Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

1 pound Andouille sausage
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup cooking oil
1 quart chicken stock or water
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cubed
1 pound sliced okra, fresh or frozen
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium green pepper, seeded and chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
Salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes
Cooked rice

Remove casing from sausage. In a medium skillet, crumble and brown sausage. Drain and set aside.

To make the roux, mix together flour and oil in a Dutch oven, stirring until smooth. Cook over medium-high heat about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium. Cook and stir constantly for about 15 minutes more until the roux turns dark and coppery like the color of a tarnished penny.

Carefully, stir in stock. Remember, you are adding room temperature or cooler liquid to hot oil. Be Careful! Add sausage, chicken, okra, onion, green pepper, celery, and garlic. Add salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes to taste. Cook over medium-high heat until gumbo begins to bubble. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer gently for about an hour, stirring occasionally. The gumbo will thicken as it simmers and its flavors blend. Serve over hot cooked rice.

Notes:

• Can’t find Andouille sausage? You can substitute Italian or Chorizo sausage for the Andouille. I wasn’t familiar with Andouille sausage when I first started making gumbo and was a bit leery of trying it, so I started with a mild Italian sausage, and then I tried hot Italian. It was very good both times. However, once you make it with Andouille, you won’t want to change!
• Try making the rice with chicken stock and a little parsley or celery powder for more flavor.
• If you use fresh-milled whole wheat flour, your roux will be a bit darker than roux made with all-purpose flour. 

For a special treat, add ½ pound peeled and deveined shrimp to the pot in the last five minutes of cooking. Be sure the shrimp is cooked through before serving.