Gumbo Debate

THEU

THEU

2,500+ Posts
I was watching Good Eats last night with Alton Brown and the topic was 'gumbo.' The majority of the show revolved around 'roux' and how hard it was to make a good dark rue without burning it. I always find Alton Brown interesting and particularly his show Good Eats. I will say that I had to disagree with Alton on one point. He said that although the word 'gumbo' is derived from an African word (Bantu) that means 'okra' that okra is NOT the defining or even necessary ingredient in 'gumbo.' I did some research today online which suggests this is probably a pretty debateable issue given the long time period over which modern 'gumbo' has come into existance. So my question is what is the take on gumbo among this illustrious group?
 
Gumbo gotta have okra, or it ain't gumbo, my mom makes something called shrimp creole which is just like gumbo but it ain't got okra so it ain't gumbo. it does have gumbo file' in it though.


I saw just the last bit of that show, wtf was that about people eating gumbo over potato salad? POTATO SALAD? WTF?
 
yeah wasn't this already debated at length a few months ago?

and if i recall correctly the op was active in said debate.
 
Okra in gumbo creates a rift in time and I will murder my own wife if she ever puts a bean in my chili.

Why are people so ridiculous about regional food? There are so many "taboos" about cooking **** according to this board, and most of them are just variables of personal preference.

I'm not really complaining about it. I think it's fun that people are spirited in their opinions, but they just seem so arbitrary and overblown sometimes.
 
In my experience the anti-gumbo faction from "down there" is more vehement than the pro-gumbo. The few cajuns I've met don't add it and are strongly aligned against it. I personally could care less. It adds volume but little flavor.

potato salad plopped in the middle of a bowl of gumbo is pretty common in LA from my experience. Nothing wrong with it either!!
 
Listen to pescado rojo on this. And PLEASE lord don't make us walk down this road again.

Gumbo is one of those foods that, by its very hodgepodge, put-what's-available-in-the-pot, rural nature (and the related seasonal availability of certain items), has few hard and fast rules. Really, the only one is "first, you make a roux" -- and even then, if pinched for time and ingredients, I imagine there are some folks who don't live on a paved road who have made a fair pot of gumbo without a classic roux.

Gumbo is almost as generic a term as "sandwich." Other than almost all of them having a coupla pieces a bread, the variety of stuff you can put between 'em is damned near infinite.
 
Gumbo does not NEED okra. I would dare any of you to tell my mama her gumbo is not gumbo because it doesn't have okra. I'll warn you, that if you do, you may end up sleeping with the gators (you know, like Luca Boudreaux).
You can add okra if you really want, but I wouldn't. I would say that any gumbo needs onions, celery, and bell peppers (you know, the Cajun Food Trinity), but I won't fight you too hard on it.
 
Jt09, I'm gonna ignore that post, because it appears to be pure flamebait.

And just on the off chance it isn't -- I just want to be there when you walk into the Airline Motors restaurant in La Place, La., and tell them that their world-famous oyster andouille gumbo (dark roux, trinity, andouille, and oysters -- add some rice and file at the end), is "not gumbo, it's something else."

If we still want some entertainment after that, I'll take you to the home of any number of umpteenth generation cajun oilfield trash I know around Lafayette, so you can tell them the same thing about their winter gumbos (oyster, duck, etc.). That oughta be good for a few shits and giggles and, if I remember the temperment of some of those fellas correctly, you might even find a new place to keep your spleen.
 
Good grief some of ya'll are ridiculous. Thread reminds me of the Family Guy episode where they are arguing about is it a hoedown or a hootenanny. C'mon people who really cares as long as it is good.
 
Not flamebait in the least. Just like that pulled pork stuff is called barbecue doesn't mean it is. Call it whatever you want, but it isn't gumbo. Personally, I'd love to eat whatever it is w/o okra, because I hate okra.
 
