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Posted (edited)
  On 9/24/2024 at 3:02 AM, 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.

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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 by dcbc
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Posted
  On 9/24/2024 at 12:17 PM, 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

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

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Posted
  On 9/24/2024 at 12:53 PM, South Austin said:

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

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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."

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Posted (edited)
  On 9/22/2024 at 12:26 AM, freyguy said:

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

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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 by South Austin
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Posted

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....

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Posted
  On 9/24/2024 at 3:35 PM, freyguy said:

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

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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.

Posted
  On 9/24/2024 at 3:25 PM, 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.

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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.

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Posted
  On 9/24/2024 at 3:53 PM, 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.

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agree

Posted (edited)
  On 9/24/2024 at 3:25 PM, 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.

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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 by dcbc
Posted
  On 9/24/2024 at 4:27 PM, 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

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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. 

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Posted
  On 9/22/2024 at 11:18 PM, freyguy said:

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.
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Posted

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? 

Posted
  On 11/22/2024 at 3:18 AM, 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? 

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

Posted
  On 11/22/2024 at 3:18 AM, 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? 

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

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Posted
  On 11/22/2024 at 3:44 AM, 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.

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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...

 

Posted
  On 11/22/2024 at 4:09 AM, 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...

 

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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.

Posted
  On 9/24/2024 at 3:02 AM, 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.

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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. 

Posted
  On 11/22/2024 at 4:09 AM, 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...

 

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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.  

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Posted
  On 11/22/2024 at 5:23 PM, 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.  

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And that's fair </mack>

 

Posted

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.

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Posted
  On 11/22/2024 at 5:12 PM, gsoda3 said:

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. 

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that's why it goes into the sink in with a water bath and monitor the water temp to change when it warms up, eventually adding ice.

Posted

Surly Reminder:

First, you make a turkey. 

THEN you make a roux. 
 

Leftover turkey (and ham if you have it) make a great aggy Game Gumbo. 

Make a stock with the carcass and serve over rice or … stuffing/dressing. 

 

 

Post pics.

Profit.  

 

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Posted
  On 11/27/2024 at 3:03 PM, DoobieWah said:

Surly Reminder:

First, you make a turkey. 

THEN you make a roux. 
 

Leftover turkey (and ham if you have it) make a great aggy Game Gumbo. 

Make a stock with the carcass and serve over rice or … stuffing/dressing. 

 

 

Post pics.

Profit.  

 

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Leftover turkey gumbo, made with rich, reduced turkey stock....is one of the things that is best in life.  Really, it's the one thing I miss when I don't make a turkey at home for the holiday.

And yeah....topping it with a scoop from the leftovers of my mom's oyster dressing recipe....gotdamn.

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Posted
  On 11/27/2024 at 3:42 AM, After irth said:

Huh?  What?

Fixed it for ya. 

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Not in my experience

I did say broke, not burnt.  If you add the stock too fast and the roux breaks - the pot isn’t inedible.  Just might need a little thickening on the back end.
 

Probably only need half as much roux as you started off, but you won’t find much difference.

Posted
  On 11/27/2024 at 4:40 PM, Brisketexan said:

Leftover turkey gumbo, made with rich, reduced turkey stock....is one of the things that is best in life.  Really, it's the one thing I miss when I don't make a turkey at home for the holiday.

And yeah....topping it with a scoop from the leftovers of my mom's oyster dressing recipe....gotdamn.

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Thanksgiving Turkey Gumbo served over a dressing square is one of the special things in life.

Posted

We didn't do a turkey this year so I am going to have to do chicken and sausage for the game tomorrow.  Stock will be homemade but still I'm a little bummed we don't have the usual carcass.

Posted (edited)

I'm not hungry. But I'm gonna eat. Gonna let it sit and thicken up. Then I'm going to heat up a dressing square and use that instead of rice (rice is available for the remaining unhungry).



41f0d55429458a7ff7fa839995a7a253.jpg

Edited by dcbc
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Posted

We didn’t cook a turkey this year and I was bummed about the lack of carcass!

Buddy decided to fry another turkey tonight since he had the oil ready to go so I’m back on.

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Turkey sausage going tomorrow with this all night stock project.

Going to do okra this time. And oven roux which will be a first.

Now babysitting with a brown water

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  • 4 weeks later...
Posted (edited)

Started this seafood pot (crab, oyster, shrimp, fish) early so I could have a warm winter supper. Stock from a couple frozen ziplocs of shrimp shells. 

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Edited by 956 Worldwide
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Posted

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?

Posted
  On 1/6/2025 at 2:25 AM, 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?

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@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. 

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