Amazingly delicious and flavorful, this Shrimp and Chicken Gumbo is loaded with shrimp, tender chicken and lots of vibrant veggies. It's such a winner!
Prep Time3 hourshrs4 minutesmins
Cook Time3 hourshrs4 minutesmins
Course: Main
Cuisine: Creole
Calories:
Author: Chris Scheuer
Ingredients
2poundsboneless chicken breastcut into bite size pieces
2teaspoonsCajun seasoning
1 ½cupsall-purpose flour
1cupcanola oil or other mild flavored oil
1poundAndouille* sausageif you can't find Andouille, use your favorite smoked sausage. (I like to use Andouille chicken sausage.)
3medium onionspeeled and cut in ½-inch pieces
4medium bell pepperscored and cut in ½-inch pieces
4large cloves garlicminced
6cupslow sodium chicken broth
2teaspoonskosher salt
½teaspoonfreshly ground black pepper
2poundsshrimpmedium or large, shelled and deveined
green onionsscallions, thinly sliced for garnish
fresh parsleyfinely chopped, for garnishing
Instructions
The night before, or at least several hours before starting the gumbo, sprinkle the chicken breast with Cajun seasoning. Massage the meat to incorporate the seasoning. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Preheat oven to 375˚F.
Add the flour to a large heavy-duty Dutch oven cook over medium heat on the stovetop. It will take about 5-10 minutes for it to begin to toast. Stir flour continuously. You'll notice a nutty aroma first, then flour will start to smoke just a bit and turn a pale golden brown color. As soon as you see the smoke, remove pot from burner.
Add oil and stir until mixture is nice and smooth. Cover Dutch oven and transfer to the preheated oven for about 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. The time will vary a bit, depending on your oven. I like the roux to be a deep golden brown color, darker than peanut butter but not as dark as chocolate. You can go a bit darker for more intense flavor, if desired.
When roux is the right color, transfer pot from the oven back to the stovetop. With heat on medium, add sliced sausage, peppers and onions. Cook, stirring occasionally for 2-3 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another 30 seconds, continuing to stir.
Add 2 cups of the chicken stock, salt and pepper. Stir well. Slowly add the remainder of the broth, stirring continuously. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes, uncovered, or until peppers and onions are tender.
Add chicken, stir to combine, then return gumbo to a boil. Add shrimp, stir, cover pot and turn off the heat. Let gumbo sit, covered for 10 minutes before serving. The chicken will finish cooking and the shrimp will cook perfectly during this 10 minute resting time. Taste and season, if needed.
Serve in bowls over jasmine rice. Garnish with sliced green onions and chopped parsley.
Notes
Notes: ~ * Andouille sausage is a spicy smoked sausage originally made in France. It's common in many Cajun dishes as well and is classically made from pork. Now days you can find chicken Andouille which tends to be lower in fat. ~ The recipe's been tweaked a bit over the years, utilizing beautiful bell peppers in hues of yellow, red and orange in lieu of the plain green peppers in the original recipe. Cook's Illustrated taught me the "oven roux" method, eliminating a lot of tedious stovetop stirring, a traditional step in classic gumbo recipes. ~ The gumbo can make it a day in advance and rewarmed before serving. We always comment that the flavor just keeps getting better and better as the gumbo ingredients have time to make friends (aka melding). ~ This makes a large pot of gumbo. Feel free to cut the recipe in half, but you may be disappointed when you go to the fridge and find out that someone's snitched the last little bit! Serves 12-14 with jasmine rice (basmati is great with this too!)