Semi-Homemade Cajun Gumbo Recipe also known as "Gumbo Recipe for Dummies" by Sandra Griffith Bihm

READ THIS RECIPE OVER THOROUGHLY BEFORE YOU EVEN THINK OF MAKING THIS GUMBO!! DON'T WAIT UNTIL YOU ARE READY TO COOK, TO READ THIS!!!!

THIS RECIPE IS FOR ABOUT A 4-5 QUART POT.
USE A BIGGER POT BECAUSE YOU WILL HAVE TO ALLOW FOR ALL OF THE BULKY INGREDIENTS

Gumbo Recipe Ingredients

2 Packs of Louisiana Fish Fry Products Brand Cajun Gumbo Mix (5 oz. package)
1 lb. Sausage (Hillshire Farms Beef Polsa Keilbasa or Beef Smoked Sausage) cut into small cubes. 1 lb. Cajun Andouille sausage (IF YOU CAN FIND IT!) cut into small cubes.
1 lb. Chicken (3-4 breasts cubbed)
2-3 Pinches Salt (Preferably Kosher Sea Salt)
2 Tsp. Crushed Ped Peppers
1 Cup Bell Peppers (chopped)
1 Cup Onions (chopped)
1 Cup Celery (chopped)
3 Cloves Garlic (Not 3 Bulbs) minced
2 lbs. Shrimp (peeled, deveined and tails off)
2 lbs. Crab Legs/Claws (preferably King Crab or large snow)
2 Tsp. Paprika
1 Tsp. Cayenne Pepper
3 Bay Leaves
1 Tbsp. Black Pepper
3/4 Cup Parsley/Cilantro (chopped)
Kitchen Bouquet
Potato (in case of emergency)



PREP: (A day ahead of time), chop one cup each of the following vegetables: onions, bell peppers and celery "The Trinity". Defrost 2 lbs. of shrimp, (if you feel like being a hero, get the fresh kind that you have to peel and devein, but we're trying to go on a quicker journey here, so just buy a frozen 2 lb. bag of cooked, peeled, and deveined shrimp and then you may only have to pull off the tails!) When you buy the crab legs, don't buy those tiny legs that you can't even suck the meat out of, because your kin folk will be talking about you every year!(smile:) Buy king crab or the large snow crab legs and then separate the legs at the joints so everyone can have a succulant piece. To help out your "WONDERFUL" kin folk, cut a slit down the center top shell of each leg (NOT LENGTHWISE) for easier breakage and less spillage on your tablecloth. (They probably will spill juice anyway!) Put each item in its own individual ziplock bag/bags until the day of cooking.

Day of cooking: Use the Louisiana Fish Fry Products brand Cajun Gumbo Mix (5 oz. package) instead of sweating out your hair making roux the old-fashioned way. THIS IS WHAT MAKES THE RECIPE FOR THIS GUMBO Soooooo EASY!!!!!!! Don't wait until the last minute to buy this mix because many stores don't carry this specific product for sale. (TRY ONLINE) Therefore, buy several packs ahead of time while you can. (THEY LAST FOR YEARS!)

WE WILL BE USING A MEDIUM FLAME IN THE BEGINNING FOR THE GUMBO POT................

1.) Start by putting the chopped up sausages in a separate skillet to pan fry. Fry, stirring often until all that grease comes out. (They may look a little crispy and that's ok) If you were lucky enough to find the adouille sausage, separately pan fry them. Drain the grease off and put all of both kinds of the sausages in the gumbo pot.

2.) Add the raw chicken cubes into the gumbo pot with the cooked sausages (keep stirring until done, don't leave unattended or else the meats will stick to the bottom of the pot and ruin the gumbo!)

3.) Season the meats with crushed red pepper and salt. (Keep stirring!)

4.) Now we'll be adding the 2 gumbo packs with water to the gumbo pot. (We won't be using the instructions on the package). Have the 4 quarts/1 gallon of water "on hand", so you won't have to figure this out later. The difference is, you'll be mixing/stirring the water and the gumbo mix in 1/3 portions in a separate measuring cup/container to ensure that we get all the lumps out and that it's a smooth mixture, then pour that 1/3 combined mixture into the gumbo pot. Repeat this procedure until all water and mix is combined and into the gumbo pot.
NOTE: I'm telling you it's better to take the time and divide the mix separately, then to dump the water and mix into the pot all at one time and try to stir around the meat to get out the lumps (it's next to impossible!)

5.) Add all the pre-chopped "Trinity" (onions, celery and bell pepper) along with the garlic. Remember, just 3 cloved sections (minced) not 3 whole bulbs! Add the shrimp and crab (stir often).

Now for the next 1 -1 1/2 hours the flame will be on low/simmer.

6.) Add cayenne pepper, paprika, bay leaves and black pepper. Now you can add chopped parsley or cilantro. (They are cousins in the herb family so it really doesn't matter. I prefer cilantro, my son prefers parsley). Stir! Stir! Stir!

7.) Add kitchen bouquet, 1 teaspoon at a time stirring after each addition until it reaches a nice chocolate tone. Do not make it overly dark or it will look too rich and fake.

8.) Now when it's all done, you taste and see if additional seasoning is required. If you followed this recipe to a "T", you shouldn't need the last ingredient, the potato. A peeled potato cut in half will absorb the over-seasonedness in a recipe. BUT IT IS NOT A CURE-ALL SOLUTION AND IT WON'T MAKE IT PERFECT! Leave the potato in about 30 mins. and then take it out. Before serving TAKE OUT THE BAY LEAVES!! (It's something about the bay leaves that they don't keep well if they stay in longer then necessary).

Usually served over rice. ENJOY!!!!