Gumbo With seafood and sausage

Serve up some spice with Kelsey’s signature gumbo. Each spoonful will bring you flavor you never thought possible.
* 4-6 servings

Ingredients

  • 10 cups low-sodium shellfish stock
  • 1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 2 stalks celery, chopped
  • 1 bell pepper, chopped
  • 12 oz. andouille or conecuh sausage, sliced into 1/3-inch rounds
  • 2 cups chopped fresh okra, in ¼-inch slices
  • 6 cloves garlic, minced
  • One 28 oz. can no-salt-added crushed tomatoes  
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 tbsp. filé powder (can substitute additional bay leaves)
  • 1 tsp. cayenne powder
  • Salt to taste
  • 2 lb. fresh, raw, medium-sized, shell-on shrimp (ideally from the Gulf)
  • 3 cups cooked brown basmati rice
  • 1 cup chopped parsley
  • 1 cup chopped green onions
  • Crystal or Tabasco hot sauce (optional)
  • Oyster crackers

Instructions

  1. Bring stock to boil, then immediately reduce to simmer. Continue to simmer while you prepare the rest of the meal.
  2. In a large Dutch oven over low-medium heat, add butter, then slowly whisk in flour. Cook roux for about 15 minutes, whisking constantly, until it is dark brown, the color of a milk chocolate bar.
  3. Reduce heat to low, then add onions, celery, bell pepper and sausage and cook for 10 more minutes, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until it is a deep, dark brown color.
  4. Add okra, garlic and tomatoes and cook for 5 more minutes.
  5. Using a large ladle, slowly add shellfish stock, letting it incorporate with the other ingredients between each addition. Continue adding stock until the gumbo is nappe in consistency — thick enough to hold a line but thin enough that it drips off the bottom of the spoon.
  6. Add bay leaves, filé and cayenne, season with salt and let simmer over low heat for at least 30 minutes or up to 6 hours.
  7. Add shrimp and let simmer for 20 minutes.
  8. Refrigerate for up to 4 days in a sealed container and warm before serving over rice. Garnish with herbs, hot sauce and crackers.