Chicken and Andouille Gumbo: Bringing New Orleans to New Jersey

I have a romanticized image in my mind of what New Orleans must be like - historic streetcars, antebellum architecture, the sound of jazz spilling out of every doorway, and food unlike any you have tasted anywhere in the world.  New Orleans has been at the top of my "must see" travel list for a long time.  So you can imagine my excitement (and disappointment) when I learned that: 1) my husband had to spend a week in The Big Easy for work; 2) he would be staying at the famous (and apparently haunted) Hotel Le Pavillon; and 3) I could not come.

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Even though he spent most of his time in New Orleans in a conference room - and even though it rained cats and dogs every single day of his trip - my thoughtful husband trudged out into the French Quarter to buy souvenirs for his family.  Sean received a New Orleans snow globe; Ryan received a preserved alligator head (complete with razor-sharp teeth in its still-open mouth).  I, however, received just what I asked for - a cookbook of traditional New Orleans food and some hard-to-get Cajun and Creole ingredients. 

Last week we hosted a dinner party, and in honor of my husband's recent travels, I decided to make a traditional Cajun-Style Gumbo.  New Orleans' most famous soup is perhaps the perfect metaphor for Southern Louisiana itself - a mix of cultures incorporating French, Spanish, and West African ingredients and techniques.  One theory is that gumbo is derived from a traditional french bouillabaisse - a seafood stew from the south of France.  Unlike its European cousin, many traditional Creole gumbo recipes use crawfish and rely on okra (brought to the Americas from Africa) or file powder (ground sassafras leaves) to thicken the stew.  Cajun gumbo - typically made from poultry and sausage - is spicier and relies on a dark roux as a thickener.   The secret of this type of gumbo is to cook the roux - a mixture of flour and fat that is the base for many French sauces - for as long as you can without burning it to develop a deep, complex flavor. 

This recipe for Chicken and Andouille Gumbo is adapted from Tom Fitzmorris' book "New Orleans Food" - a treasure trove of traditional New Orleans recipes designed for the home cook.  Fitzmorris has been eating, cooking, and reporting on New Orleans food for over 30 years as one of the city's resident food critics.  It was not until Hurricane Katrina struck and Fiztmorris had to leave New Orleans (and his job) temporarily behind that he was able to finish this tour de force.  It is a wonderful love-letter to his home town, celebrating the uniqueness of New Orleans cuisine and its people.  A portion of the proceeds of this book are donated to Habitat for Humanity to assist with the ongoing recovery - so that New Orleans will be as vibrant as ever when I finally get around to visiting!  Enjoy!

Chicken and Andouille Gumbo

Adapted from Tom Fitzmorris' New Orleans Food.  Stewart, Tabori and Chang (February 1, 2006)

This is a stew that really only gets better the next day - so feel free to cook it in advance and rewarm it before serving.  You can cook it in roughly 3 hours on the stove top in a dutch oven, or in a slow cooker (directions for both below). 

Ingredients:

1 whole free-range chicken (roughly 4-5lbs), cut into 8 pieces

(Need help cutting up your chicken?  Here is an excellent how-to video that will walk you through it)

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup flour

1 large onion, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

3 cloves garlic, diced

3 sprigs flat-leaf parsley, chopped

12 cups chicken stock

1/4 tsp Tabasco, or more to taste

2 bay leaves

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1 lb. andouille sausage

Kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

2 green onions, chopped

Filé powder (optional, but available online at Williams-Sonoma)

Pat dry the chicken pieces with a paper towel - this will help them to brown properly - and season with salt and pepper.  Heat 2 tbs of the oil in a large dutch oven, over medium high heat.  When the oil is hot, add the chicken pieces (in batches, if necessary) and brown them on all sides (the chicken should not cook all the way through).  Remove the chicken and set aside. 

Add the remaining oil and the flour to the pot.   Stirring constantly, cook the roux as long as you can (without burning it) - until it is a nice medium-dark color.  Then, reduce the heat and add the onion, bell pepper, garlic and parsley.  Saute until the vegetables are softened and the onions are translucent.  Add the chicken stock, and scrape up all the little brown bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. 

Now, you can proceed one of two ways - you can either return the chicken to the pot with the other ingredients and cook it on the stove-top in the dutch oven for another 2-3 hrs.  OR, you can transfer everything to a slow cooker and cook it for another 3-4 hours (high heat) or 7-8 hours (low heat).     

If using a dutch oven.  Return the chicken to the pot and add the Tabasco, bay leaves, thyme, 1 tsp of black pepper and 1 tsp of salt.  Bring to a simmer, and cook for about an hour.  Slice the sausage into disks, wrap in paper towels and microwave on medium power for 3 minutes to remove any excess fat.  Add the sausage to the gumbo and cook for another 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is tender.  Taste for seasoning, and adjust the salt and Tabasco as necessary.  When you are happy with the seasoning, you can attempt to skim off some of the fat from the stew with a large shallow spoon.  Remove the chicken from the pot and allow it to cool slightly before stripping and shredding the meat from the bones (save the bones for stock!).  Return the shredded chicken to the pot.  Add the green onions and simmer for another 5 minutes.  Serve over rice, with a pinch or two of filé powder if desired.  

If using a slow cooker.  Pour the vegetables and stock into your slow cooker.  Add the chicken, Tabasco, bay leaves, thyme, 1 tsp of black pepper and 1 tsp of salt.  Slice the sausage into disks, wrap in paper towels and microwave on medium power for 3 minutes to remove any excess fat.  Add the sausage to the gumbo and cook on high for 3-4 hours, or on low for 7-8 hours, or until the chicken is cooked through and tender.  Taste for seasoning, and adjust the salt and Tabasco as necessary.  When you are happy with the seasoning, you can attempt to skim off some of the fat from the stew with a large shallow spoon.  Remove the chicken from the pot and allow it to cool slightly before stripping and shredding the meat from the bones (save the bones for stock!).  Return the shredded chicken to the pot.  Add the green onions and simmer for another 5 minutes.  Serve over rice, with a pinch or two of filé powder if desired.