Thread by @JoePCunningham

I am once again asking you to stop putting tomatoes in gumbo recipes. New Orleans is a place of sin and damnation and such affronts to God should stay there.

A couple of requests for a recipe have now come up. Very well.

1 pk andouille sausage
1 medium yellow onion; finely chopped
3 stalks celery; finely chopped
1 large bell pepper; finely chopped
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts and/or thighs
2 tsp. minced garlic; heaping
3 bottles Beer

1 c. vegetable oil
1.5 c. all-purpose flour
3 bay leaves
1 tbsp. salt
1 tbsp. Cajun seasoning
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
64 oz. chicken stock (heat half in microwave until boiling)
2 tbsp. Vegetable Oil
2 c. Frozen Okra; chopped
1 c. Rice
2 c. Water

1. Chop all vegetables finely. Slice the sausage into no more than 1/4 inch discs. Cut the chicken into bite-sized chunks.

2. Start drinking beer.

3. Put chicken stock in microwave, heat it, then set beside the dutch oven. Set on medium heat and add 1 cup of oil. Coat the bottom of the dutch oven. Sprinkle in the flour.

3. Start whisking the flour into the oil and don't stop even for one second. That's how long it takes to mess this up.

4. Get the roux as dark as you'd like it to be. Darker is better, but there is a fine line between dark and burned. Burned is unsuable.

5. Add the holy trinity (onions, celery, and bell pepper*) and keep stirring. The chilled vegetables will stop the roux from cooking.

(*Most people use green bell pepper, but don't be afraid of color and different flavors. I love using red and yellow bell pepper, too.)

6. Add the seasonings, garlic, and bay leaves. Continue stirring.

7. Add the andouille sausage until cooked through, then add the cubed chicken until the outsides are cooked. Your kitchen should already start smelling amazing.

8. CONTROVERSIAL INGREDIENT: Okra. If you've got some cut-up okra, freeze it the night before. Then, the day of the gumbo, add it, still frozen, to the mix during this phase of the cooking. Cooking it while still frozen will hinder some of that sliminess that cooked okra gets.

9. Pour in the heated stock first and stir until the stock and the roux are fully incorporated. Then, slowly add the remaining stock.

10. Bring the gumbo to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Let it stay this way for hours. The longer the better.

NOTE: Gumbo is at its best served the next day.

11. Serve over rice and enjoy your weekend.

Some will say that we are now past Gumbo Season. While this is true in the technical sense, Lent provides a wonderful opportunity to make and serve seafood gumbo.

If you have the containers to do so, you can freeze gumbo, as well. Three months if it is seafood gumbo, six months if it is just chicken (or duck) and sausage. I recommend freezing in individual portions (1 cup or so per container) so you don't have to reheat it all at once.

Living among the Cajuns has also taught me one irrefutable truth: You can serve a scoop of potato salad IN your bowl of gumbo (along with the rice). The texture and smoothness of the potato salad complement the gumbo well.