Gourmet

Seafood Gumbo

For most people, the word gumbo immediately conjures the Cajun and Creole cooking of Louisiana. But okra (ngombo in Bantu), for which the soup-stew is named, reached South Carolina with the slave trade some years before Europeans settled in Louisiana, and the Creole world, where African, European, and indigenous cultures meet, actually extends up the southern Atlantic coast. There are many different gumbo recipes, all taking advantage of local ingredients and served with rice. This one is a heady, fragrant slurry thick with seafood. If desired, add filé powder (ground dried sassafras leaves), a Choctaw thickening agent with an almost lemony flavor, just before eating.

ByEdna Lewis

December 7, 2007

4.4

(30)

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Active Time

1 1/4 hr
Total Time

2 1/4 hr

Ingredients

Makes 8 (main course) servings

1/2 pound bacon, chopped

About 1/2 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 celery ribs, chopped

1 medium green bell pepper, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

5 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 1/2 quarts fish or chicken stock (or a combination)

1 (14-ounce) can whole tomatoes in juice, drained and chopped

1 pound frozen cut okra (not thawed)

1 teaspoon chopped thyme

1 Turkish or 1/2 California bay leaf

1 rounded teaspoon cayenne

1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

1/2 cup chopped scallions

1 1/2 pound medium shrimp in shell, peeled and deveined

2 dozen shucked oysters with their liquor, oysters picked over for shell fragments

1/2 pound lump crabmeat, picked over

Accompaniments: rice; gumbo filé powder

N/A gumbo filé

N/A powder

Step 1
Cook bacon in a 10-inch heavy skillet (preferably cast-iron) over medium heat until browned but not crisp. Transfer bacon to a bowl with a slotted spoon and transfer rendered fat to a heatproof liquid measure, then add enough oil to fat to bring total to 3/4 cup.
Step 2
Stir together fat and flour in skillet with a wooden spoon, then cook roux over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until well browned (a shade darker than peanut butter), about 20 minutes.
Step 3
Add celery, bell pepper, onion, and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a 6- to 7-quart pot.
Step 4
Stir in stock, tomatoes, okra, thyme, bay leaf, cayenne, and 2 teaspoons salt and briskly simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are very tender, about 30 minutes.
Step 5
Add parsley, scallions, shrimp, and oysters with their liquor and cook, stirring, until seafood is just cooked through, about 5 minutes.
Step 6
Stir in crabmeat and bacon and simmer until heated through, about 1 minute. Season with salt. Discard bay leaf.

Cook's note:

We like Uncle Bill's Creole Filé (225-388-0893). Allow each person to add their own filé (if using) just before eating. If reheating with filé, do not boil or filé will make gumbo stringy.

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Reviews (30)

My family had a 4th of July one pot meal cookoff. This was a major crowd-pleaser, and helped me take home some hardware. I have tinkered with the recipe a little bit each time. I was able to increase the yield pretty easily, with only a few modifications. I have now used this recipe three times, and the third time was the charm.
- StephenCap
- San Francisco, CA
- 7/8/2015
Great recipe! I served it at a party last night, it went over big. I substituted turkey bacon and cooked it crisp. I did not add the bacon back to the gumbo but served the bacon bits on the side. I used little neck clams instead of oysters. It was delicious.
- Vec490
- Originally NYC, presently Delray Beach FL
- 5/25/2015
不要添加太多的液体或秋葵会瘦的d lose its flavor. I boil a Zatarin bag in a pot of water until all the essence is out of the bag (about 10 minutes) then use the resulting water as "the spice" - be careful because if you add too much it will set your mouth on fire but it sure adds flavor. I use only shrimp and Andouille sausage. Omit the bay leaf and Cheyenne pepper, etc. Good recipe though ....no tomatoes .....
- gator11
- Sulphur, Louisiana
- 2/2/2014
I made this recipe for a New Year's celebration. It was an incredible hit! Absolutely delicious. I added a bit more cayenne to turn up the heat, used a different selection of seafood (mussels, calamari, scallops, and shrimp), used only 2 quarts of stock (It was plenty thick) and added some spicy buffalo sausage. The roux was perfect, and the bacon flavor added immensely. Can't wait to make this recipe again.
- BoulderTucker
- Boulder, CO
- 1/2/2014
I've made this 3 times and it is consistently delicious. I omit oysters and bacon (use bacon grease for roux) add frozen crawfish tails and andouille. My ONLY complaint is that, with these modifications, it is one expensive pot of deliciousness!
- Anonymous
- Nashville, TN
- 3/20/2013
This was a big disappointment. Despite all the roux, the resulting gumbo was very thin (I thickened it twice after the original roux) and rather uni-dimensional. It was hot from the cayenne, but had no depth of flavor.
- Anonymous
- Boxborough, MA
- 2/16/2013
Great recipe. I modified it by taking out the oysters since my husband is not a fan, and added scallops, canned clams, and a pieced of chuncked halibut. I also added the meat of two hot italian sausages and a half a cup of brown rice. I found it gave the recipe more body, and it needed a bit more spice to it.
- mamootash
- Canada
- 5/1/2012
Awesome gumbo. Everyone loved it. Didn't get thick enough for my tastes though. The bacon added a rich flavor. We omitted the oysters, and added andouille sausage. YUM!!!
- modoes
- Berkeley, CA
- 1/31/2012
Be careful with the bay leaf. I used a whole California bay leaf and the whole dish tasted like a tree. Next time I'm only using 1/4 of a North Carolina bayleaf.
- flints
- 1/15/2012
I had never made a gumbo before and I loved how this turned out. I used fresh okra which I think is much better if you can find it. You won't be sorry when making this but it is very time consuming.
- cindydean65
- New York City
- 1/7/2012
I LOVE this gumbo recipe! I have made it five times and it is often requested by my family. I omit the oysters but add in a few andouille sausages to the recipe. YUM!
- FinnSpirit
- Toronto, Canada
- 4/24/2011
I found this recipe to be very easy to make (gumbo can be tricky) and adapt to taste. Personally, I'd at least double the cayenne pepper, maybe throw in some Louisiana hot sauce or something for that extra kick. I also added some bay scallops to the mix. A last recommendation: after adding the crab meat, work the gumbo around a bit to break up the lumps and some of the okra. It thickens the soup and keeps the fishy taste of the crab down if you're like me and live in a place where very fresh seafood is hard to come by.
- chefBigNick
- 3/31/2011
Very delicious. It took about 25 minutes to make the roux which was a bit of a pain, but ultimately worth it. Used a little butter instead of the bacon and a lb of bay scallops instead of the oysters, no crab at all, but I bet the crab meat would have been great. Nonetheless, it was very delicious everybody loved it. Don't forget the good basmati rice.
- Dvora
- Washington DC
- 2/26/2011
I used this recipe as a basis - since I've been cooking for so long, I guestimate when I use ingredients. I didn't have the bacon, so I used butter with the oil, and then added some sausage later. I used a bag of frozen peppers, 2 onions and some finely chopped chicken breasts. The rest was pretty much the same. It was INCREDIBLE. I can't stop thinking about it. It's going on my list of amazing recipes.
- alorenstei
- Needham, MA
- 1/8/2011
The only thing we did differently was to add some Andouille sausage and love it. Not too think, and not too thin. Perfect for a snowy Sunday in Chicago.
- jadphoto9
- Chicago, Il
- 12/12/2010

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Reviews (30)