Served over freshly steamed rice, it's topped with green onions, file (ground sassafras leaves), and a delicious hard boiled egg—saturated with gumbo. My Uncle Ken first learned to add hard-boiled eggs to gumbo from his "Bayou buddies" in Louisiana. The eggs are a perfect addition to your gumbo!
Gumbo most likely originated in Southern Louisiana in the 18th century. Made with a dark roux and the Trinity (celery, onion, bell pepper) or the Holy Trinity (add garlic as well), gumbo combines ingredients and culinary practices of several cultures, including: West African, French, Spanish, German and the Choctaw Indian.
My secret to rich gumbo is a dark roux! It takes about 45 minutes of cooking time to achieve the right deep, rich color. To prevent my roux from burning, I lay a Hershey's milk chocolate bar near my cast iron skillet while cooking—periodically matching the roux's color to the the chocolate bar.
Click on the photo above (no enhancements) and take a closer look at the wonderful "chocolate"color!
- Replaced Andouille sausage with smoked sausage. Andouille is too spicy for some of my family members!
- For additional flavor, replaced the chicken broth with beef stock
- Reduced oil by one tablespoon
- Removed skin from chicken thighs
- Cut red pepper by 1/2 tablespoon
- Added hard boiled farm eggs
- To save time, I have my butcher prepare the chicken
- Allow yourself a day to prep, prepare and cook this gumbo—it's worth it!
- Use a cast iron skillet to make the roux. Remove the roux from the skillet to stop the cooking process.
- This gumbo is perfect for large gatherings!
- Usually served over rice
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