Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

Chicken and Sausage Gumbo – a spicy southern delight.

Personally, I’ve always immensely enjoyed fresh seafood gumbo. It has its own flavor that most either love or hate. I love it….or did. however, it turns out I’m allergic to most of the seafood used in gumbo. Shellfish, How I hate that I love thee. Despite their delicious nature these delicacies are foe to many with food allergies.

Why let that stop you?!

So here we are with a new, allergen friendly, Gumbo with chicken, sausage, and all the flavor. To get the full effect you will start from “scratch” (pre-made sausage, but raw chicken) and make the chicken Meat and chicken stock. As such, this entire recipe can take about 6 hours, even with an InstantPot. It takes time to let meat cool down without rushing things, which adds to the overall time.

Pro Tip: Do NOT put freshly cooked and still hot chicken in a fridge. You have to let it sit. It’s worth it.

Entree Ingredients

Protein

• *Homemade Cajun Chicken, shredded
• 2-3 links, Cajun Andouille Sausage (or alternate as desired, such as Turkey Sausage), cut lengthwise then half or quarter mooned, as desired
• 1-3 C Basmati, Texmati, or Arborio Rice, as needed (medium or long minute rice also works well)

Vegetables

• 1 Sweet Onion, small diced
• 2 T, Garlic Cloves, minced or pressed
• 1 pkg fresh Okra, sliced about 1/2 inch rounds
• 4 fresh, Tomatoes, large diced (or 1-2 cans roasted tomatoes)
• 1-2 Celery stalks, small diced
• 1/2 Red Bell Pepper, small diced
• 1/2-1 Green Bell Pepper, small diced

Spices

• 1 Zataran’s Shrimp & Crab Boil Packet
• 2-4 T Slap Yo Mama Cajun Seasoning (regular or hot as preferred)
• 1-2 t Cayenne Pepper
• 4 T+ Salt or to taste
• 1-2 Bay Leaves
• 4-6 T All Purpose Flour, for thickening purposes (King Arthur or Simple Truth Brand Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour mixes are both good for allergen friendly needs)

Liquids

• 2-4 C *Homemade Cajun Chicken Broth
• Vegetable Oil (Or Peanut Oil or Butter – clarified is even better especially for the Roux, but not necessary)

Condiments

• Zataran’s Cajun Hot Sauce or other desired hot sauce for personal taste
• Butter Crackers or Simple Mills Sea Salt Almond Flour Crackers for an allergen friendly option.

*See Instructions for Homemade Cajun chicken and stock below.

Entree Directions

1. Brown the half mooned sausage in a (cast iron) skillet. Once browned, but not burnt, set the cooked sausage aside until it’s needed for the gumbo.
2. Set the stove to a medium heat add your preferred cooking oil or butter.
   • Or use Sauté setting on the InstantPot
3. Add flour and mix well. Stir frequently and be careful to not over heat the roux. Let it darken (not burn) until you have a “brown” or “dark” roux. This will be a color between peanut butter and mocha. You have to stick with it and make sure it is frequently mixed and doesn’t get too hot.
4. Add minced onion and stir frequently until translucent.
5. Next, add minced or pressed garlic and stir until fragrant, for approximately one minute.
6. Add seasonings, except the bay leaves or spice packets.
7. Slowly stir in a cup of the cooled down homemade chicken broth and scrape the bottom of the pot to be sure the roux isn’t sticking.
   • See the Broth/Roux Rule Below for more information.
8. Add the fresh vegetables and and more broth so they are barely submerged and mix together gently.
9. Bring to a boil, then turn down and let them simmer for a minute.
10. Add tomatoes, homemade Cajun shredded chicken, pre-browned sausage, and the rest of the chicken broth until nearly maximum capacity.
    • If you run out of broth, top with water as needed, but be careful not to thin out the flavor and consistency too much.
11. Last, add the bay leaves and any other seasonings as desired for personal taste and spice level.
12. Bring to a boil, then turn down to simmer for 30 min to an hour, stirring occasionally.
    • Set the InstantPot to the “Auto – Soup” setting and make sure the pressure cooking vent is in the sealed position.
    • When the program is complete, vent and turn OFF the InstantPot. The “Keep Warm“ setting will continue to boil the Gumbo and we want to let it cool down. Or simply turn off the stove when it’s ready and the okra is tender. The cool down will allow the gumbo to thicken a bit as well as getting closer to an edible temperature. This is the perfect time to prepare your rice, if not already done.
13. Once the okra is softened and seasoned to desired taste your gumbo is ready! Turn off burner and let rest for about 10 min and serve!
    • Serve with rice, hot sauce, and buttered crackers or bread as desired. Enjoy!

*Broth/Roux Rule:

Cool (room temp) Broth in hot Roux or hot broth in cool (room temp) Roux.

