and oysters.
• Turn fire up.
• Cook 5 minutes and stir often.
• Remove from heat, cover and let sit for 20 minutes.
• Serve over rice.

BIG DADDY'S LOUISIANA GUMBO

Steps:

• Cut all chicken pieces in half except for the legs. Season to taste with garlic powder, seasoning salt and dust with 1/2 cup of flour.
• reserving remaining flour for making the roux. Heat butter and 1/4 cup lard in a large stock pot or dutch oven.
• Add chicken to the pot a few pieces at a time and cook until browned , about 10 minute each side.
• Remove from pan and set aside.
• Before starting the roux put your chicken stock into a pan and start to heat it up, you will want it warm to hot before putting it in the recipe.
• (The Roux).
• Add remaining lard to pan (see notes) and heat to smoking (about 5 minute or so), stirring with wire whisk constantly.
• to scrape up brown bits in the bottom of the pan. Carefully whisk in remaining flour and continue to cook and stir.
• over medium heat until mixture becomes brick red color in nature, about 20 minutes. Be careful to not let the mixture cook too fast or.
• let spatter on skin (southern napalm) as it is extremely hot and scorches easily.
• (The Hard Part is almost Over).
• Reduce heat to low, stir in onion, celery and green pepper, garlic, sausage, peppers, oregano, thyme, parsley and salt.
• Cook for 5 minutes or so until the veggies are soft but not brown.
• Gradually whisk in hot stock a few cups at a time until all the stock is in the pot.
• Return the chicken to the pan and bring the mixture to a boil over high heat.
• Reduce the mixture to medium or medium high and simmer covered for about 40 to 45 minutes.
• Add shrimp and simmer 5 minutes longer.
• Serve over hot cooked rice and if desired minced parsley and file powder.
• Put out a bottle of hot sauce for those who like a little more heat.
• Notes.
• 1) You can substitute any cooking oil for the lard in browning the chicken and in making the roux.
• Just remember in making the roux it is equal parts of flour to oil or lard.
• 2) You need to be patient in making the roux, if you burn it at all, just throw it away and begin again. I find if the roux is getting too hot remove the pan from the heat for a short period of time but always remember to keep stirring, that point can't be stressed enough.
• Creole cooks have been known to cook their roux for and hour or more depending on the consistency and the color of the roux that they wanted. For extra rich color and flavor cook and stir the roux
• over medium low heat for 45 minutes to an hour but keep stirring.
• 3) This is a big pot, lots of room , if you like more shrimp add more
• I have added split crab claws to the gumbo at the same time the shrimp is added.
• Enjoy and.
• Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez.