Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Gumbo

Gumbo is a soup or a stew depending on who you ask and it originated in Louisiana. Roux and Okra and cooking both of them right is an important part of making Gumbo. In some parts of the world Okra is called Gumbo. And okra is a very important part of your Gumbo. And roux is a very important part of Gumbo. You have to know exactly how to make a roux correctly in order to make a delicious Gumbo. CLICK HERE to learn exactly how to make a delicious roux the right way.

The holy trinity of celery , bell peppers , and onions is one of the most important parts of any Gumbo. You want to add your celery , peppers , and onions in equal amounts and you want to precook your holy trinity in a little oil before you add it to your Gumbo. Your Gumbo will also contain a strong stock , meat , shellfish , seafood , sausage , and okra. Some people swear that tomatoes must be a part of any Gumbo while other people don't want tomatoes in their Gumbo. A Gumbo can be made from a wide variety of ingredients and some people want this in their Gumbo while other people may want vastly different ingredients.I have tried everything from a rich rabbit Gumbo to a delicious Gumbo made from alligator tail. Some people think Gumbo must be served over hot buttered white rice while other people think they must serve their Gumbo over cornbread.

You will find that Creole Gumbo usually contains tomatoes while true Cajun Gumbo does not. A true Cajun Gumbo usually contains a dark brown roux. But Gumbo can really contain what ever you want to put in it. The only things that I think must be in Gumbo is a great roux and okra. Roux and okra are the heart and soul of Gumbo.

Your holy trinity of celery , green peppers , and onions should all be chopped into very small even pieces. And you really need to cook your vegetables in some vegetable oil before you add the holy trinity to your Gumbo.

Another key thing you need to know about Gumbo is that a really great Gumbo takes at least three hours to cook. And most people will slow cook a Gumbo all day long. What we have learned so far is that roux and okra need to be a part of any great Gumbo. And you really don't want to rush your Gumbo. Cook it nice and slow until it thickens and cooks down and you will have some of the best tasting Gumbo you will ever taste.

I always advise to don't try to cook a Gumbo in a Crock Pot because the temperature of the Crock Pot is just not right for cooking Gumbo. You for sure can't make a roux in a Crock Pot and I have tried and I have never been able to get it to cook down to the right consistency in a Crock Pot.

And you will really need to decide how much fire you want in your Gumbo. I use creole seasoning , red pepper , black pepper , cayenne pepper , ground sea salt , and bay leaf to season my Gumbo with. I take the bay leafs out of the pot before I serve my Gumbo. But you will have to decide how much heat you want in your Gumbo. I like a lot while other people will want to leave out most of the fire.

Proper seasoning of the Gumbo is essential and yes your Gumbo should at the very least have a zing to it. Seafood and okra both cook quickly so they should not be added to the pot until near the end of the cooking time. Some people like to add fine chopped green onions or fresh chopped parsley near the very end of the cooking time.

I like to serve all my regular Gumbo's over hot white buttered rice or squares of corn bread. I like to serve my Shrimp Gumbo over saffron yellow rice. Some Cajun cooks believe that the Gumbo must be cooked in a big cast iron pot and the corn bread must be cooked in a cast iron skillet or corn bread stick pan so that there will be a crunchy brown crust on the corn bread.