East Coast Shrimp Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

Let me just say I am a down home girl (southern woman) living on the east coast.  However, I’ve lived most of my life in the midwest and on the east coast.  Trust and believe I still embrace my southern roots and I have a deep appreciation for southern cuisine.

I say all of that to say this, I love me some gumbo!  Just in case you didn’t hear what I said, I will state it again.  I love me some gumbo.  Living on the east coast, sometimes it can be difficult to get Andouille sausage used to make authentic shrimp gumbo.

Since I didn’t have andouille sausage, I simply used a local brand I had in the freezer that I had purchased from a big box store along with the shrimp. I figured by the time I added all of the other ingredients along with the other spices (Old Bay Seasoning which is synonymous with the east coast), one component wouldn’t make that big of a difference.  It didn’t, and that is how east coast shrimp chicken and sausage gumbo was born.  You might also like to try my Coastal Seafood Linguine, it’s so yummy.

Making gumbo can be a long prolonged process, but well worth the work.

Advance Preparation

East coast shrimp chicken and sausage gumbo is worth every hour spent in the kitchen.  However, in order to trim some time off the process, you might want to try using pre-cut vegetables or chop the peppers, onions, and celery, better know as the holy trinity.  This could be done the day before and,  stored in the refrigerator until needed.   Another tip is to use a food processor or a chopping device to save time.

Another way to shave time off the cooking process is to use a rotisserie chicken. Simply shred or chop the chicken up then place it in a plastic bag and refrigerate until needed.  These steps could take at least 40 minutes or more off the cooking time.  You don’t want to discard the carcass it can be used to make stock for the gumbo.

Clean and devein the shrimp saving the shells to make stock.  In a large pot add the shrimp shells, chicken carcass, Old Bay Seasoning, cayenne pepper, thyme, basil, bay leaf, and garlic powder.  Add water to the stockpot, bring to a boil, then simmer the stock until the flavor develops for about an hour.

Cool and strain the stock that will be used in the gumbo. The stock could be made a day in advance to save time.  Yet, if you don’t care to make stock just use chicken broth.  However, you may miss out on all that rich flavor from the shells and carcass, and you don’t want to do that!

In a large cast-iron skillet heat a small amount of vegetable oil. Fry the sausage slices on both sides until golden brown. Cook the sausage in batches.  Remove them from the skillet and set them aside until later.

How To Make The Roux

In the cast-iron skillet stir together flour and vegetable oil.  Using a spatula stir the flour mixture constantly for 35 to 40 minutes until it is a dark brown roux (about the color of an old copper penny).  Again, be careful do not let the roux burn for this is an important step.  Needless to say, you will have to start over if the roux burns.

The East Coast Shrimp Chicken and Shrimp Gumbo Comes Together

In a Dutch oven or large pot use a small amount of vegetable oil to sautéd the chopped okra for six or seven minutes to cut down on the slime in the okra.  Remove the okra and set aside.  Next, add the celery, onions, and peppers sautéd for 8 to 10 minutes.  Add the chopped garlic and sauté for another three minutes until the vegetables are soft.

Add the roux and one cup of stock back to the vegetable mixture in the Dutch oven.  Stir thoroughly to prevent lumps.  Add the remaining stock, crushed tomatoes, Old Bay Seasoning, cayenne pepper, thyme, basil, bay leaf, salt, and pepper. Stir well.  Bring the mixture to a boil.  Reduce the heat and allow the gumbo to simmer for about thirty minutes, stirring often.

Add the cooked sausage and shredded chicken and, simmer for another 15 minutes.

How To Thicken Gumbo

Gumbo is one of the signature dishes of New Orleans and represents the Creole cuisine.  The word gumbo literally means okra, it’s usually used to thicken gumbo.  However, gumbo filé powder which is made from the North American sassafras tree could be used to thicken the soup as well.

My favorite way to thicken the soup is to use okra. It is a vegetable that I  have eaten throughout my life.  However, not everyone in my family feels the same about okra.  They don’t care for the gelatinous substance released from the vegetables (fruit).  So everyone could enjoy the east coast shrimp chicken and sausage gumbo I placed half of the soup into a second pot, which I thickened with gumbo filé. The Dutch oven gumbo was also thickened with the okra.  Oh, the things that we do for those that we love!

