Uncle Danks Gumbo Recipes

DUCK GUMBO

Steps:

• Broth:
• To a large stockpot, add the ducks, onions, bell peppers, garlic, bouillon, salt, pepper, bay leaves, and enough water to cover the ducks. Bring to a boil and cook the ducks for about 1 hour, until tender. Remove ducks and pull the breast meat from the bones and chop them into small pieces - use only the breast meat and discard the rest of the bird or save for another use. Strain the broth and save. Set aside the chopped duck breast and broth to use later.
• Roux:
• In a large, deep, black skillet or kettle, fry the bacon. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon, leaving the grease in the pan. To the hot bacon grease, slowly add the flour, if the mixture is of a paste consistency, add more bacon grease or oil until it's loose and easy to stir. Stirring constantly, flour-grease mixture should cook on medium heat until a dark caramel color is obtained. Add the salt and pepper and stir. As soon as the salt and pepper are stirred into the roux, add the remaining ingredients to make the gumbo.
• To the hot roux, add broth, then the onions, peppers and tomatoes. Add the seasonings. Then add sausage, duck, bacon pieces and okra. Next add the shrimp, cook until shrimp is pink. Finally, add the gumbo file and stir. Let gumbo simmer for about 1 hour. The longer it simmers, the better it gets.
• Serve over white rice with hot French bread

UNCLE DANK'S GUMBO

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic, onion, bell pepper, celery and okra; cook and stir until golden brown. Remove from the skillet, and set aside.
• Brown the sausage in the skillet over medium heat. Remove from the pan to drain on paper towels. Drain the sausage fat from the skillet, and pour in the vegetable oil to heat. Place the chicken in the skillet, and cook for about 20 minutes, turning frequently. Remove chicken from the pan, and place on paper towels to drain, leaving the oil in the pan.
• Reduce the heat to low, and stir in the flour. Cook, stirring constantly, until the roux reaches a deep brown color. This should take about 30 minutes.
• Stir 2 cups of water into the roux, and add the onion, garlic and peppers. Set the heat to medium, and bring to a boil. Stir in the chicken broth, and simmer over low heat. Cut the chicken into cubes, and add to the broth along with the sausage. Simmer for about 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, combine rice and 2 cups of water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, and simmer for 20 minutes, or until rice is tender.
• Add the shrimp to the gumbo, and season with thyme, parsley, salt, cayenne pepper, and hot pepper sauce. Cook for another 20 minutes. Remove from the heat, and stir in the file powder.