Gumbo

When you make your gumbo you need to know what differences there are in roux. There are three classic kinds of roux, named for their color: white, blond and brown.

White roux is cooked for just a few minutes, long enough to get rid of the floury taste. It’s used for cream soups and bechamel sauces (cream sauces).

For blond roux, cook the white roux a little longer, and it takes on a straw color. This blond roux has a hint of flavor and adds a warm color to veloute sauces (sauces made with chicken, fish or veal stock).

A brown roux has a nutty aroma and a rich, chocolate color that works well in dark soups and demi-glace (brown) sauces.

Dark brown roux is a deeper mahogany, almost black, color roux that is used more for its nutty flavor than its thickening capabilities. White and blond roux use butter as fat. Use olive oil in the darker roux because it produces a better color.

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s start. In this case I want a dark roux for a gumbo without fish. Note that the amounts listed above for the roux will yield more than what you will need for this recipe. You can store the extra roux (see below).

I make the roux ahead of time. Roux can be made up to two weeks in advance and stored in the refrigerator. Making a bigger batch of roux helps control the quality with less chance of burning.

The trick to making a dark roux is to brown it without burning it. That means you’ve got to keep stirring.

To make the dark brown roux, turn the stove on medium high heat. Add to your cast iron skillet the oil, then add the flour. Keep stirring till it reaches the desired color, in this case I want it to be dark brown. This will take about 20 minutes. You can, and I suggest you do, make the roux ahead of time so it won’t take you that long to make the Gumbo.

Put the stove on medium high and add the following to the pot: 1/2 cup dark brown roux, the minced onion, diced green pepper, and diced celery. Cook for 5 minutes, then add the diced Roma tomatoes and chicken broth (you can use the kind out of the box if you like). Add the sliced okra and the black and white pepper. Simmer for 20 minutes; the vegetables should be done.

In the meantime saute the sliced Polish sausage in the oil (the original gumbo is made with Andouille sausage but I prefer the Polish sausage), and shredded cooked chicken. Brown the meat on medium high for 5 minutes. Add this all to the pot with the roux and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and serve in a bowl with rice and a dash of the file powder.