Cajun menu

Mrmyke709

Mrmyke709

1,000+ Posts
Last week...Paul Prudhomme's Cajun seafood gumbo.

Here's the "trinity", as Brisketexan calls it. LOTS of chopping and prep work.
Celery, bell pepper, onion.
Also garlic and my spice mix is prepped. White pepper, black pepper, cayenne, salt, and bay leaf.

Veg.jpg


The hard part...the roux.
Smoked up the kitchen sumthin' fierce.
roux.jpg


In go the veggies.
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The result?
rouxveggie.jpg


Add by spoonfuls into some good seafood stock, then trow in..
Cajun Hollar Andouille sausage.

sausage.jpg


Along with the shrimp, there's oysters and 1 lb. picked crab meat.

Sea.jpg


The finished product...serve over rice. NO farking okra.

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Served with green chile crab cakes.

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Laissez les bon temps rouler.
 
Panko crumbs, 1 lb. crab, some mayo, dry mustard, 2 beaten eggs, 1-2 green chiles.
I can dig up the recipe.
 
How did you get your roux so dark?

I've cooked and cooked and cooked and could never get it that dark...which is where I want it...

So, I've had to satisfy myself with lighter gumbo than I wanted...still good, but not good enough...
 
BTW...you mentioned all the chopping...

I know some will view this as heretical, but, you might want to look into one of these Magic Chopper thingies...I got one at the Wal*Mart and it works great...

It's not as easy as they always show it in the commercials...you do have to slice everything...but, it completely eliminates the dicing step, which can be a PITA....
 
Ag, the key for the dark roux is time, and being ON TOP OF IT at the end. I do mine over medium to slightly above medium heat. It requires pretty steady stirring. My roux takes maybe 45 mins, an hour, something like that. But most of the color comes in the last 5-10 minutes. You have to be HOVERING over it towards the end, and when it's the color you want, take it off the heat, stir like crazy, and add the veggies.

I like my roux to be the color of the coat of a healthy chocolate lab, and it's not hard to nail. Just take the time and make the effort.
 
Chef Paul's Shortcut Hint o the Day

If you're at a grocery w/ a "by the weight" salad bar, and needing veggies for a "trinity", buy the already cut stuff off of there.

It'll cost very little, save you time, and you'll generally have very little leftovers to go to waste or have to wrap-up.
 
a good roux can also be achieved in the oven. The indirect heat also greatly reduces the chances of burning the roux. Secondly, the dish you have there isn't gumbo. You mentioned that it didn't contain okra. (A point I still argue strongly about and will go toe to toe with even Alton Brown on the point). Even given the wider definition of non okra gumbos, that dish isn't one. It does look like it will taste good though.
 
We do Prudhomme's Seafood and Sausage Gumbo pretty often. I like the roux even darker, about the color of our late Black Lab, Sheba.

We use a big Le Creuset enameled iron fry pan that is light gray on the inside so we can see how dark the roux is getting. I think peanut oil works best, but still we have to throw out a batch of roux occasionally because it begins to scorch. I stir it with a whisk and have to change hands alot.

If I recall you put half of the veggies in first, stir that up until the veggies are immolated, then add the rest (two textures). The food processor makes pretty short work of the celery, onion, and bell pepper. I do not like oysters, in their place we double up on the shrimps. We cannot get Andouille up here, so we just use Hillshire Polish. Sometimes we use Krab, more often the real thing.

I tell folks it looks like an oil spill in a swamp, even though oil is not always that dark.

I put a couple spoons of rice in the bowl then a few shots of Tabasco, then the gumbo. The rice absorbs the pepper sauce, and as a result you get some nice little surprises as you eat.

It was a big hit for the 20 or so folks who came over for tOSU game last year. Mrs. Idahorn2 also likes her Mom's recipe for file gumbo, but that seems pretty bland to me.

As to the food processor, thirty years ago it took me almost two years to talk the Mrs. into a Cuisinart (they had just changed their name from RoboCoupe). Since then, every time we have loaded the dishwasher, the bowl and the blade have been in there. Absolutely Indispensible.
 
THEU, not the "is it really gumbo" "debate" again. We all know where you stand. And you stand there with very little company. "Talk about Good" (The Junior League of Lafayette cookbook), The Airline Motors drive-in in La Place (the home of andouille sausage), and countless other gold-standard authorities call file gumbo a real gumbo. I'll stand with them. And my mom. And countless South Louisiana relatives. You stand where you want -- that's fine with me. Never make a file gumbo if that's what floats your boat.

Myke did a bang-up job with his gumbo. Solid roux, good color, and great ingredients to finish. The only thing he ****** up is not inviting me over for a bowl (or three).
 
this also applies to my family - grandpa's from a rice farm in crowley. sure, you CAN add okra i suppose but it's far from a requirement and rarely done in my family's cooking and those around us.

that's what i was implying, but after re-reading i was apparently as clear as mud. you can go either way on okra and it's still gumbo. i just go with not adding it.

this conversation reminds me of dr. seuss' "butter battle book".
 
I didn't see where any file powder was added.... was there file added? If so then I recant from my earlier comment.

The other thing that offends me is the 'No farking okra' comment. Like if it had okra in it that would be a bad thing. I happend not only to like gumbo, but I also happen to LOVE okra, I like it boiled with a bit of butter, fried, and stewed with tomatoes and potatoes... I don't understand the comment that seems to be very anti-okra.
 
Stewed Okra is greatness. Okra, trinity, tomatoes, bacon, garlic, etc. Just make a pot 'o rice and you're golden.
 
I would add the stock to the pan of roux, and not vice versa. I only say that, since i think a badass dark roux should be degalzed all the way, and not jsut scooped out.

I always use okra. even in my seafood gumbo. i do not know or care if i am right or wrong. i like to eat it, so i cook it that way
 
Never been fond of okra except fried with cornmeal coating. It makes boiled things slippery. I understand why others like it, just don't myself. I guess I won't hunt down and kill someone who puts it in gumbo.
 
Ida, if you like the taste of boiled okra, but not the 'slime' then try adding just a couple capfuls of lemon juice or vinegar. The acid in these should neutralise the 'slime'. This is one reason why many people like it with tomatoes since their acid neutralises the 'slime'
 
The slime was so off-putting the first time I had it, not sure I even remember the taste. I do love the slightly bitter taste of the fried variety, so we'll give it a try. Thanks for the tip.
 
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