gumbo for a Crowd
3 cups flour
2 cups cooking oil
2 onions, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 bunch celery, trimmed and chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 bunch flat leaf parsley, chopped finely
2 tablespoons fresh thyme
4 pounds chicken, cut up (boneless, skinless chicken thighs work well)
4 pounds smoked sausage or andouille, sliced
4 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 pint crabmeat
6 quarts low-sodium chicken stock
1 teaspoon Knorr Shrimp Bouillon
2 tablespoons Creole seasoning
1-1/2 tablespoons TexJoy Sausage Seasoning
up to one quart of water
salt, to taste
Using a heavy bottomed pan, preferably a cast iron stock pot, combine the flour and oil and cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat to make the roux. Adjust the heat often so that the roux does not cook too quickly or burn. It will take at least 45 minutes of cooking and stirring for the roux to reach the proper shade of deep brown. See How to Make Roux.
In a second heavy stockpot, this will be the pot that the gumbo is cooked in (at least a 10 quart stockpot) brown first the sausage and then the chicken. Once browned, remove the meat from pot and set aside. Add the onions, peppers and celery to the pot that the sausage and chicken was browned in, and sauté until tender, adding additional oil if necessary. Add the garlic and cook one more minute. Stir in the tomato paste and cook until slightly browned. Add the cooked roux to the vegetables and mix well. Stir in the thyme, creole seasoning, shrimp bouillon, and sausage seasoning. While stirring, add the chicken stock, a quart at a time. Bring the liquid to a simmer and add the browned sausage and chicken.
Simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. Taste, and adjust seasonings, adding water and salt, if needed. Add the shrimp and crab and cook just until the shrimp are pink all the way through. Stir in the chopped parsley.
Serve one cup of gumbo over 1/2 cup of hot, cooked rice.
Serves 35-40
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