If you are in the mood for a hearty and thick soup, this chicken gumbo recipe is the perfect one for you. It is very ideal especially on cold winter nights. It will help keep you warm and at the same time the goodness of this soup will make you ask for another serving. It is a real comfort food.

A Warning

You have to be warned though that cooking this southern food is very time-consuming. But it is good food that you are seeking, and good food takes time in order to release all the flavors of the ingredients. As soon as you and you and your loved ones taste the goodness of this soup, the wait is worthwhile.

How to Cook

Here is the procedure for the chicken gumbo recipe:

Ingredients

• Butter
• Flour for coating
• Dark meat of the chicken, diced
• Pork sausage, cubed
• Vegetable oil
• Celery
• Onion
• Green bell pepper
• Oregano, garlic, thyme, file powder (thickening agent), cayenne pepper, bay leaves
• Parsley and spring onion, chopped

Procedure

1)      The first step in cooking this chicken gumbo recipe is to coat the chicken with flour and then fry in butter until brown. Remove from pan and set aside.

2)      Fry the cubed pork sausage in the same pan. Remove from pan and set aside. Do not remove the oil from the sausage in the pan. That is where the flavor of this recipe will come from, apart from the other ingredients.

3)      Make a roux. A roux is equal part of butter and flour and it is used for thickening. But in this chicken gumbo recipe, oil will be used instead of butter so it will not burn easily. So add some oil in the pan and add the flour and whisk them well together. Set the fire to the very lowest and allow it to simmer for about three hours. Do not be afraid because the roux will not get burned.

4)      There are three degrees of roux: a blond roux is a combination of flour and butter but allowed to cook for a short time only. There is not much of a flavor in this degree. A brown roux is allowed to cook for a while so the flavor can be released. The last degree is the dark brown roux which is the most flavorful of all and it is cooked for hours. This dark brown roux is what we are trying to achieve in this chicken gumbo recipe.

5)      After three hours of simmering the roux over low heat, you can now add the celery, onion, and green bell pepper. Stir them together.

6)      Add the spices: oregano, garlic, thyme, file, cayenne pepper, and bay leaves.

7)      Add diced tomatoes.

8)      Add chicken stock and boil it for another 45 minutes with the lid a little open so the soup will reduce and have a thick consistency.

9)      Now add the chicken and sausage.

10)   Lastly, add shrimps and cook until the shrimps turn pink.  Season to taste.

11)   Scoop a portion into a bowl and top it off with parsley and green onions.