OT: Seafood Gumbo "Ala Len"

A little background here. The Taste Of Madison is a yearly thing here at the capitol square. All of the finest restaurants in the area sell small portions of their “finest” cuisine. Needless to say the Sea Food Gumbo I tried at the taste of madison sucked. It tasted like water and rice and some pepper with a tiny smattering of sea food in it.

http://lenharris.blogspot.com/2010/09/sea-food-gumbo-ala-len.html

Len,

Come on down to south Louisiana and get some REAL GUMBO!

You know, a gumbo with a dark roux base and full of shrimp, crabs, andouille, and oysters… or a dark chicken, okra, and andouille gumbo, or maybe someone will fix ya’ a bowl of gumbo made with teal or gadwalls… ummm! ummm!

Served with a chunk of light crusty New Olreans french bread, a nice salad and good red wine… It don’t get any better!

Bowfin47

Just remember that if it starts with a box or has sausage in it, it may be a brown soup, but it ain’t GUMBO! :cool:

so what would andouille be classified as? :confused::confused:

had to go with what I know my wife and daughter would eat.
Authentic nope not by any means.
Better than the 8 dollar tiny portion I had at the
Taste Of Madison from some high priced booth there
100 percent better I am certain.

Andouille would be what you put in your red beans and rice. You might pick at technicalities but the man knows of which he speaks. But I would not expect the Wisconsin version of gumbo to be an exact copy of a real Teche country gumbo. I was just glad he didn’t add any boiled cabbage.

I don’t expect to get great local cheese or Koop’s ice cream in New Orleans either.

Ya’ got me… I should have said raw “loose sausage”. Andouille is a cased sausage made of chunks of pork butt and spices that is slow smoked. It is a fully cooked product. It is typically cut into slices anad may or may not be browned off prior to adding to a dish. The best that I’ve found is from Jacob’s in Laplace, LA (The Andouille Capital of the World!). They’ve been making andouille since 1928! http://www.cajunsausage.com/

Len’s “gumbo” used a jambalaya mix and Jimmy Dean breakfast (loose) sausage, and while it may have tasted good… IMHO it wasn’t GUMBO… or at least not one that would be recognized in Louisiana…

My point is/was that too many folks outside of Louisiana are served brown soups that would never be called “gumbo” around here. Kind of like making a New England Clam Chowder out of mussels and catfish… It may be a great “mussel and catfish soup”… but it wouldn’t be New England Clam Chowder…

Had huge pot of it yesterday and NONE left today.
Let the neighbor sample it last nite on our deck
and she called her entire family over to “sample” it.
It was good Sea Food Soup:D

Cool! I bet it was…

sorry, you lost me at the picture of OKRA…EEEEEeeeewwwWWWWW

Need a day of rest from fishing
my knees are killing me.
From scratch Sea Food Gumbo tomorrow.
Scallops/Shrimp/Octopus/Clams
Not going to have a sea food base…
sticking with chicken base.

I have to agree. Gumbo, at least in SC, is nothing like true Louisiana gumbo. i went down for a national convention, and what i ordered off the menu was not what i expected. i just wasnt ready for the roux base. however, the fried catfish and oysters were just as expected and excellent.

Jordan

PS. okra is AWESOME maodiver. in gumbo or fried.

Hey Len,
I have never tried rattlesnake meat or your gumbo, but I’d be first in line for both. I did some Army time in Louisiana and didn’t like okra or grits. I guess I’m just a native “Northern Tiers-man.”

I don’t like grits
I have had rattlesnake…it was ok.
Was in the service at Yakima Firing Center in Washington State
rattlers all over the place. Caught 33 in one day.

Ahhhhhh Gumbo. One of the finer things that make life so wonderful.

Here we go…
If you want a real gumbo then start with your roux.

Low heat in a heavy bottom pot, I use cast iron. 1 cup of oil (I use evoo), heat up pot. Add two cups of flour CAREFULLY!!! and gradually. It will spatter so be very very careful. While you are adding the flour start whisking the mixture. Keep whisking until you get the color you want. Darker the better, but dont burn it. You want a dark caramel. Have your veggies chopped ready to go (I use 3-4 stalks of celery a green bellpepper a yellow onion, some garlic, some green onion). Slowly add it because it will splatter!!! repeat it will splatter. The veggies cool the roux down now so it will not burn. Now I use chicken broth. I add a 1 cup ladel at a time till I get the mixture that I want, usually about 8 cups. Then you can add your chicken/sausage/tasso or shrimp or crabs or whatever.

Seasoning I use thyme, salt, pepper, cayenne, and a little tabasco. Season to your licking.

DISCLAIMER ROUX IS HOT…BE CAREFUL…

This is cajun gumbo if you want creole you throw tomatos in somewhere???

I sure miss the Gumbo I was eating all last week in Alabama :frowning: