Chicken and Sausage Gumbo - Down da bayou recipe - What I'm eating today!

So this is what I've been working on all morning.

Chicken and sausage gumbo. I grew up in south Louisiana, about an hour south of New Orleans to be specific (yes there is something south of New Orleans).

Yes way down on the bayou. That's what we called it, The Bayou. If you were going north, you were going 'up da bayou' and if you were going south, you were going 'down da bayou'. That was directions everyone gave.

And while I don't miss the weather, allergies, humidity, I do miss the people and the food. So this morning in my homesickness, I decided to make chicken and sausage gumbo. As much of Cajun food is, gumbo is complex and full of spice but unlike most people's misconception it is usually not very spicy in regards to heat. Just lots of spice and flavor! Of course if it's cooked right, you'll feel some heat in the back of your throat.

So with the help of my cousin Jennifer, I made her recipe with some minor adjustments.

Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

1 heaping cup of flour

Enough oil to make a good roux with the flour
2 smoked sausages

2 chicken breasts

left over turkey breast

1/2 bell pepper chopped fine

2 chopped onions

5 cloves garlic chopped

2 tsp salt

2 tsp Tony Chachere's
dash of pepper

1 tsp ground red pepper

3 quarts chicken stock

1 gallon water

white rice

In case you don't know what Tony's is, it's a staple of most Cajun food.

So the first step is to mix your flour and oil and continually stir over a low heat til it browns REALLY DARK. That's your roux. Should take you about an hour give or take. Do not let it burn, you have to keep stirring and it may smoke on you a little but keep stirring til it is this dark and this consistency. 

After you reach that point, add your chopped onions. Mix them and the oil will begin to fry up your onions. I do that for about 5 min.

Then add your chicken stock and water. and make sure to thoroughly mix your roux into the water.

At some point, you'll need to slice up your smoked sausage and chicken and cook that on a stovetop. Once you do that, add to the gumbo. Make sure to drain fat off. As far as the left over turkey, we had a left over turkey and I added chopped up turkey into it. Made a nice filler and tasted awesome. At this point, you can add your chopped bell pepper and garlic. Also add your seasonings.

Bring to a boil. Then reduce heat, cover and let simmer for about an hour and a half for flavors to marinate. Total time to cook takes about 3.5 hours. But the results are amazing! Best served over plain white rice. 

So this is what my delicious lunch looked like!

If you have questions, please comment here or on our facebook page!