The last step is to divide the shrimp in half and add it to each of the pots of gumbo the last 10 minutes of cooking.  Clearly, once the shrimp turns opaque turn off the heat, the shrimp is done.  It’s important to not to over-cooked the shrimp so it doesn’t become tough.

Both gumbos are equally delicious, I just happen to love how okra adds an additional level of flavor to the soup.  I served the east coast shrimp chicken and sausage gumbo with rice.  Besides, having a second bowl of gumbo, I love having a bowl for breakfast the next day it tastes even better the next day.

Also, if you found that you’ve made too much gumbo, it’s ok to freeze it.  Equally important,  it’s safe to freeze up to four months.  Thus, you can enjoy this delicious dish for months to come without having to make a new patch each time.

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East Coast Shrimp Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

 

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Prep time

1 hour

Cook time

1 hour

Total time

2 hours

 

East coast shrimp chicken and sausage gumbo is that soulful creole dish which is both comforting and filling, it's the perfect dish for a cold winters day.

Author: Sharron Marbury

Recipe type: Main

Cuisine: American

Serves: 6 Servings

Ingredients

• 4 cups rotisserie chicken, shredded (keep carcass to be used for stock)
• 2 cups shrimp, cleaned, peeled, and deveined (keep shells for stock)
• 8 cups water, for stock or (use prepared chicken or vegetable stock)
• 6 ounces Italian sausage, sliced
• 1 onion, peeled and chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 16 ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 1 cup okra, fresh or frozen (optional)
• 1 green pepper, de-seeded and chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 bay leaves, dried
• 2 tablespoons Old Bay seasoning
• ¾ teaspoon cayenne
• 1 teaspoon thyme, dried
• 1 tablespoon gumbo filé
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Chicken/Seafood Stock

• 1 Rotisserie chicken carcass
• 2 cups shrimp shells
• 1 stalk celery, largely chopped
• 8 cups water
• 2 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning
• ¾ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon basil, dried
• 1 teaspoon thyme, dried

Roux

• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup vegetable oil

Instructions

1. First, chop the celery, green peppers, and onion. Set aside
2. Debone the rotisserie chicken. Cutting the chicken into bite-size pieces. Refrigerate the chicken until needed.

Chicken/Seafood Stock

1. Secondly, place the chicken carcass into a large stockpot. Chop a stalk of celery into large pieces and place them in the stockpot. Add 8 cups of water to the stockpot.
2. Next, clean, peel, and devein the shrimp. Refrigerate the shrimp until needed. Add the shrimp peel, Old Bay Seasoning, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, 2 bay leaves, basil, and thyme to the stockpot.
3. Bring stock to a boil then reduce the heat to low, place the lid on the stockpot and simmer for one hour. Finally, cool and strain the stock. Set aside.

Roux

1. In the cast-iron skillet stir together flour and vegetable oil. Using a spatula stir the flour mixture constantly for 35 to 40 minutes until it is a dark brown roux (about the color of an old copper penny). Be careful do not let the roux burn. Set aside.

Prep

1. In a large cast-iron skillet heat a small amount of vegetable oil. Fry the sausage slices on both sides until golden brown. Cook the sausage in batches. Remove them from the skillet and set them aside until later.
2. In a Dutch oven or large pot use a small amount of vegetable oil to sautéd the chopped okra for six or seven minutes to cut down on the slime in the okra. Remove the okra and set aside.
3. Add the celery, onions, and peppers sautéd for 8 to 10 minutes. Bring in the chopped garlic sauté for another three minutes until the vegetables are soft.
4. Stir in the roux, okra (optional) and one cup of stock back to the vegetable mixture in the Dutch oven. Thoroughly stirring to prevent lumps. Add the remaining stock, crushed tomatoes, Old Bay Seasoning, cayenne pepper, thyme, basil, bay leaf, salt, and pepper. Stir well. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and allow the gumbo to simmer for about thirty minutes, stirring often.
5. Add the cooked sausage and shredded chicken and, simmer for another 15 minutes.
6. The shrimp can be added to the gumbo, along with the gumbo filé simmer for an additional 10 to 12 minutes, until the shrimp turn opaque.
7. Taste and add additional seasoning if needed. Serve with cooked rice.

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