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Gumbo


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On 1/5/2025 at 8:25 PM, Cousin Strawberry said:

I do a gumbo with wild turkey legs/thighs, sausage and shrimp. I use stock I make from Greenberg smoked turkey carcasses which is super fatty and smokey. After the turkey legs finally loosen up, I shred and put back in the pot.  I am sure this is sacrilege but about an hour  before I want to serve I add 6oz of crab claw meat.  It disintegrates but gives it a crazy depth of flavor. Is this bush league?

I'm betting it takes a while to loosen up the meat on a Greenberg Turkey.

 

On the crab claws, it sounds a bit like @Brisketexan's putting shrimp shells in his stock for a little sumthin-sumthin.

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On 1/5/2025 at 10:02 PM, 956 Worldwide said:

@Brisketexan would say that real gumbo is to make a roux…then put whatever the hell you want in there. 
 

I nearly always have a jar of decent anchovies on hand. There are very few sauces or stews or other dishes that aren’t improved by adding a few of them at the beginning when you’re browning the vegetables and garlic.  I absolutely add them to gumbo, as the trinity is getting mixed in with the roux. You will not taste the strong fishiness, it just deepens the savoriness. 

I saw the last post re crab claws, came back to reply about anchovies then found you beat me to it. Great secret ingredient. I don’t really see crab as a flavor that adds something but you can’t quite tell what it is. Anchovy is definitely that. Crab should just be crab. If you like what crab meat adds, try just adding a little bit of anchovy instead. Maybe just 1 oz. or so. 

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I can see anchovies as a thing, because (as I may have mentioned several pages back) my Cajun friend in Breaux Bridge taught me to put soy sauce in gumbo to give it a nice but subtle unami kick.  Anchovies might do the same thing if used judiciously.

These days I'm also not so restrictive on my view of what you put in gumbo, as long as it has a solid roux base.  When I first read on this thread the notion of putting potato salad on gumbo, I thought to myself, "what the ever-living fuck?"  But once I tried it, I recognized its genius.  

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3 hours ago, South Austin said:

I can see anchovies as a thing, because (as I may have mentioned several pages back) my Cajun friend in Breaux Bridge taught me to put soy sauce in gumbo to give it a nice but subtle unami kick.  Anchovies might do the same thing if used judiciously.

These days I'm also not so restrictive on my view of what you put in gumbo, as long as it has a solid roux base.  When I first read on this thread the notion of putting potato salad on gumbo, I thought to myself, "what the ever-living fuck?"  But once I tried it, I recognized its genius.  

I adopted your soy sauce addition in addition to a Worcestershire sauce addition.  I even drop a tsp of Red Boat fish sauce in at the end if I have some handy.  Lots of layers of flavor.

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3 hours ago, WhatTheBuck said:

I saw the last post re crab claws, came back to reply about anchovies then found you beat me to it. Great secret ingredient. I don’t really see crab as a flavor that adds something but you can’t quite tell what it is. Anchovy is definitely that. Crab should just be crab. If you like what crab meat adds, try just adding a little bit of anchovy instead. Maybe just 1 oz. or so. 

I do the same thing with two cans of canned crab. It dissolves but gives the gumbo some weight and a little extra punch. 

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3 hours ago, South Austin said:

I can see anchovies as a thing, because (as I may have mentioned several pages back) my Cajun friend in Breaux Bridge taught me to put soy sauce in gumbo to give it a nice but subtle unami kick.  Anchovies might do the same thing if used judiciously.

These days I'm also not so restrictive on my view of what you put in gumbo, as long as it has a solid roux base.  When I first read on this thread the notion of putting potato salad on gumbo, I thought to myself, "what the ever-living fuck?"  But once I tried it, I recognized its genius.  

It’s a lot like adding soy sauce, and I bet fish sauce would work too although I haven’t tried it. I add 3-4 anchovies with the trinity and they break down and dissolve and leave the kick you are talking about. 
 

I am a traditionalist but stuff like this is different than adding a bunch of tomato to gumbo or putting beans in chili.  With the former you’re trying to make the best version of a dish.  With the latter, you may have made something really good but it’s not chili or gumbo anymore. 

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3 hours ago, dcbc said:

I'm betting it takes a while to loosen up the meat on a Greenberg Turkey.

 

On the crab claws, it sounds a bit like @Brisketexan's putting shrimp shells in his stock for a little sumthin-sumthin.

What else would you make seafood stock out of? I freeze shrimp shells in ziplocks and use them to make stocks for gumbo and for soup.  And if I am making a seafood pasta, I’ll let the pasta water boil with salt and some shrimp shells for a bit, then fish the shells out and do the pasta.  Give it a try, it will take what you are making up a level. 

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4 minutes ago, 956 Worldwide said:

What else would you make seafood stock out of? I freeze shrimp shells in ziplocks and use them to make stocks for gumbo and for soup.  And if I am making a seafood pasta, I’ll let the pasta water boil with salt and some shrimp shells for a bit, then fish the shells out and do the pasta.  Give it a try, it will take what you are making up a level. 

I may be misremembering, but I think he adds them to non-seafood stocks for some "extra."

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For those who haven't tried oven-roux, it not only allows you to do other prep during the process, but it elevates the flavor of the final product nearly as much as making your own stock.  It takes longer than doing it on the stovetop (about 2 hours), but you can do it the night before or while doing other things.  But again, it is a game-changer as far as flavor goes, and I haven't made a roux on the stovetop in the two years since I did my first oven roux.

