Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

Ingredients

Gumbo

• Approx. 3 lb chicken cut into pieces (leg, thigh, etc.)
• 1 lb smoked sausage (any sausage will work but avoid a flavored one, i.e. Italian fennel)
• 2 large onions chopped
• 1 large green bell pepper chopped
• 3 celery ribs chopped
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 2 quarts liquid (stock, water, or both)
• * To make your own stock, take all chicken scraps and vegetable scraps and boil in a
• pot with 2 quarts water. Remove scraps and use remaining liquid. Or buy premade
• chicken stock.
• 1 to 2 tablespoons salt (personal taste)
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon cayenne (red) pepper
• pinch of thyme
• 1 teaspoon Worchestire sauce
• 3 bay laurel leaves
• 1 tablespoon Louisiana Hot sauce or your favorite hot sauce

Roux

• 1/2 flour
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil

Garnish

• 1 cup cut green onion tops (some of this will be used for cooking)
• Gumbo filé (ground sassafras leaves) if available
• 1/2 cup chopped parsley (some of this will be used for cooking)
• 2 1/4 cups water
• 2 cups rice
• 1/2 tsp salt

Directions

Gumbo

1. Don't forget to cook your rice.
2. Heat pot with 1 tablespoon cooking oil. Cut sausage in quarter inch rounds and brown in the pot.
3. When nice and browned, remove sausage.
4. Add cut up chicken and brown in sausage fat and remaining cooking oil. (I remove the chicken skin, optional).
5. When nicely browned, remove the chicken and pour out the grease. Turn off heat.

Roux

1. Add 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup oil and blend well. Turn on to medium heat and stir almost continuously until the mixture (roux) becomes a medium chocolate brown color.
2. Reduce heat if it is browning too quickly. It's best to do it slowly and be sure to stir and scrape the entire mixture to avoid burning.
3. It should take about 20 to 25 minutes to reach the desired color.
4. Add onion, bell pepper, celery, and garlic and sauté until tender, about 20 minutes.
5. Add a little bit of water or stock while sautéing as necessary to loosen up the roux and prevent burning. Once vegetables are tender add remaining stock/water and all seasonings except garnishing ingredients. Cook for about an hour until chicken is tender but not falling off the bone yet.
6. Turn off and cool until oil rises to the top. Add about half of your chopped parsley and green onion tops (retain the rest for garnish) and heat up again until chicken is starting to fall off the bones.

Garnish

1. Cook your rice according to instructions on bag.
2. Once gumbo is ready, serve in a bowl over rice and garnish each serving with green onion tops, parsley, and gumbo filé.