Allergen Friendly Roux:

Using a Gluten Free All Purpose Flour Substitute for thickening purposes can be tricky. The Simple Truth or King Arthur Gluten free All-Purpose or measure for measure Flour Mix worked well.

If making the mix on your own, be familiar with the way certain flours and thickeners react with heat to determine proper measurements and timing. Here are some resources I found with great details on how to choose the right substitutions And thickeners; Getting to Know: Thickners and 10 Gluten-Free Thickening Agents.

Rice Suggestions:

Use a sticky fluffy starchy rice that can work well as a bed for the gumbo. (Basmati works and tastes great with it as well if preferred.) Also, fluffing the rice with a couple TBSP butter before serving adds some deliciously rich goodness.

Chicken Broth Ingredients

• 4-6 lb Large package of fresh thighs, or, a Whole Raw Chicken
  • Completely thawed, preferably never frozen, sectioned/cut up like a butcher for making broth.
  • Include the neck and innards if available – just be sure you take them out of their little plastic or paper packets.
• 1-1.5 gal Water, 4:1 ratio with meat (4 lbs meat to 1 Gal Water)
• 2 Sweet or yellow onions, Large diced
• 1-1.5 Celery stalks, chopped large 2” chunks
• 1 Green Bell Pepper, large diced or chunks (Green is typical for the Cajun Trio, but if you want a little sweetness add some red, yellow, or orange if desired)
• 3-4 Garlic Cloves, Whole, peeled and crushed (like in the Half-Blood prince, crush don’t cut)
• 1 Sachet d’espice
  • Includes; 4 fresh thyme sprigs, small handful parsley stems, 1-2 T whole peppercorns, 2 Bay leaves. Include a whole clove too.
  • Items usually wrapped in cheese cloth with kitchen string, but this will be drained with a fine strainer and leaving it all loose will be fine, the decision is yours.
• 2+ T Sea Salt, as desired for personal taste

Broth Directions

1. Section or cut up a Whole Chicken, like a butcher, for making chicken stock. Click here for a helpful instructional video on how to properly cut up a whole chicken.
   • Pro Tip: Have the proper knives sharpened well. I followed the attached video instructions to keep the breasts whole (not cut in half) and all of the meat cooked evenly. My whole chicken packages typically included the neck and heart, which may or may not be included in your own purchase. I washed and patted the items dry with paper towels and included them in the stock whole. I would also do this if the gizzards and liver were present. It deepens the flavor of the stock and the organ meat itself will be discarded Once the stock is done. If none of the items are present in your packet, you use a package of thighs, or you prefer to not use them the broth will still be great.
2. Place chicken and water in stock pot and bring to a boil. The set to simmer for appx 3 hours.
3. Add remaining ingredients for 1 hour. (The mirepoix/vegetables and Sachet d’spice should be added for the last hour of broth simmer)
   • If using an InstantPot: add everything together and set the InstantPot to Manual – High Pressure for 25 minutes. Be sure the vent is sealed.
   • When complete, vent and Turn off the InstantPot. Let the contents cool down for about 20 minutes. The InstantPot will automatically switch to “Keep Warm” when your program is complete. This is normally great and helpful, but in this instance we need the unit turned off completely or the broth will keep cooking.
4. Remove all of the chicken to a heat safe bowl. Let sit until cool enough to handle and separate/shred the good meat from scraps/trash.
   • You may end up with more meat than is needed for the gumbo. If so, set the excess chicken aside until completely cooled down, package, and Store/freeze it for a future dish. (Do not put the freshly cooked/still warm chicken in the fridge to try to speed up this cool down process. You just have to wait, or the quality of the chicken will suffer.)
5. Take the rest of the stock contents and strain into a heat safe bowl through a fine mesh strainer. Collect the wonderful broth and set it aside to cool and use later. Meanwhile, pick out any usable chicken pieces and discard/trash the strained vegetables and seasoning bag with the chicken bones, organs, neck, fat, skin, etc.
   • To quickly cool the chicken broth, strain broth into a metal pot. Plug your sink and place the pot in the center, then fill your sink with ice and water. This process will cool your broth at a much faster pace.

Chef Recommendations

• Simple Mills – Almond Flour Crackers, Fine Ground Sea Salt Flavor
• Zataran’s Cajun Hot Sauce

Be careful when handling raw chicken. Use appropriate food safety precautions. Cleaning your work area and self are important before, during, and after the cooking process no matter the ingredients. Consuming raw Or undercooked chicken can lead to health risks. According to the CDC, chicken is safe to consume once it has been cooked and reached an internal temperature of 165 degree Fahrenheit. Please refer to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Website for More details on proper food handling and preventing food borne illness.

Cited Materials: 
Bennet, L.C., “How to Make Gravy without Lumps”, SFGate.com, 11/16/2012, https://www.sfgate.com/recipes/article/How-to-make-gravy-without-lumps-4044588.php