Gumbo

[freyguy 4271]

I was gonna invite yall all over to try some, now yall ain't gonna get shit.

bunch of Nancy boys up in here... 

 

[dcbc 14484]

9 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

Yeah…my eyebrow went up too.
Dude. You pour it into a container and put it in the fridge once it cools down off the simmer a bit. You don’t just leave it out at room temp all night.

With frozen crawfish tails, what could go wrong?

 

I'm guessing, the roux process involved many drinks (understandable), and by the end of it all, the chef passed out and the gumbo sat out, cooling naturally on the counter.

 

/ICBW

Edited September 24 by dcbc

[South Austin 52499]

Cooling gumbo overnight on the kitchen counter helps release the electrolytes in the roux.

[freyguy 4271]

50 minutes ago, dcbc said:

With frozen crawfish tails, what could go wrong?

 

I'm guessing, the roux process involved many drinks (understandable), and by the end of it all, the chef passed out and the gumbo sat out, cooling naturally on the counter.

 

/ICBW

I did wake up next to an empty bottle of Weller.....

[BHMCruiser 1813]

1 hour ago, South Austin said:

Cooling gumbo overnight on the kitchen counter helps release the electrolytes in the roux.

riboflavin

whenever my kids ask questions about food and nutrition I just start talking about riboflavin. Please understand I have no idea what riboflavin is.

"Do I have to put milk in my cereal?"

"Yes"

"Why?"

"It activates the riboflavin."

[dcbc 14484]

2 hours ago, South Austin said:

Cooling gumbo overnight on the kitchen counter helps release the electrolytes in the roux.

It's what plants crave.

[freyguy 4271]

[South Austin 52499]

On 9/21/2024 at 7:26 PM, freyguy said:

Never cooked the roux this dark before...I trust u guys...

As an fyi, Alton Brown did a segment on gumbo a while back, and got all scientific on the darkness of roux, and the gist of it is that if you go darker, while you might get a bit more flavor, you lose its thickening properties.  So it's trying to find the sweet spot between what you posted above and a light/blonde roux.

For me, I usually take the roux off the heat and add the trinity when it's a dark reddish brown, as the roux will continue to darken a shade or so as it cooks the veggies.

Edited September 24 by South Austin

[freyguy 4271]

That's good info.  On my last few gumbos, I went with a much lighter color, and it turned out more like a thick, flavorless ettoufee.  

This time around was much thinner & more flavorful.

I definitely credit the slow ramp down of temperature for all this.  It facilitated a prolonged breakdown of plant & animal tissue, thus releasing precious riboflavin....

[South Austin 52499]

2 minutes ago, freyguy said:

On my last few gumbos, I went with a much lighter color, and it turned out more like a thick, flavorless ettoufee.  

Pro tip from my Breaux Bridge friend that I've offered before on this thread:  If you want to add flavor aside from spices and whatever you get from however you make the roux, add a tablespoon or so of soy sauce.  It's a subtle unami kick that turns it up.

[Brisketexan 105139]

26 minutes ago, South Austin said:

As an fyi, Alton Brown did a segment on gumbo a while back, and got all scientific on the darkness of roux, and the gist of it is that if you go darker, while you might get a bit more flavor, you lose its thickening properties.  So it's trying to find the sweet spot between what you posted above and a light/blonde roux.

My daughter placed in her middle school science fair with a comparison of the thickening properties of different colors/cooking times of roux.  A quick white roux (like you use as the base for a basic white sauce) thickened like glue, my classic dark roux for gumbo barely thickened at all.  BUT....it's more delicious.  So, thicken with okra or file instead.

[BHMCruiser 1813]

31 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

My daughter placed in her middle school science fair with a comparison of the thickening properties of different colors/cooking times of roux.  A quick white roux (like you use as the base for a basic white sauce) thickened like glue, my classic dark roux for gumbo barely thickened at all.  BUT....it's more delicious.  So, thicken with okra or file instead.

agree

[dcbc 14484]

1 hour ago, South Austin said:

As an fyi, Alton Brown did a segment on gumbo a while back, and got all scientific on the darkness of roux, and the gist of it is that if you go darker, while you might get a bit more flavor, you lose its thickening properties.  So it's trying to find the sweet spot between what you posted above and a light/blonde roux.

For me, I usually take the roux off the heat and add the trinity when it's a dark reddish brown, as the roux will continue to darken a shade or so as it cooks the veggies.

For thickening, you can also add filé at the end of the cook, which helps thicken it up.  I drop about a tablespoon into the pot.

 

/edit: I see this was covered.  Carry on

Edited September 24 by dcbc

[Deej 76787]

15 hours ago, freyguy said:

I was gonna invite yall all over to try some, now yall ain't gonna get the shits.

fixed

[Masshole Horn 773]

Looks way greasier than it was.

Used mostly what was in the fridge/freezer. Andouille, chicken, red snapper, and some fresh okra from the garden.

Cooled safely in the refrigerator.

[Masshole Horn 773]

Also, homemade chicken stock.

[BHMCruiser 1813]

fuck yeah dude

[LCHorn 2620]

On 9/24/2024 at 11:27 AM, dcbc said:

For thickening, you can also add filé at the end of the cook, which helps thicken it up.  I drop about a tablespoon into the pot.

 

/edit: I see this was covered.  Carry on

I usually cook the slime out of my okra but it still thickens a little bit, too. 

I actually prefer it a little less thick, personally.  It's not etouffee. 

[CooterBrown 18012]

Made this with gluten free flour. 

I once made a small batch with almond flour for a neighbor that is gluten free and I gotta say, it turned out fantastic. I’ve never made it with it again since I don’t keep almond flour in the house but your post reminded me I need to try it again.

