Linton Hopkins' Gumbo YaYa

By danaheller

Ingredients

• Roux:
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, or 1/4 cup butter and 1/4 cup duck fat
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp Creole seasoning
• 1/2 onion, diced small
• 1/2 green bell pepper, diced small
• 1 celery rib, diced small
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup port wine
• Gumbo:
• 1 1/2 tbs peanut oil
• 1 lb andouille sausage, sliced on bias
• 1/2 lb tasso, diced
• 1 lb boneless chicken thighs, cut into cubes
• 1 onion, diced small, divided
• 1 green bell pepper, diced small, divided
• 2 celery stalks, small diced, divided
• 6 cloves garlic, minced, divided
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley (save stems)
• 1 cup chopped tomato
• 4 tsp Creole seasoning
• 2 tbs Worcestershire sauce
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 4 cups veal or beef stock
• 1 sprig fresh thyme
• 6 black peppercorns
• 1 bay leaf
• mojo (your own secret ingredient)
• Tabasco sauce
• ground black pepper and salt
• cooked rice
• minced green onion
• file powder

Details

Servings 8

Preparation

Step 1

Roux:
In a saucepan, melt the butter (or butter and fat) over medium heat and slowly stir in flour. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until roux is the color of chocolate. Turn off the heat and stir in the Creole seasoning, onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic. Let cook for 3 minutes in hot roux, stirring occasionally. Carefully stir in the port. Set aside.

Gumbo:
Heat the peanut oil in a wide, thick-bottomed pot over high heat. All meats and some of the vegetables will be cooked in this pot. The fat from the sausage, ham and chicken will become reinforced with each step. Keep that fat in the pan.
Saute the andouille in peanut oil until it is golden brown on one side. Remove and reserve. Add tasso and saute until golden brown on one side. Remove and reserve. Add chicken thighs and saute on one side until golden brown. Remove and reserve.
Add half the onion, half the bell pepper, half the celery and half the garlic and cook until the vegetables are soft and beginning to color. Add the parsley, tomato, Creole seasoning, Worcestershire and stocks. Let simmer 10 minutes, then add the reserved meats, the remaining onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic. Bundle the parsley stems, thyme, peppercorns and bay leaf in a piece of cheesecloth and add to the pot. Add your mojo.
Once the soup comes to a boil, rewarm the roux and stir it in a bit at a time. The roux must be warm in order to dissolve lump-free. It will continue to thicken as it cooks.
Let the gumbo cook over medium heat for 30 minutes, making sure to skim off the fat that collects on top of the soup.
Adjust the seasoning with Tabasco and ground black pepper. Add salt to taste, if necessary.
Serve over cooked rice. Garnish with green onion and file' powder.