South Louisiana Gumbo

[Mike Henderson]

Over Christmas I got together with my family and my Cajun brother-in-law made gumbo. I took pictures and put up a tutorial (http://www.mikes-woodwork.com/Gumbo.htm) on my web site.

If you've ever wanted to make gumbo, or just wondered how it's made, check out the tutorial.

Mike

[Bonnie Campbell]

That looks delicious! Another good dish is ettoufee, mmmmmm good!

[Bruce Page]

Mmm, Mmm, that looks good!

[Eric DeSilva]

Looks great. Makes me wish dinner wasn't so far away...

I'm curious about the dry roux. I've always gone the oil/flour "roux-te." (Sorry fer the lousy pun.) Seems easy to get the lumps out that way, and they don't tend to form once other liquids are added--do you have issues with flour lumps with the dry route?

[Mike Henderson]

Looks great. Makes me wish dinner wasn't so far away...

I'm curious about the dry roux. I've always gone the oil/flour "roux-te." (Sorry fer the lousy pun.) Seems easy to get the lumps out that way, and they don't tend to form once other liquids are added--do you have issues with flour lumps with the dry route?
No, just add hot liquid slowly and stir while adding it. Comes out very smooth.

I still do the oil roux, also. But maybe I'll try the dry roux route (say that ten times fast) next time.

Mike

[Steve Schlumpf]

Mike - thanks for the tutorial! I saved it to my favorites and will have to give it a try! I used to live right on the coast of southern Alabama and seafood gumbo was always a favorite of mine!

[Jason Roehl]

Aw, man, you guys are killing me here. We used to have 2 different Cajun restaurants here in town (not at the same time) that were awesome. The first was run by the wife of a state senator (may have been a rep at the time), but she shut it down partway through eventually losing her battle with cancer. That one had an awesome lunch buffet with all kinds of goodies on it, but I especially remember the bread pudding with whiskey sauce for dessert. The second place had an awesome crawfish etouffee (only dish I ever had there, it was so good I never bothered to try anything else), but I think the owner made a mistake when she changed it to adults only so she could have a bar there (didn't have the room for a separate bar area). That's also where I discovered Chipotle Tobasco sauce (major part of my yearly budget, I think).

I'm gonna have to go talk nice to the wifey, maybe she'll make some of those dishes soon...

I love Cajun food. Especially when it's hot. :D

[Kevin Arceneaux]

Zatarain's makes a mix already that is really easy to use as does Louisiana Fish fry.

If you really want to do it right, you have to use some bacon grease. It makes it all that much better.

[Mike Henderson]

I love Cajun food. Especially when it's hot. :D
I grew up in and around Cajun country and all we ate was "local" food. But it was not made especially hot. It did have seasoning (pepper) but not to the level I see Cajun food cooked to today. IMO, when it's seasoned excessively hot, you lose the other tastes in the dish. Like many things in life, it's a balance.

Mike

[Jason Roehl]

Mike, I don't necessarily care for food that is just hot. I like good flavor, too, and I've had plenty of both. My tolerance for heat is probably higher than a lot of people's, so a lot of heat doesn't necessarily drown out other flavors for me like it might for other mere mortals. ;) I've found that as I get older and can better tolerate the heat on my lips and tongue, it's farther down the system that doesn't do so well...:eek:

[Tom Veatch]

Born and raised in Louisiana and have never believed that eating should be a painful experience. Spicy is OK, but when the only taste sensation is pain, it's not food.

[Jason Roehl]

Yeah, but capsaicin is good for you, and the endorphin rush afterwards is kinda cool, too. :D And, anything that doesn't kill me only makes me stronger. :D

[Dennis Peacock]

Yeah, but capsaicin is good for you, and the endorphin rush afterwards is kinda cool, too. :D And, anything that doesn't kill me only makes me stronger. :D

I like the way you think Jason.!!!!! :D

[Dennis Peacock]

Thanks for the tutorial Mike..!!!! This will be on my menu for fixing in the next 2 weeks.!!!!

[Steven DeMars]

I grew up in and around Cajun country and all we ate was "local" food. But it was not made especially hot. It did have seasoning (pepper) but not to the level I see Cajun food cooked to today. IMO, when it's seasoned excessively hot, you lose the other tastes in the dish. Like many things in life, it's a balance.

Mike

Somewhere along the line non-Cajuns have decided to make Cajun food hot . . . That is NOT authentic Cajun food.

Anyone can make something hot, but taste good is another . . .

Steve

[Rob Cunningham]

Thanks for the tutorial Mike. I had my first gumbo earlier this year at a class at the Philadelphia Furniture Workshop. Alan Turner's wife made it for our lunch and it was fantastic. I've been meaning to try and make some since then.

[Eric DeSilva]

Somewhere along the line non-Cajuns have decided to make Cajun food hot . . . That is NOT authentic Cajun food.

In all fairness, the popularity of Cajun and Creole food outside of LA can probably be attributed largely to Paul Prudhomme and his cookbook "Louisiana Kitchen"--at a minimum, its hard to question his credentials as a true LA cook. I was once a chile-head and my tolerance for "hot" is pretty high... That said, full strength recipes from that book--at least on the Cajun side--tend to be pretty dang spicy.