[PantsTent 2002]

Where can I "pause" gumbo making?  I've made just the roux in advance, refrigerated and then added it room temp to sautéd veggies and went from there.  I've also done roux, veggies, and some stock and then transported to tailgate and resumed after 2 hrs or so while it stayed mostly warm.  I assume it would also work to do roux, veggies, some stock to thin it and then refrigerate that over nigh and resume the next day? 

[dcbc 14484]

25 minutes ago, PantsTent said:

Where can I "pause" gumbo making?  I've made just the roux in advance, refrigerated and then added it room temp to sautéd veggies and went from there.  I've also done roux, veggies, and some stock and then transported to tailgate and resumed after 2 hrs or so while it stayed mostly warm.  I assume it would also work to do roux, veggies, some stock to thin it and then refrigerate that over nigh and resume the next day? 

Ideally, you resume the day after you completely finish the cook.  24 hours in the fridge is the best part of the prep.

[LCHorn 2620]

29 minutes ago, PantsTent said:

Where can I "pause" gumbo making?  I've made just the roux in advance, refrigerated and then added it room temp to sautéd veggies and went from there.  I've also done roux, veggies, and some stock and then transported to tailgate and resumed after 2 hrs or so while it stayed mostly warm.  I assume it would also work to do roux, veggies, some stock to thin it and then refrigerate that over nigh and resume the next day? 

I usually cook my roux a day in advance because I like to play chicken toasting the flour.  

[PantsTent 2002]

14 minutes ago, dcbc said:

Ideally, you resume the day after you completely finish the cook.  24 hours in the fridge is the best part of the prep.

Somebody else is bringing the sausage to the tailgate. I'm doing the chicken and everything else so I can make stock from the chicken.  Plus don't really have room for a huge fully finished pot in the fridge.  I can't see why it wouldn't work...in a medium pot make roux, add veggies and about 1/4 of the stock to get it all combined and then refrigerate.  Then in the morning transfer to a big stock pot and add rest of the stock and sausage and go from there.  Just want to make it easy on site and not have to get up too early to do it all at home before going.  I'll report back...

 

[BHMCruiser 1813]

I think that would be fine. I would bring everything to a boil once it's all together and then reduce to simmer for a while. 

[jimmyjazz 45948]

11 hours ago, PantsTent said:

Somebody else is bringing the sausage to the tailgate. I'm doing the chicken and everything else so I can make stock from the chicken.  Plus don't really have room for a huge fully finished pot in the fridge.  I can't see why it wouldn't work...in a medium pot make roux, add veggies and about 1/4 of the stock to get it all combined and then refrigerate.  Then in the morning transfer to a big stock pot and add rest of the stock and sausage and go from there.  Just want to make it easy on site and not have to get up too early to do it all at home before going.  I'll report back...

 

I would be shocked if anyone could tell this wasn't a traditional cook.  In my experience, every gumbo, jambalaya, chili, stew, whatever is a little different.  It's not a souffle, where one tiny misstep results in disaster.

[gsoda3 3260]

On 9/23/2024 at 10:02 PM, Brisketexan said:

Yeah…my eyebrow went up too.
Dude. You pour it into a container and put it in the fridge once it cools down off the simmer a bit. You don’t just leave it out at room temp all night.

What. Soups, stews - they all come to a boil with the lid on and then get turned off and no one touches it until the next day when it comes back to a boil before consuming or portioning out.  Leftovers, they go into tupperware and then into the fridge.  I can't imagine what an entire pot of gumbo going into the fridge right off the simmer would do to the surrounding food. 

[dcbc 14484]

13 hours ago, PantsTent said:

Somebody else is bringing the sausage to the tailgate. I'm doing the chicken and everything else so I can make stock from the chicken.  Plus don't really have room for a huge fully finished pot in the fridge.  I can't see why it wouldn't work...in a medium pot make roux, add veggies and about 1/4 of the stock to get it all combined and then refrigerate.  Then in the morning transfer to a big stock pot and add rest of the stock and sausage and go from there.  Just want to make it easy on site and not have to get up too early to do it all at home before going.  I'll report back...

 

If you make the roux a day in advance and store in the fridge, chop the veggies, shred up the chicken, and put your spices in a container ready to go, the next day, you can get the roux hot, dump the veggies in, cook for about 10 minutes, and add the stock and simmer for a couple of hours.  About half the time it takes to make gumbo is prep work and the roux.  This is what I do for Turkey gumbo for the post-Thanksgiving cook.  I guess what I'm saying is that doing the veggies and adding 1/4 of the stock the day before doesn't seem like it's saving a lot of time.  But it probably would be fine if you wanted to knock off another 10 minutes of work the next day.  

[PantsTent 2002]

Tappa derp

Edited 9 hours ago by PantsTent

[PantsTent 2002]

2 hours ago, dcbc said:

If you make the roux a day in advance and store in the fridge, chop the veggies, shred up the chicken, and put your spices in a container ready to go, the next day, you can get the roux hot, dump the veggies in, cook for about 10 minutes, and add the stock and simmer for a couple of hours.  About half the time it takes to make gumbo is prep work and the roux.  This is what I do for Turkey gumbo for the post-Thanksgiving cook.  I guess what I'm saying is that doing the veggies and adding 1/4 of the stock the day before doesn't seem like it's saving a lot of time.  But it probably would be fine if you wanted to knock off another 10 minutes of work the next day.  

And that's fair </mack>

 

[Kringelbert Fishtybuns 943]

Unsolicited tips from experience 

If you are having problems getting a dark roux to thicken like you want, weigh your flour/fat.  If you are going 1:1 on volume, you can get a wide range of flour.  
Also, if you think you have broken your roux - skim off all the oil.  Make a new roux in a separate pot.  Toss in the original and good as new.