Johnson Family Gumbo

In my family we have many variations of gumbo. It really depends on which part of Louisiana you grew up in, as to what your gumbo looks like or what is in it. This receipt is a comb of several family recipes. I took what I loved from each one and added it together. This turned out fantastic. I am very happy with it, and it will be our go to gumbo. There are many things you can do to make it a little fresher. Homemade broth, fresh okra, homemade stewed tomatoes and so on. I hope you love it as much as we do. I know that in many parts of the country and world you will not be able to find the same ingredients but if you look online you can find replacements that may work just fine.

Ingredients:

• 1-pound andouille sausage cut into 1-1/2 pieces
• ½ cup flour
• ¼ cup bacon drippings
• ¼ cup butter
• 2 onions chopped
• 2 bell peppers chopped
• 3 stalk celery

Spices:

• 5 cloves garlic minced
• 1-14oz can stewed tomatoes
• 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• ½ tsp pepper white
• 4 bouillon cubes
• 2 tsp thyme
• 2 tsp Tony Chachere’s seasoning or other Cajun seasoning
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper (leave out to reduce the spiciness)
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 bay leaf

Additional Ingredients:

• 48 ounces plus more bone broth
• ¼ pound smoked ham hock
• 1-pound shrimp, cleaned, deveined and shells removed
• 1-pound crawfish tails cleaned and deshelled
• 16oz frozen Okra slices
• 1 cup green onion sliced
• Crystals hot sauce for extra heat
• Cooked white rice
• Additional Salt to taste

Directions:

1. Using a 6-quart add chunked sliced sausage to the pot. Cook until the sausage has a nice brown crust on it. You will not want to cook this on too high of a heat to prevent burning. Watch it closely.
2. Once the sausage is crispy remove it from the pot and set it aside. Leave the drippings in the pot.
3. Next add flour to the pot. Turn your heat to a medium heat. Whisk the flour until it becomes the color of peanut butter this is the process of creating a roux. You must watch the flour close or it will burn fast.
4. Next quickly whisk in the bacon drippings and the butter into the browned flour. This will create a thin paste. You will need to continue watching closely. The paste should start to darken up. You will continue to cook your roux until it becomes a chocolate brown color. The color is important because it adds flavor.
5. Next add the bell pepper, onion, and celery and mix well into the roux. Continue to cook until the vegetables soften. Next add the garlic. Cook until the garlic becomes fragrant. Next add stewed tomatoes and the Worcestershire sauce. Follow that by adding in the bouillon cubes and all of the spices and mix well.
6. Next add in 48 ounces of bone broth and the smoked ham hock and add the sausage back in. Bring the pot to a boil. Once the pot is at a rolling bowl. Turn the heat to a low simmer and cover the pot with a lid. Cook for two hours.
7. Next add shrimp, crawfish, and okra. Cook for 30 minutes. After the 30 minutes turn the heat off until you are ready to serve, then heat your gumbo up to desired heat. Add green onions and additional salt to taste.
8. Serve over ½ cup of cooked white rice and top with additional sliced green onions and Crystals hot sauce for additional heat.