Louisiana Seafood Gumbo

Adapted from Emeril’s Classic Seafood Gumbo

Made with ingredients readily available to land-lubbers everywhere, this classic southern seafood gumbo will transport your taste buds to Louisiana.

When my sister and I went to New Orleans last year, one of my culinary goals on the trip was to have some good gumbo. I tasted three different gumbos while I was there and the best one by far was Emeril’s gumbo. We walked to Emeril’s restaurant since it was just a few blocks down from our hotel and I ordered the gumbo. It was SO good! I savored every single spoonful of that fabulous gumbo. I can’t remember what my sister ordered, but I remember she was not as pleased with her selection. After I finished my gumbo, we ended up going a few doors down to The Blind Pelican so she could have their oysters (which she had had there the first day we arrived in New Orleans and absolutely fell in love with) … oh and so we could get Blind Pelican t-shirts. Because we really really loved the Blind Pelican. Emeril’s place was nice, but not a place you could let your hair down, too elegant and fancy to be comfortable. The Blind Pelican, on the other hand, felt like “our watering hole” … the sort of bar/restaurant where you just feel at home, even if you are a thousand miles (or more) from where you live.

Anyway, I vowed to try to replicate Emeril’s gumbo when I got back home. I looked up his recipe and I’ve been staring at it ever since. It calls for things we just don’t have here in middle America like gumbo crabs, fresh oysters and shrimp. And shrimp stock! How would you make shrimp stock without any fresh shrimp? I substituted frozen and canned seafood for fresh and water with some fish sauce for the shrimp stock. My version is not (cannot be) as good as Emeril’s because fresh seafood is something you just can’t replicate, but it IS dang good for middle America where there isn’t a fresh shrimp, crab or oyster in sight, like ever. Yes, we have fresh water fish, but the best seafood restaurant we have here is Red Lobster. There just isn’t anything else. Oh how I miss that fabulous New Orleans seafood!

This gumbo takes some time to make, but most of that time is mostly hands off, “let it cook” time. It is amazing how much the taste transforms in that hour that the gumbo is cooking.

Louisiana Seafood Gumbo

★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
• Yield: About 2 1/2 quarts of gumbo 1x

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Ingredients

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• 3 Tablespoons butter
• 3 Tablespoons olive oil
• 6 Tablespoons flour
• 1 1/2 cups finely chopped onions
• 3/4 cup finely chopped bell or mini sweet peppers
• 3/4 cup finely chopped celery
• 6 – 8 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped fine
• 1 12-oz. bottle of amber beer (I used Fat Tire)
• 4 cups water
• 2 Tablespoons fish sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 Tablespoon Cajun seasoning
• 2 cans of crab meat, with juices
• 1 lb. frozen, peeled shrimp
• 1/2 – 1 lb. boneless, skinless white fish such as catfish or tilapia, cut into chunks
• 1 can oysters, with juices, chopped
• Cooked rice
• Snipped green onion, parsley and/or chopped fresh celery leaves, for garnish

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Instructions

1. Heat the butter and oil over medium heat until the butter is melted, then add the flour and stir well to make a roux. Lower the heat to medium low and cook for 15 – 20 minutes or until the roux is a chocolate brown color, stirring occasionally.
2. Add the onions, bell peppers, celery and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes, then stir in the beer, water and fish sauce. Season with thyme, bay leaves, Worcestershire sauce, cayenne, and Cajun seasoning. Stir in the crab meat including all the juices from the cans and drain the juice from the oyster can into the soup pot as well.
3. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for about an hour, stirring occasionally and skimming off any oil that floats on the top.
4. Lightly sprinkle Cajun seasoning over the fish and shrimp and then add them to the pot. Cook for 2 minutes, then stir in the oysters, and cook for another minute. Season to taste with salt & freshly ground pepper.
5. Serve in large flat bowls with rice, sprinkled with green onion, parsley and/or chopped fresh celery leaves.

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Notes

RECIPE SOURCE: http://www.sumptuousspoonfuls.com/

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This post was shared at Full Plate Thursday, Foodie Friends Friday, Home Matters and Hearth & Soul Bloghop.