Seafood Gumbo
A rich, flavorful Louisiana-style gumbo packed with shrimp, oysters, and crabmeat, made with a dark roux and loaded with fresh vegetables. This hearty seafood stew combines bacon, okra, and aromatic vegetables in a well-seasoned broth.
Ingredients
- •½ pound bacon
- •½ cup vegetable oil
- •¾ cup all-purpose flour
- •2 ribs celery
- •1 medium green bell pepper
- •1 medium onion
- •5 cloves garlic
- •2½ quarts fish or chicken stock
- •14 ounce whole tomatoes
- •1 pound frozen cut okra
- •1 teaspoon thyme
- •1 leaf bay leaf
- •1 teaspoon cayenne
- •½ cup flat-leaf parsley
- •½ cup scallions
- •1½ pound medium shrimp
- •24 pieces shucked oysters
- •½ pound lump crabmeat
- •to taste rice and gumbo filé powder
- •to taste gumbo filé
- •to taste powder
Cooking Instructions
- 1.
Cook bacon in a 10-inch heavy skillet (preferably cast-iron) over medium heat until browned but not crisp. Transfer bacon to a bowl with a slotted spoon and transfer rendered fat to a heatproof liquid measure, then add enough oil to fat to bring total to 3/4 cup.
10 min
- 2.
Stir together fat and flour in skillet with a wooden spoon, then cook roux over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until well browned (a shade darker than peanut butter), about 20 minutes.
20 min
- 3.
Add celery, bell pepper, onion, and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a 6- to 7-quart pot.
15 min
- 4.
Stir in stock, tomatoes, okra, thyme, bay leaf, cayenne, and 2 teaspoons salt and briskly simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are very tender, about 30 minutes.
30 min
- 5.
Add parsley, scallions, shrimp, and oysters with their liquor and cook, stirring, until seafood is just cooked through, about 5 minutes.
5 min
- 6.
Stir in crabmeat and bacon and simmer until heated through, about 1 minute. Season with salt. Discard bay leaf.
1 min
