Chicken and Beef Kielbasa Gumbo (2024)

FAQs

What are the 2 rules of gumbo? ›

Thou Shalt Always Use a Bowl. If you use a plate, it is not gumbo it is rice and gravy! Thou Shalt Only Use a Wooden Spoon. There is only one kind of spoon that can enter a gumbo pot and that is a wooden one.

Although gumbo is typically made with andouille sausage, a type of smoked sausage made with pork, we opted for hot Italian turkey sausage. Turkey sausage has less fat, calories and sodium.

The Sausage

In these cases, I've used a Kielbasa. If you want to save time, slice and cook your sausage in your gumbo. However, this adds extra fat and browning first will add to the flavor. For the browning method, slice the sausage and brown in a skillet.

Great gumbo starts with roux, a flavorful thickening agent made from equal parts fat and flour. Once the roux is a deep golden color, add diced veggies and sausage to the mix. Then, incorporate beef bouillon, hot sauce, tomatoes, and seasonings to intensify the flavor.

The "holy trinity" in Cajun cuisine and Louisiana Creole cuisine is the base for several dishes in the regional cuisines of Louisiana and consists of onions, bell peppers and celery. The preparation of Cajun/Creole dishes such as crawfish étouffée, gumbo, and jambalaya all start from this base.

Add kielbasa, chicken, tomato sauce, okra, onion, green pepper, bay leaves, salt, red pepper and allspice; mix well. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Add shrimp and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes.

If you haven't got any andouille at home, you will want to substitute the ingredient with another sharply flavoured smoked sausage. Chorizo Chorizo is a good substitute for andouille's distinctly smoky flavour. Polish kielbasa is another substitute that you can use.

You can add the finished oven roux to the pot on the stovetop after removing the sausage, then immediately proceed to the next step of sautéing the aromatics. Add onion, bell pepper, and celery and season lightly with salt.

Making gumbo shouldn't be scary, but there are some tricks to getting that classic taste that defines it. It should be thicker than a soup. That's where thickeners like roux, okra, and filé powder come in. They also add flavor, but you don't need all three.

Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, uncovered and stirring occasionally, for 1 hour.

How much roux for 5 gallons of gumbo? ›

Filé powder – Filé powder, also known as gumbo filé, is an herbal powder made of ground-up sassafras leaves, a common herb found in Southern cooking. It has a tea-like, earthy smell that balances out the rich flavors of gumbo while also adding a natural thickener.

Turns out, your preference for tomatoes in gumbo comes down to whether you learned your skills from a Cajun cook or a Creole cook. (Learn about the difference here.) Cajun gumbo does not include tomatoes in the base, but Creole gumbo (typically shellfish or seafood gumbo) does call for tomatoes.

“Sometimes gumbo can taste really heavy with all that meat and oil and flour,” she explained. “The vinegar smooths out all that richness.”

Turns out, your preference for tomatoes in gumbo comes down to whether you learned your skills from a Cajun cook or a Creole cook. (Learn about the difference here.) Cajun gumbo does not include tomatoes in the base, but Creole gumbo (typically shellfish or seafood gumbo) does call for tomatoes.

The method for making roux uses 1 part oil or fat to 1 part flour, whisked constantly over heat until it reaches an optimal shade of color—ranging from white to dark brown. The finished base can be used to thicken sauces, gravies, and soup.

Two well-known types of gumbo are seafood gumbo, which often includes shrimp, oysters and crabs, and chicken-and-sausage gumbo, made with andouille sausage. Okra gumbo utilizes okra to thicken the stew; common varieties include shrimp-and-okra or chicken-and-okra gumbo.