Best Spontaneous Heating Gumbo Recipes

SPICY ROOSTER GUMBO

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
• Place chicken stock in a 2-gallon stockpot. Place on back burner, bring to boil, and reduce to a simmer.
• Mix together salt, cayenne, black pepper, cumin, paprika, and coriander and set aside.
• Cut the rooster or chicken into 8 pieces, removing the backbone and discarding. Place the ham hocks in the stock to simmer.
• Season the flour with salt and pepper and place in a shallow dish. Generously coat the chicken parts with some of the spice mix. Set aside the remaining spice mixture. Dust the seasoned chicken parts in the seasoned flour and set aside the remaining flour.
• In a cast-iron skillet heat the chicken fat almost to smoking. Fry the chicken parts over high heat to crisp the outside, but not cook the inside of the chicken. Remove the chicken from the oil and drain on paper towels and add to stock. Keep the remaining chicken fat in the pan.
• Toss andouille with a few drops of oil and place in a baking dish. Roast until fat is rendered and the surface of the andouille is caramelized, about 15 minutes. Remove and put the andouille aside.
• Heat the reserved chicken fat almost to smoking. Very carefully whisk in the remaining flour. Lower the heat to medium. Whisk the flour into the roux and continue to whisk in a circular motion around the cast-iron pan. The flour will move through a range of colors from hazelnut to brick red and on to dark brown. Place 1/2 of the onions and all of the green bell peppers, garlic, and bay leaves in a large, heatproof bowl or container.
• When the roux has reached a deep, red brown color, carefully pour the hot roux over the onion/pepper mixture and stir to combine.
• Add the roux mixture to the stock, a few spoons at a time, leaving 5 minutes between each addition, until it is all added. Add half of the remaining seasoning mix. Allow to simmer for 30 minutes or until rooster is cooked and tender.
• Strain into a large pot. Saute remaining onions and red peppers until softened and add to strained liquid. Remove meat from cooked chicken. Discard chicken bones. Add chicken pieces and andouille rounds. Place gumbo in serving bowls and finish with a spoonful of rice and sliced scallions.

EARL CAMPBELL'S HOT LINK GUMBO

Steps:

• Start by making the roux. In a heavy bottomed pan, preferably a cast-iron skillet, melt the bacon fat and stir in the flour. It's important to keep stirring this until it turns a deep dark brown. Usually about 30 minutes. Also remember once it is brown to remove it from the burner and it will continue to cook as the pan is still really hot.
• For the gumbo: Melt the butter in a large pot. Add the celery, onions and green and red bell peppers. Let simmer for 5 minutes. Cut the hot links in 1/4-inch half-moons and add to the pot. Add the water, clam base, chili powder, thyme, oregano, garlic, paprika, cayenne, chicken base, hot sauce and bay leaf. Bring to a boil and turn down to a simmer. Let simmer for 30 minutes.
• Take 1 cup of the liquid and stir it into the still hot roux; it will expand to double the size. Add this to the gumbo and stir it in well bring it back to a boil. Once it has thickened, turn off the heat and stir in the okra and gumbo file. (At this point you have a nice base that you can add your choice of proteins to, anything from crawfish, shrimp, crab, chicken or a combination.)
• Serve in a bowl with steamed rice, soda crackers and Louisiana hot sauce.