[Bob Rufener]

The gumbo looks great. I also took the opportunity to check out Mike's website. If you haven't viewed it, I recommend it. He has created many outstanding projects in furniture, turnings, carvings, etc. http://www.mikes-woodwork.com/mikes_projects09.htm Mike, you are indeed a master.

[Mike Henderson]

The gumbo looks great. I also took the opportunity to check out Mike's website. If you haven't viewed it, I recommend it. He has created many outstanding projects in furniture, turnings, carvings, etc. http://www.mikes-woodwork.com/mikes_projects09.htm Mike, you are indeed a master.
Thanks for your very kind words, Bob. The link you gave is to the second page of my web site. To start at the beginning, use this link
http://www.mikes-woodwork.com/mikes_projects.htm

Mike

[Steven DeMars]

In all fairness, the popularity of Cajun and Creole food outside of LA can probably be attributed largely to Paul Prudhomme and his cookbook "Louisiana Kitchen"--at a minimum, its hard to question his credentials as a true LA cook. I was once a chile-head and my tolerance for "hot" is pretty high... That said, full strength recipes from that book--at least on the Cajun side--tend to be pretty dang spicy.

So thats who did it ! ! !

Well, I'm 100% Cajun, my grandparents could barley speak English . . . My Mother and father spoke Cajun French in our home . . . Have eaten many, many, many bowls of Gumbo from countless Cajun home kitchens . . . Filet, but no Hot Stuff . . . . lots of Filet . . . Filet Gumbo . . . Try it with Filet . .

[Eric DeSilva]

So thats who did it ! ! !

Ya made me go check... For his seafood file gumbo, he calls for 1/2 t ea. black and white pepper, 1.5 t cayenne pepper, and 1 T tabasco. For 4 adult servings.

Then again, given Paul's size, that probably really serves 6 adults...

[Neal Clayton]

Then again, given Paul's size, that probably really serves 6 adults...

haha, that's exactly what i was thinking.

and whatever paul didn't spread on his own, emeril did for him.

i'm another new orleans transplant. hot is all fine and good, but i don't overdo it either. certain things are supposed to be hot and certain things aren't. boiled seafood is supposed to be hot, soup and rice dishes, not as hot.

but that depends on the individual too. those of us who grew up down there have a tolerance for red pepper, so it takes alot to make me sweat. other people think popeye's chicken is too hot.

c'est la vie

[Bonnie Campbell]

Popeye's spicy chicken isn't to hot here in Natchez. But had some up in Minneapolis that was so hot the dogs couldn't even eat it!

[Paul Greathouse]

Although you can't tell from my last name, I was born and raised in southwest Louisiana. My Cajun side comes from my mother, her maiden name was Hebert. Thats pronounced A-Bear not He-Bert.

I've found it surprising that you don't have to travel far to get away from the unique cooking that we have down here. I have eaten as close to home as Jackson, Miss., Houston, Tx., and Monroe, La. and found the cooking to be bland compared to what I am used to.

I don't like hot for the sake of hot either, but we do tend to be accustomed to more pepper and seasoning here than in other area's.

My wife cooks delicious gumbo and ettoufe. She and my sister cooked my grandmothers shrimp gumbo recipe under the watchful eye of my mother last weekend for a family gathering we had.

My favorite is my wifes crawfish ettoufe recipe but her wild duck or goose gumbo is a close second. She always puts a chicken in the gumbo for those that don't like the wild taste of the duck/goose.

[Mike Henderson]

Wow - given all the comments here, I'm going to take pictures next time I make Jambalaya. It's much easier and quicker to make than gumbo and it's another delicious south Louisiana dish.

There's so many different versions of Jambalaya, I'm sure we'll get people posting their recipes.

Mike

[Kevin Arceneaux]

This thread got me going, going to make a shrimp ettoufe today.

There are 2 types of Jambalaya - made with a roux is Cajun, with tomato is Creole.

I also need to make some eggplant rice dressing.

K-Paul really messed thing up. People think you season the hell out of something, blacken it and it is good.

[Rob Bourgeois]

Andouille can only come from LaPlace. Its the Andouille Capital of the World. /joking...however the other stuff just doesnt touch the orginal.

I grew up in LaPlace, I still go back just to load up on Andouille. Nothing I have come across yet has even come close to Bailey's or Jacob's. Even my home made stuff still is missing something which I suspect to be their smoking methods.

[Dan Mages]

NOW you got my hungry!! I have some turkey andouille in the freezer and nice meaty smoked turkey leg in the fridge, so I might have to make a pot on Sunday... And thank you forgetting the file powder. Too many people either don't know about this step or bother to do it... but it makes all of the difference!

Dan

[Neal Clayton]

Popeye's spicy chicken isn't to hot here in Natchez. But had some up in Minneapolis that was so hot the dogs couldn't even eat it!

i'm wanna say i read somewhere that the popeye's method is just diluted crab boil. of course if you didn't dilute the crab boil enough, it would be nice and toasty ;).

[Steve Vaughn]

Wow - given all the comments here, I'm going to take pictures next time I make Jambalaya. It's much easier and quicker to make than gumbo and it's another delicious south Louisiana dish.

There's so many different versions of Jambalaya, I'm sure we'll get people posting their recipes.

Mike

Please do. I am going to order some andouille this week and make some gumbo real soon using your recipe. My next door neighbor grew up in Nawlins. I'll bet he would like a bowl (or 2).

:D

Steve