- Joined
- Jul 3, 2006
- Messages
- 2,739
- Reaction score
- 848
Most years I take an afternoon on the weekend after Thanksgiving to cook something that isn't a turkey. This year I made seafood/sausage gumbo, and I flat-out nailed it. I actually do think it was the best thing I ever cooked, and probably in the top 10 things I ever ate. My girlfriend, who hates spicy food, ate three bowls. My brother, who has bad fish allergies, phoned 911, stuck himself with an epi pen, and managed two bowls before the ambulance arrived.
The downside is that the preparation is non-trivial. I've made this recipe before without homemade fish stock and it was good but nothing special. This year I happened to have some fish stock in the freezer that I'd nearly forgotten about and it made a huge difference. I've typed up both the "WOW!" and "Good but nowhere near what it could be" variations of the recipe below.
Hope you like it!
Seafood Stock
You know how all the snooty cookbooks go on and on about how making your own stock really is the only way to go? They finally wore me down and I decided to try it. It actually does make a huge difference.
Starting about January of last year, I started saving the peelings from all the shrimp I bought (they're cheap here; YMMV) and other miscellaneous fish goo. Every time I got any shrimp shells, lobster carcasses, or fish bones, I put them in a plastic bag and stuck the bag in the freezer. By about mid-June, the freezer was overflowing. I'm guessing I had the shells of 10-15 pounds of shrimp, the shells and innards of a couple lobsters, and a few miscellaneous fish skeletons.
Heat about 2 tbsp oil in a stock pot. Add in:
I ended up with about 3 gallons of stock that was the color of brown lake water and smelled like fish, but not in a good way. It did not appear promising. I stuck it in the freezer and forgot about it until I went digging for frozen peas last week.
A Poor Substitute for the Above Stock Recipe That Has The Advantage Of Being Something You Didn't Have To Start Work On Six Months Ago
The gumbo recipe calls for 3 pounds of shrimp. Shell them. Heat about 1 tbsp oil in a stock pot. Add in:
Strain out the shells, onion, and carrots. Add in:
1. Make a roux.
Heat about 1/2 cup vegetable oil in a frying pan. Gradually add in about 1-1.5 cups flour, a tablespoon at a time. Stir constantly.
The roux is done when it is about the consistency of peanut butter. Traditionally, it should also be about the color of peanut butter, but mine always ends up about the color of Hershey's chocolate. Possibly I'm doing something wrong, but the end result (the gumbo) is good.
This takes about 20 minutes and is extremely boring as the stirring must be more or less constant. If a well-meaning s.o. or housemate pops in and asks "is there anything I can do to help?" enlist them to stir the roux even if they were just being polite. They will forgive you when they taste the gumbo.
When the roux is done, take it off the heat and continue to stir until it cools down a bit.
2. Chop ingredients.
3. More Chopping
Slice 1.5 pounds andouille sausage, ideally fresh from an actual butcher shop/meat counter, not that shrink wrapped crap. Add to the veggies, together with:
4. The Worst Is Over
Add in:
5. Getting there
Whisk in the roux. The idea is to add color and substance, not turn the whole thing into sludge. Stop when the soup is a bit darker than tea but not as dark as Coca-Cola.
Simmer for another 45 minutes.
6. Voila
Bring the soup back to a boil. Add in:
You can serve over rice or just eat as a soup.
What's the best thing you ever cooked?
The downside is that the preparation is non-trivial. I've made this recipe before without homemade fish stock and it was good but nothing special. This year I happened to have some fish stock in the freezer that I'd nearly forgotten about and it made a huge difference. I've typed up both the "WOW!" and "Good but nowhere near what it could be" variations of the recipe below.
Hope you like it!
Seafood Stock
You know how all the snooty cookbooks go on and on about how making your own stock really is the only way to go? They finally wore me down and I decided to try it. It actually does make a huge difference.
Starting about January of last year, I started saving the peelings from all the shrimp I bought (they're cheap here; YMMV) and other miscellaneous fish goo. Every time I got any shrimp shells, lobster carcasses, or fish bones, I put them in a plastic bag and stuck the bag in the freezer. By about mid-June, the freezer was overflowing. I'm guessing I had the shells of 10-15 pounds of shrimp, the shells and innards of a couple lobsters, and a few miscellaneous fish skeletons.
Heat about 2 tbsp oil in a stock pot. Add in:
- 2 small onions, dices
- 2 small carrots, diced
- 4 celery stalks, diced
- All your shrimp shells & lobster shells. (mine filled a large stock pot)
- 2 bay leaves
- some white wine
- black pepper
- A couple of freezer burned tilapia.
I ended up with about 3 gallons of stock that was the color of brown lake water and smelled like fish, but not in a good way. It did not appear promising. I stuck it in the freezer and forgot about it until I went digging for frozen peas last week.
A Poor Substitute for the Above Stock Recipe That Has The Advantage Of Being Something You Didn't Have To Start Work On Six Months Ago
The gumbo recipe calls for 3 pounds of shrimp. Shell them. Heat about 1 tbsp oil in a stock pot. Add in:
- a quartered onion
- 1 finely chopped carrot.
- Add the shrimp shells. Cook for about a minute.
Strain out the shells, onion, and carrots. Add in:
- 24 oz. bottled clam juice
The Actual Gumbo Recipe
1. Make a roux.
Heat about 1/2 cup vegetable oil in a frying pan. Gradually add in about 1-1.5 cups flour, a tablespoon at a time. Stir constantly.
The roux is done when it is about the consistency of peanut butter. Traditionally, it should also be about the color of peanut butter, but mine always ends up about the color of Hershey's chocolate. Possibly I'm doing something wrong, but the end result (the gumbo) is good.
This takes about 20 minutes and is extremely boring as the stirring must be more or less constant. If a well-meaning s.o. or housemate pops in and asks "is there anything I can do to help?" enlist them to stir the roux even if they were just being polite. They will forgive you when they taste the gumbo.
When the roux is done, take it off the heat and continue to stir until it cools down a bit.
2. Chop ingredients.
- 4 big yellow onions, finely chopped
- 4 stalks celery, chopped
- 2 big jalapeno peppers. (The jalapeno seeds contribute significantly to the spiciness. I usually only use the seeds of a single pepper.)
- 2 green peppers, seeded
3. More Chopping
Slice 1.5 pounds andouille sausage, ideally fresh from an actual butcher shop/meat counter, not that shrink wrapped crap. Add to the veggies, together with:
- 4 biggish cloves garlic, smashed and chopped. (NOT run through a garlic press)
- 4 cups okra, sliced about 1/2" thick
4. The Worst Is Over
Add in:
- 1/2 teaspoon thyme (dried actually seems to work better for some reason
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 cups diced tomatoes (canned is fine)
- About 2-3 quarts fish stock.
5. Getting there
Whisk in the roux. The idea is to add color and substance, not turn the whole thing into sludge. Stop when the soup is a bit darker than tea but not as dark as Coca-Cola.
Simmer for another 45 minutes.
6. Voila
Bring the soup back to a boil. Add in:
- 3 lbs. shrimp
- 4 cups crab meat
- 1 pint oysters + their juice
You can serve over rice or just eat as a soup.
What's the best thing you ever cooked?
Last edited: