Roux (either flour and butter or instant roux mix)
Green onions (or scallions)
Approx. 1 lb andouille sausage (kielbasa works if you canāt find andouille)
Approx. 1 lb chicken breast
FilƩ, Louisiana Hot Sauce, Tabasco, etc. (Optional)
Use the biggest pot you have.
Chop all the veggies except the green onions. Save those for the end.
Make a roux (either check a couple videos about this or be a lazy Cajun like me and follow the instructions on the Tony Chachereās instant roux package).
Add a bunch of water to the roux. I use a 2 quart pitcher to add a few cupsā worth at a time.
With the stove on medium heat, stir the veggies every so often while you chop the meat. Itāll eventually boil. I like to cut the (precooked) sausage first so I can have a little snack, then cut the chicken into roughly 1" chunks. I am imprecise in my cutting.
You can wait until the onions are starting to turn translucent, or just add the meat whenever. Continue stirring every few minutes to keep the pot from boiling over and to justā¦you know, move the veggies and meat around. Youāre making swamp magic. This takes a while. You might need to add more water.
Make some white rice. We use a rice cooker, but you can do stovetop too.
The gumbo is done when the onions are translucent, the chicken has started staining a tan/brown, and the skin on the sausage is shrinking.
Chop the green onions and add them. Do better than me and actually remember to do this.
Serve! Fill your bowl maybe halfway with rice, add some gumbo to it. Experiment with how much broth you like in your bowl. Break up some Ritz crackers for a delicate, buttery crunch that also soaks up some broth. Optional: add filĆ© (dried ground sassafras), hot sauce, Cajun seasoning (pro tip: Slap Ya Mama is less salty than Tony Chachereās).
Enjoy your meal and donāt bare-knuckle box any alligators. Hug them instead.
This is my grandma Genevieve Fontenotās recipe. This woman got hit by a bus when she was twelve and she won. She learned English as a second language and previously only spoke Cajun French. She designed her own house, owned a beauty salon, raised four daughters, and slaps cockroaches to death with her bare hands.
I have used this recipe to impress my Midwestern in-laws and friends. Actuallyā¦I think Iāve made all my lasting Midwestern friendships by making gumbo. My husband literally says he married me for my gumbo. The recipe above is a standard batch, but in the last 12+ years Iāve only made double or triple batches because thatās how voracious Midwesterners be when they havenāt been raised on gumbo.
Go forth and make some swamp magic! Iād love to see pics!