Chicken and Sausage Gumbo
- Total Time
- 1 hour 30 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:6 or more servings
- 1chicken, 3 to 4 pounds, cut into serving pieces
- Salt to taste if desired
- 1teaspoon finely ground black pepper
- 1¼teaspoons finely ground white pepper
- 1teaspoon powdered mustard
- 1½teaspoons cayenne pepper
- 1½teaspoons paprika
- 1teaspoon granulated garlic
- 1teaspoon file powder, optional
- 1½cups flour
- 2½cups corn, peanut or vegetable oil
- ¾cup finely chopped onion
- ¾cup finely chopped celery
- ¾cup finely chopped green pepper
- 9cups chicken broth
- 1¾cups chopped or thinly sliced smoked sausage such as andouille or kielbasa
- 1bay leaf
- 1teaspoon finely minced fresh garlic
- 2cups cooked rice
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
1611 calories; 131 grams fat; 17 grams saturated fat; 1 gram trans fat; 83 grams monounsaturated fat; 24 grams polyunsaturated fat; 57 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 7 grams sugars; 50 grams protein; 2040 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
Put chicken pieces in a bowl. Blend salt, peppers, mustard, cayenne pepper, paprika, granulated garlic and file powder. Rub four teaspoons of the mixture over the chicken. Set rest of spice mixture aside.
- Step 2
Put the flour in a bowl and add two teaspoons of the reserved spice mixture. Blend well.
- Step 3
Heat a 10-inch skillet and add the oil. Dredge the chicken pieces in the flour mixture to coat well, shaking off excess. Reserve the leftover flour.
- Step 4
When the oil is hot and almost smoking, add the chicken pieces skin side down. Cook about two minutes on one side until golden brown. Turn and cook about three minutes on the second side until nicely browned. Do this in batches so as to not crowd the pan. Drain thoroughly on paper towels.
- Step 5
Pour off all but one cup of fat from the skillet. Heat this oil over high heat until it is almost smoking and add the reserved seasoned flour. Stir rapidly and constantly with a wire whisk until the mixture is golden brown. Do not burn. This is a roux.
- Step 6
Add the chopped onion, celery and green pepper to the roux and stir to blend well. Remove from the heat.
- Step 7
Meanwhile, bring the broth to a boil in a large saucepan.
- Step 8
Add about half a cup of the roux mixture to the broth, stirring rapidly with the whisk. Continue adding the roux mixture, half a cup at a time, always stirring rapidly and constantly.
- Step 9
Add the smoked sausage and stir. Cook over high heat, stirring often from the bottom, about 15 minutes.
- Step 10
Add the chicken pieces, bay leaf and finely minced fresh garlic. Cook about 40 minutes, on medium-low, stirring occasionally.
- Step 11
Remove the chicken pieces. Cut the meat from the bones and discard the bones. Cut the chicken into cubes or shred it and add it back to the pot. Serve with white rice or potato salad (or both) spooned into the gumbo.
Tip
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Edward
Bones add flavour and gelatine and help prevent overcooking. They are easy to remove once the meat is cooked.
Cancer
Plese do not cook file. You don't cook File. Period! Google it.
Suzanne
I usually use boneless chicken thighs and breasts. Much simpler than having to debone the chicken after it is cooked. Really a good recipe otherwise.
Matt
A roux trick from John Besh: Get your oil quite hot, almost to the smoke point, and then toss in the flower and stir like crazy. You will get a milk chocolate colored roux in about 7-10 minutes of constant, thorough stirring or whisking, then toss in the onions, which will cool the roux so it's no longer in danger of burning, and as they sweat and release their sugars, the sugars will caramelize and turn the roux a dark mahogany color with a glossy sheen. Add the other aromatics and proceed.
twwren
File powder is always added at the end of the process, generally to individual bowls just before serving. I question whether adding file powder to the spice mix at the beginning of the process is in Mr. Prudhomme's original recipe?
David
Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen has a photo of black roux along with the commentary "it takes practice to make a black roux without burning it, but it really is the right color roux for a gumbo."
SCK
I've never seen (or eaten) a gumbo that didn't have chopped green onions and parsley added just at the end. It give a fresh taste to the hearty gumbo. File' doesn't reheat well and that's the reason it's often added to individual bowls.
Kimberly
You’re so wrong! I was born and raised in New Orleans and have always put a scoop of potato salad in the bowl with my gumbo. It’s very common here.
Margaux Laskey, Staff Editor
I made this using our leftover turkey from Thanksgiving, and all agreed it was awesome. I just added the 4 teaspoons of spice mixture in step 1 to the flour I used to make the roux in step 4. I shredded the turkey and added it in step 10. I also used kielbasa in lieu of andouille b/c I have 2 toddlers who aren't keen on spicy just yet.
