Seafood Gumbo

1 cup cooking oil
1 cup plain flour
3 cups onion (diced)
2 cups celery (diced)
1 cup green pepper (diced)
3 cloves of garlic (minced)
3 bay leaves
1 tsp black pepper
1⁄4 tbs cayenne pepper
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tbs dried garlic chips (opt.)
1 lb (2 cups) smoked sausage
3 - 4 cooked blue crabs
2 tbs worcestershire sauce
1 tbs tabasco sauce
2 cups diced, canned tomatoes
1⁄4 cup green onion (sliced thin)
1⁄4 cup parsley (chopped)
12 cups seafood stock
1 8 oz bottle clam juice
(opt.) 2 cups sliced okra

Seafood Finish Up
*1 lb raw, cleaned, de-veined med. shrimp
*1 lb crab meat
*1 lb small oysters
*1 lb catfish (bite sized pieces)
*1 lb cooked, shelled crawfish

*Combination of any 3, or use all of them. It’s all up to you.

Make Roux: In a 7 to 8 qt., cast iron Dutch Oven, or similar kettle, heat oil on MED, when hot, add flour and stir continuously until the roux reaches a dark brown color.

Add diced onions and cook until onion is transparent, then add celery, green pepper, and garlic, and cook another 10 mins.

Add Herbs & Spices: Stir constantly, cook 5 mins. Add 2 cups of the hot stock, whisk in, and blend well, cook for another 5 mins. See the next to last page on how to make seafood stock.

Add Meat: Sausage and crab pieces, cook 5 mins. Crabs are cleaned by removing the top shell and gills. The claws are broken off and placed in the pot, and the body is broken in half and also dropped into the gumbo pot. These are fun to pick around on in the soup. If you buy live crabs, shock them in salted boiling water before breaking them up. Use the boil water and shells to enhance your seafood stock.

Add Extras: Remaining stock, clam juice, tomatoes, green onion, and parsley, then bring to a boil for 5 mins. (Opt. Add 2 cups of fresh, or frozen, sliced Okra) Bring back down to MED/LO and cook 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Finish up by adding, shrimp, oysters, crawfish, fish, or crab, being careful not to break up the pieces by over-stirring. Just let it simmer another half hour on MED/LO.

Some Cajun cooks will not use Andouille or smoked sausage with a seafood gumbo, but I love the smoked meat flavor. Again, okra is optional, but most Cajuns will insist on using it. The same goes with the diced tomatoes. Including either is up to you. Filé is best used after cooking the gumbo, by offering it at the table.

Serve over rice, topped with parsley and chopped green onions.