Crab and Shrimp Gumbo with Okra

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Description

My grandma gave me a famous Louisiana cookbook (if you are a Louisiana native, you know what I’m talking about) when I was a teenager. I watched her make famous-around-town gumbo so many times as a kid. I took the book’s “second edition” recipe and what I learned from her and came up with my own hybrid of the two. My daughters have asked me for my recipe, so here is my best recollection of it.

Ingredients

  • ½ cup canola oil
  • ½ cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 pound chopped okra
  • 1 large white onion, finely chopped
  • 3 stalks celery, finely chopped
  • 1 medium green bell pepper, finely chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
  • 3 tablespoons canola oil
  • 6 cups water, or more to taste
  • 1 teaspoon gumbo file powder, or to taste
  • ½ teaspoon Creole seasoning (such as Tony Chachere’s®), or to taste
  • ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
  • ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste
  • ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
  • 2 leaf (blank)s bay leaves, or more to taste
  • 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • 2 (6 ounce) cans lump crabmeat
  • 4 cups hot cooked rice

Instructions

  1. Heat 1/2 cup oil in a large stockpot over medium-low heat until a pinch of flour sprinkled into the oil just begins to bubble. Whisk in the flour to form a thick paste the consistency of cake frosting. Continue cooking
  2. whisking constantly
  3. until the flour is very dark brown and the color of melted chocolate
  4. about 45 minutes.
  5. Reduce heat to low and add okra
  6. onion
  7. celery
  8. bell pepper
  9. and garlic. Cook
  10. stirring constantly
  11. until onions are translucent and veggies are cooked
  12. 6 to 8 minutes. Add diced tomatoes
  13. cover
  14. and bring to a simmer.
  15. Meanwhile
  16. heat 3 tablespoons oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add okra and cook
  17. stirring constantly
  18. until tender and no longer stringy or slimy
  19. about 10 minutes. Add to simmering roux mixture and simmer over low heat
  20. stirring frequently
  21. 3 to 5 minutes.
  22. Add 6 cups water plus file powder
  23. Creole seasoning
  24. salt
  25. pepper
  26. cayenne
  27. and bay leaves. Cook
  28. uncovered
  29. tasting a few times as it cooks to adjust spices and adding more water if necessary
  30. until gumbo is as thick as you would like
  31. at least 2 to 3 hours. The longer it cooks
  32. the better.
  33. Stir in shrimp and crabmeat; cook for 15 more minutes. Ladle gumbo over hot rice in serving bowls.

Prep Time: 20 mins

Cook Time: 3 hrs 15 mins

Total Time: 3 hrs 35 mins

Servings: 8

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