Chicken and Andouille Sausage Gumbo

In a large Dutch oven or pot, heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook until well browned. Remove sausage from the pot and place on a plate lined with a paper towel. Set sausage aside.

Season the chicken breasts with Cajun/Creole seasoning and add them into the pot with the leftover sausage fat. Cook over medium-high heat until golden brown on both sides. Remove chicken from pot and let chicken rest and cool in the refrigerator. Set pot aside. Do not wash out the pot.

In a high sided saute pan combine 1/2 cup vegetable oil and flour and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly and slowly for 20-30 minutes, to make a dark roux. When it’s done it should be the color of a melted Hershey’s bar.

Once desired color has been reached, add the onions, celery, and bell pepper to stop the roux from cooking. Saute until vegetables are translucent. Remove pan from heat and set aside.

Heat the first pot (the one the sausage and chicken were cooked in) over medium heat. Add a splash of chicken stock to loosen the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the roux/veggie mix, sausage, salt, cayenne and bay leaves and cook for a few minutes.

Slowly stir in the remaining chicken stock, and cook and stir until combined. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, uncovered for an hour. Then add chicken breasts back into the pot and simmer for two hours, skimming off foam and fat as it rises to the top.

Remove pot from heat, take chicken from the pot and place on a cutting board. Using two forks, shred the chicken breasts. Return the meat to the gumbo and stir in the green onions, parsley and file powder. Adjust seasonings, with salt, pepper and/or Cajun/Creole seasonings. Remove bay leaf before serving. Serve with rice.