 

Preheat oven to 350.  Mix roux in a cast iron pan over medium heat.  Put in the oven and stir every twenty minutes until it hits your desired color.  

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Going to try a gluten-free roux today because my wife and step-daughter are gluten-sensitive. I’ve read that for gluten-feee roux you don’t want to go past the peanut butter stage because a darker roux will result in a more burnt flavor. 

Any experience with this or general tips for gluten-free gumbo? I’m also substituting soy sauce with coconut aminos.

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On 1/9/2025 at 8:41 AM, dcbc said:

For those who haven't tried oven-roux, it not only allows you to do other prep during the process, but it elevates the flavor of the final product nearly as much as making your own stock.  It takes longer than doing it on the stovetop (about 2 hours), but you can do it the night before or while doing other things.  But again, it is a game-changer as far as flavor goes, and I haven't made a roux on the stovetop in the two years since I did my first oven roux.

 

Preheat oven to 350.  Mix roux in a cast iron pan over medium heat.  Put in the oven and stir every twenty minutes until it hits your desired color.  

In my experience it takes a lot longer than expected to get there. I do oven method and then try to dial it in further on the stove top. But as stated I still struggle getting it as dark as I would like. 

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22 minutes ago, Anastasis said:

In my experience it takes a lot longer than expected to get there. I do oven method and then try to dial it in further on the stove top. But as stated I still struggle getting it as dark as I would like. 

Mine gets there (dark chocolate) in about two hours and it's never taken longer than 2.5 hours.

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Going to try a gluten-free roux today because my wife and step-daughter are gluten-sensitive. I’ve read that for gluten-feee roux you don’t want to go past the peanut butter stage because a darker roux will result in a more burnt flavor. 
Any experience with this or general tips for gluten-free gumbo? I’m also substituting soy sauce with coconut aminos.

I made a xanthan gum roux when I was eating low carb. Browning it gave flavor and prevented any slimy texture that happens with xg.

If you’re using sausage, make sure it doesn’t have a binder with gluten.

I’d use fish sauce instead of soy because I use fish sauce or anchovies in everything, but I’m sure those aminos will be fine as well.
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My first gumbo in 2025. The last few times I have used equal parts oil and flour by weight and not volume, I really think I prefer it. This time I used poblano pepper in place of the green bell, not sure I can tell a difference, just not a fan of green bells. Did the shot or two of soy sauce, bo taste damn good. I really like boiled eggs soaking in there during the two hour simmer. Didn’t cook my rice long enough this time, it needed a few more minutes. Still, all was damn good.

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11 hours ago, South Austin said:

Going to try a gluten-free roux today because my wife and step-daughter are gluten-sensitive. I’ve read that for gluten-feee roux you don’t want to go past the peanut butter stage because a darker roux will result in a more burnt flavor. 

Any experience with this or general tips for gluten-free gumbo? I’m also substituting soy sauce with coconut aminos.

There used to be a gluten free restaurant in Port Neches called Gather that made some incredible dishes. One of the dishes that I enjoyed most there was the gluten free gumbo. They made their roux using potato flour and they would even sell jars of it so you could make your own gumbo at home. Might be worth a shot if you make another pot to try making the roux with potato flour.

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9 hours ago, utee94 said:

Yup, oven roux so easy.  Today I hit brick roux in 2 hours.  So perfect.

Where the heck is @ERhine to chastise us for daring think this is ok? :)

I think it's better than okay.  It's superior in flavor.  Although I haven't tried the Paul Prudhomme, high-heat method.

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44 minutes ago, RMac5 said:

On the oven method, can you just brown the flour and then finish on the stove? Seems like that could an option as well, might be easier too.

You could pull and finish on the stove at any time.

But the entire point of the oven method is that it's basically set it and forget it.  I stirred four times over two hours, for a grand total of maybe 45 seconds.  That's just so much easier than doing any of it on the stove.

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Matter of personal taste.  I find it more satisfying not to have to stand around and stir.  I peek at the oven roux every 30 minutes and stir it for 15 seconds, then go about the rest of my business.  It's easy enough to plan ahead and get the roux started 1.5 hours earlier.  

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38 minutes ago, DoobieWah said:

I used the oven method for a decade or so, but reverted to the stovetop a couple of years ago. 

It’s just so much faster and to be honest, more satisfying. Just have a drink while you stir, It takes 15-20 minutes.

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Cooking is part of my zen/meditation routine.  I don't get to engage in many simple, creative endeavors.  Stirring a roux is relaxing, rhythmic, even spiritual.  Hand me a beer.  Let me engage in a defined activity for 45 minutes, with a gratifying result.  Amen.

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4 hours ago, RMac5 said:

On the oven method, can you just brown the flour and then finish on the stove? Seems like that could an option as well, might be easier too.

Technically you can just bake the flour without oil since the oil and flour separate after you add stock anyway. Flour will get tan and will darken substantially after getting wet.

Edited by elfenix
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I stirred it for years, and I agree that it's a greatly-satisfying drinking game.  But not to put too fine of a point on it, after a few goes at doing it in the oven, my results have been that it adds a depth of flavor that doing it on the stovetop just doesn't yield for me.  I asked ye olde Cajun coworker about it, and she said most of her relatives make it in the oven too. 

For me, it's about what it tastes like in the end rather than the amount of effort required.  If stirring it made for better gumbo, I'd stir it.  I rank it up there with making your own stock as far as end product goes.

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