Juniors Gumbo
Juniors Juke Joint
The Meat
4 LB fish or fowl, I used chicken, a fryer. You can substitute anything
that swims or flies, i.e. duck, goose, guinea fowl, alligator, cat fish,
bass, etc.
4 oz. smoked pork sausage, thinly sliced
For The Roux
1/4 cup cooking oil
1/4 cup flour
The Veggies
3 cups okra, 1/4 inch slices
1 large onion, chopped
1 large bell pepper, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
The Stock
1/2 gallon water
The Tomato Products
14.5 oz. can of stewed tomatoes
8 oz. can tomato sauce
10 oz. (2 cans) diced Rotel brand tomatoes or tomatoes with green chilies.
The Spices
3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp Worcestershire
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
Step #1: Use the 1/2 gallon of water and boil the fish / fowl until
tender. I boiled the cut up fryer for 1 hour. If you use tender meat or
fish such as catfish or bass, boil for only about 5 or 10 minutes or
just long enough to convert the 1/2 gallon of water to 1/2 gallon of
stock.
The stock is as important as the meat, which will be added near the end
of the cooking process. If you cook fish too long, it will disintegrate.
Step #2: Remove the pot from the fire, save the stock, and set the meat
aside so it will cool.
Step #3: Make a roux. Return the now empty pot to the fire and add the
oil. When the oil is hot, add the flour. Stir vigorously for several
minutes, closely watching the color of the flour. When it turns a nice
medium brown, you have a fine roux and you had better quickly cool down
the roux or youll burn it and have to start over. NOTE: Do not add cold
or cool liquid to a hot cast iron pot. The pot will crack. Either remove
the pot from the fire and let it cool, or do as I did at this point and
add the veggies and then spices.
Step #4: Quickly add the veggies and the spices before you burn your
roux. Stir the veggies and spices for about 1 minute or until the onion
becomes translucent. NOTE: Add only 1 cup of okra with the veggies. Save
the other 2 cups to add with the meat. The 1 cup will cook to pieces and
thicken the brew. The 2 cups added later will remain somewhat whole.
Step #5: Add the tomato products.
Step #6: Add the stock, all of it. Then lower the heat and allow mixture
to simmer at least 2 hours, stirring occasionally. While youre waiting,
de-bone the fish / fowl meat, if it has bones. Throw away the bones and
fat. Tear the meat into bite size chunks. Now, while the next 2 hours
pass and the pot simmers and all of those different flavors combine and
react with each other, Id pop the top on a cold beer if I was you, and
Id sit back and relax and watch the fire and the pot and Id wonder
about the meaning of life and how the pore folks live. I can tell you
for sure that some of us live pretty damn fine. At least we eat mighty
fine.
Step #7: After 2 hours of the pot simmering and you relaxing, add to the
pot the chunks of fish / fowl meat, the sausage, and the remaining 2
okra. Simmer for at least 1 hour, stirring occasionally. By now youll
probably be famished, but wait that hour-youll be glad you did. You may
need to add water during that last, long hour. You may not. I didnt.
I hung my pot over the fire at 3:45 PM and removed it at 8:15. Yall, it
was mighty fine eating and well worth the 4+ hours of waiting. Serve
with rice, a dash or 2 of Tabasco, a chunk of white onion, a jalapeno or
2, and crackers or cornbread. Chase it with ice-cold beer or dry white
wine. Man, you talk about good eating! Youll be amazed at the taste of
this gumbo made with readily available spices. The key is the long
simmering time which allows the natural flavors time to react with each
other.
A suggestion: Genuine Tabasco adds more than just hotness. It is hot,
for sure, but it contributes an oak-cask flavor to gumbo that cant be
beat. Another suggestion: If you prefer to thicken your gumbo with
file, eliminate the 1 cup of okra in step #4.
--
Regards, Mike (Piedmont)
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