Cajun Chicken & Sausage Gumbo
CAJUN CHICKEN AND ANDOUILLE SAUSAGE GUMBO
A good dark roux chicken and sausage gumbo is one of my favorite Cajun meals. It’s so filling, and so delicious. I didn’t start making it until after college because to be honest, the roux is intimidating. Especially a homemade roux. Once you get the first one out of the way, it’s worth it, and you’ll do it that way every time.
Andouille sausage is the best. I have to have it in gumbo every time it’s made. It’s just that good. Don’t forget, you have to have potato salad as your side. Bread is good, but potato salad is life. Get your spoon ready for dipping, because it’s geaux time!
Pro tip: Always have potato salad on hand, and it’s there for the dipping!
CAJUN CHICKEN AND ANDOUILLE SAUSAGE GUMBO RECIPE
Ingredients
olive oil for chicken rub and 2 tablespoons for browning
6 chicken thighs, 3 chicken breast, 2 chicken legs
1 cup diced yellow onion
1 cup diced green bell pepper
1 cup diced celery
2 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 cup chopped parsley
2 cups sliced andouille sausage
12 cups chicken stock
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
dark roux (equal portions, 1 cup flour and 1 cup canola oil)
salt/pepper to taste
cooked white rice
1 cup diced green onion for topping
extra chopped parsley for topping
3 tablespoons Tabasco sauce
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
3 bay leaves
Instructions
For the dark roux: In a large pot, combine canola oil and flour. Whisk CONSTANTLY for about 45 minutes on medium-low to medium heat. This will get you a dark chocolate colored roux. Stirring constantly will ensure you do not burn the roux. A burnt roux is a no go. It smells bad, and you can tell because some blackened flour bits will cluster.
If you prefer a lighter roux, you only stir and keep on the heat until the color you want is achieved. The dark roux that I love takes about 45 minutes, depending on the size of the pot. The larger the pot, the thinner the roux to cook, which heats up and darkens faster. When the color you want is achieved, set that pot aside and let it cool down. When you add super hot roux to the rest of the gumbo mixture it can be alarmingly loud and sizzle.
Heat a little olive oil in a separate large deep pot or dutch oven. Rub olive oil, black pepper, cayenne pepper and salt over chicken and brown all sides for about 30 minutes, while rotating about every 5-7 minutes. Take the chicken out and set aside in a large bowl or plate.
In same pot the chicken was in, sauté onions, bell pepper and celery for 20 minutes.
Add in garlic and parsley, and cook for 5 minutes.
Add in andouille, sautéed until brown, for about 15 minutes.
Stir in pepper, salt, Tabasco, Worcestershire and bay leaves.
Pour in 1 cup of chicken stock to scrape bottom.
Add the browned chicken that was set aside back in.
Stir in dark roux slowly while mixing.
Slowly pour in remaining stock to just cover chicken. This is important. Your roux and chicken stock may look separated for about 10-15 minutes. This is OKAY. It happens. You will need to keep stirring and mixing them together like I just mentioned. It will mix. If it doesn’t separate that means your roux was properly cooled off, and that’s totally fine and perfect.
Once the roux and stock have gotten to a boil while stirring and have mixed together to be smooth, cook for an hour and a half, slightly covered.
Check every 30 minutes for excess oil fat. You may need to skim with a spoon the unwanted oil spots that form.
Before serving, take out chicken breasts and use two forks to break up the chicken into strips. Then put them back into the gumbo and stir. To serve, ladle in gumbo first, then scoops of rice, and finally your desired amount of parsley and green onions. Depending on how spicy you like it, you may want more hot sauce. Lastly as an option if you made it, a nice chunky potato salad. This is the way.