I really, really, really, really, really, really HATE these threads.Generally speaking, there are two classes of gumbo -- okra gumbo, and file gumbo. My mom's summer seafood gumbo (shrimp, crab, fish) is an okra gumbo. My duck gumbo (duck and andouille) is a file gumbo. Oyster andouille gumbo is usually a file gumbo. Note a trend? Winter meats often end up in file gumbo. Summer meats end up in an okra gumbo.

Hell, even Wikipedia has it pretty straight:
In reply to:
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I would love a recipe for the duck andouille gumbo. OR if not a recipe, some kind of basic gumbo recipe since I've never made a roux or a gumbo or any of this ****.

And then I can put okra in it. Or not. Muahahahaha.
 
Here us geaux!
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Duck, Oyster and Andouille Gumbo

Ingredients:

* 2 mallard ducks, cut into serving pieces
* 2 pounds sliced andouille
* 2 pints select oysters
* 1 cup vegetable oil
* 1½ cups flour
* 2 cups diced onions
* 1 cup diced celery
* 1 cup diced bell peppers
* ¼ cup minced garlic
* 3 quarts chicken stock
* 12 chicken livers
* 2 cups sliced green onions
* 1 cup chopped parsley
* salt and black pepper to taste
* Louisiana hot sauce to taste
* steamed white rice

Method:
In a 2-gallon stock pot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Whisk in flour, stirring constantly until golden brown roux is achieved. (holler if you need help w/ a roux, but 1/2 C flour to 1 C oil is a good rule of thumb) Stir in onions, celery, bell peppers and garlic. Sauté 3–5 minutes or until vegetables are wilted. Fold in duck and andouille. Sauté approximately 15 minutes. Add chicken stock, one ladle at a time, stirring constantly. Bring to a rolling boil (liquids thickened w/ roux will not reach full thickening potential until it boils), reduce to simmer and stir in chicken livers and oysters. Cook 1 hour, adding stock as needed until duck is tender. Sprinkle in green onions and parsley. Season to taste with salt, pepper and hot sauce. Cook an additional 5 minutes and serve over steamed white rice.

Chef Paul U. CEC, CCE, ACF
 
Fanny, the easiest thing is to get a bottle of roux and follow the directions on the label. I use Savoie's, but if you're in Austin, it's pretty hard to find. Sambet's has it in their grocery section, but I don't know where else you can get it. HEB, Central Market, and Whole Foods usually don't carry it.
Speaking of, I'm making some tonight. I smoked some sausage and a beer-can chicken the other day and I'm using the leftovers for gumbo. Good times.
 
As someone who is of 25% coonass descent, I can say this much: I never ate a bowl of my grandma's gumbo that did not have okra in it. I cannot speak to how she made it when she still lived "on the bayou," but I know how she made it all my growing-up years. She did throw in whatever seafood was around, but it always had okra in it.

As a matter of fact, she grew okra in her garden, and cooked it pretty regularly, with or without gumbo.

My favorite non-gumbo preparation of okra is steamed and served over rice. Mmmmmm.

In summary of my tangetal post, I think gumbo should have okra in it, but I won't say that it has to.
hookem.gif
 
I was born in Louisiana, though Shreveport isn't exactly the heart of Cajun country. I don't like okra. I do like gumbo, but I've rarely seen one that doesn't have at least some okra in it. A lot of servings have in fact been mostly okra, ********. I dig around it.
 
S197HQQKEM... im sorry but you do not know what creole is... its ok most Americans do not... but most also think that any seasoning is to hot...
 
As I've noted here before, my grandmama always said, "It's a poor cook who doesn't cook to suit themselves".

Wise woman, my grandmama.

Cook to suit yourselves.

Okra/No Okra. Beans/No Beans. Whatever.

You're Texans. You don't gotta 'splain yourself to nobody.

Not even other Texans.






smokin.gif
 
ONE other question about "gumbo" if you have pica and you eat that black clayey soil found in the Houston area is that stuff "clay" or is it "gumbo"?



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