Michael McAfee
I roasted the chicken with the dry spices for 30-40 minutes instead of frying. I made a roux of flour and 1/2 cup butter for 15-20 minutes before adding the vegetables. This avoided the added trouble of deep frying and the chicken was tender once added to the gumbo.
Deena
This is my absolute favorite gumbo recipe. I have made this for 20 years, my recipe page shows it! Easy and the best!!
John
Recently visited New Orleans and was inspired to try making gumbo on my own. Tried this recipe and hands down, first time out, this was better than any gumbo I had there! Instead of whole chicken I used 8 thighs. Good choice - most tender meat and good fat for roux. Confused that recipe didn’t say how to use remaining spices, so just tossed in with chicken at end, and tasted great. I included 1.5 tsp salt. Might add more red pepper for kick.
Margaux Laskey, Staff Editor
This is how it ran in print in 1983, although it's quite possible there are other versions out there.
twwren
And, I recommend that you use Chef Boyardee rather than Marcia Hazen for your Italian menus.
alternative spices
Be prudent with the addition of green peppers. Although they are part of the Holy Trinity (onion, celery and green bell pepper) of Cajun and Creole cooking, they can "turn" the gumbo so that it takes on an odd taste if not eaten immediately. As gumbo is even better the day after, take it easy. A little green pepper for seasoning is sufficient.
Bledsoeo
This receipe makes a wonderful roux. I have tried it as written and also with fresh finely ground fennel seed instead of file.I actually prefer the fennel version - it still has a nice herbal complexity, but I think the flavor is a bit richer.
AM
Amaaaazing recipe! Restaurant quality! I used boneless chicken thighs and substituted the fresh green peppers with canned green chile peppers because that’s what I had and it was still delicious. If you love crab I added some frozen crab legs at the same time as the sausage and it added that extra layer of flavor. Will make again!
NapaCasual
I used about 1/8 or 1/4 cup of oil and maybe 1/4 c of flour. Instead of the cup of oil and flour. It was great!
Napa Casual
And added 2T tapioca with the broth
Napa Casual
It was great. I'm health oriented so I did not do the full roux step but added 1/8 to 1/4 cup flour to the remaining 1/8 cup oil and browned it a bit. Then added the holy trinity to stop the roux. Cooked for a few minutes then added garlic til fragrant. Then added the broth chicken and browned sausage. In the last 15 I added frozen okra and what was left of the spice.
Ingrid
Made again today. Followed Matt’s excellent advice. Added the onions to cool the roux. It did take me about 20 minutes to get the lovely chocolate color, however.
spices burn easily
If you’re using the dredging flour with the spice mixture in it, the granulated garlic is probably going to burn when it hits the hot pan. We had to start the roux over because the spices in the flour turned black. If I made again, I would reserve the spice until the roux was almost where you wanted it. Otherwise, delish.
Theresa
Well, I modified this heavily and that might have been my mistake. First, I just couldn't take the idea of using dredging floor that had raw chicken on it. And I wanted seafood not chicken anyway. I used 1 c of the seasoned flour to 1 c of the oil. Vegetable oil probably wasn't a good choice as the roux didn't want to cook and it stayed very soupy. I wanted the aromatics to be cooked and not added raw so put them into the oil. That was a big mistake.
John Z
Wonderful recipe that I followed to a "T" with stellar results. But will definitely make two changes with my next effort: first, substitute andouille sausage for the prescribed smoked or kielbasa; second and more importantly, add the file at the dining table to ready-to-eat servings. As mentioned in several comments, the addition of file in cooking did not lend itself well to reheating.
Kitchenlogic
I've made this recipe for years and make it at least once a year.
Tom B
This recipe is absolutely outstanding. I used 7 chicken legs and removed the skin from half of them. Definitely takes longer thank 1.5 hours, but worth every minute. Also, I added the hot stock to the roux one ladleful at a time, not the other way around. Will absolutely be making this again, and again, and again.
BLT9
I’ve made this many times now. it has become my “go to” gumbo recipe after trying at least a dozen. When I make this I swap the vegetable oil for olive oil and reduce the quantity of oil to 1 cup. It makes a gorgeous roux. I probably triple the amount garlic and spices. I often use Penzey’s Cajun spice instead of mixing my own, but I always add extra cayenne and smoked paprika.
Rev John Lindner
Add some shelled shrimp towards the end of cooking, half to 3/4 pound with out the shells.
big Hit
Add chicken andouille sausage from traders Joe’s Add shrimp and parsley at the end Cook roux in oven 325 for an hour in wrought iron skillet. Stir ever 15 minutes. Roux freezes. Make ahead Half the amount of oil called for in this recipe. Google or utube roux to get right measurements Use chicken thighs.leg and breasts with skin, or rotisserie chick. 1/2 price at night.also use leftover Turkey
big Hit
See notes I added but went public. Listed starting with buy andouille sausage at Trader Joes
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