Gumbo and Okra

Ok, I was slightly scared when my wife brought home a "Mardi Gras" recipe for some shrimp gumbo stuff. I had read Creamy's thread about Okra mead and just KNEW it couldn't be a worthwhile ingredient in anything.

But I plowed on and I made the recipe last night. All in all it wasn't bad except for this occasional licorice flavor that kept popping up once in a while (Have NO idea where it was coming from!)

And there was a slimy texture to the gumbo...

So, I need to know how to make a gumbo WITHOUT the okra crap! Would it even be gumbo without okra? (I don't have a problem calling it something else as long as there is no okra in there!)

The recipe was pretty much as follows:

1 lb. Italian sausage (The recipe called for spicy links, but our local store didn't have any, so I used regular italian and added cayenne Pepper and/or tabasco as needed)

1 1/2 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 large onion
1 med Bell Pepper
2 stalks celery sliced thin
2 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup olive oil or whatever you want
10 ounces frozen Okra (I bet you could use fresh if you can find it...)
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp rosemary
1 bay leaf
1/4 flour

Cook sausage and remove from pan. Slice diagonally.
Add enough olive oil to make about 1/4 oil
Add flour and mix until flour is browned
add onion, celery, and peppers and cook until softened
Add back sausage and chicken stock, okra and spices
Simmer for 30 minutes to blend flavors
add shrimp and cook a couple of minutes until shrimp is just cooked through.

Serve with rice.

I don't know if the cooking process is normal for gumbo, I just went with whatever she printed. Seems similar to other soups and stews I've cooked before though. I think the spicy links, sliced diagonally would have been better.

Technically you need the okra to call it gumbo but a lot of recipes omit it, mainly because it isn't the easiest ingredient for everyone to find. Next time try sauteeing it with the onions an peppers before adding the stock. That may help reduce the slimyness somewhat... Or you could just simmer it longer and add more water to account for evaporation.

Gumbo too.good

I'll bet the licorice was in the fennel that was in your sausage...

but I agree with dawgmatic, okra good... just not in mead

You could make a filé gumbo.

Okra is tasty, but it can be slimey. Dawgmatic & Creamy are both correct, good advice there. You could also just buy your okra in a can, I get the Trappey's okra & it's never been slimey.
http://www.allens.com/brands/trappeys/
Regards, GF.

I've used that same sausage for my Zuppa Toscana recipe MANY times in the past and never encountered that flavor.

And yeah, I think I'll pass on the okra. Even the leftovers were slimy when I dished them into the tupperware. Big long drips of gooeyness.

I'll just leave that stuff out and call it a Cajun Stew. I would like to find the spicy links instead of ground sausage though. Maybe a different flavor sausage. Just for kicks.

Is Reed City anywhere near Rogers City? Some of the best sausages I've ever had are in one of the two warring butcher shops there.

Never been an okra fan so I just make a file' gumbo when I get the chance. I like to use an andouille sausage instead of Italian. I also prefer a butter based roux cooked to just past peanut butter stage to develop a little flavor.

Important note for the future, those people who dislike okra slime often dont mind or even like fried and pickled okra, as neither have slime due to the processes they have undergone. For what its worth.

Wanna hear from a N'Awlins boy? First, most don't use Italian sausage in their gumbo....the anise in the Italian sausage is what tastes like licorice. We use andouille sausage.
Everyone and I mean everyone here has their own recipe and almost all are good. In fact, what most locals eat is chicken, andouille gumbo and after Thanksgiving, we substitute turkey for chicken.
And of course, during Lent (starts today) we omit all the meat and make a seafood gumbo. Yummmmmm! Just crabs, shrimp and oysters.

Back to the okra, most people who don't like it say it's because its slimy. If you use frozen okra and just less of it, you should be ok. But, the okra definitely has a big part in the flavor.

+1 to the gumbo file. I don't use okra, and the file helps to thicken and add a nice signature flavor. No more than a tbsp, but really depends on your taste. Okra is gross!

MidTNJasonF said:

Never been an okra fan so I just make a file' gumbo when I get the chance. I like to use an andouille sausage instead of Italian. I also prefer a butter based roux cooked to just past peanut butter stage to develop a little flavor.

Click to expand...

Yep! The key is andouille sausage and a roux!

I love gumbo and jumbalaya, and make them while I'm in Texas as it's super easy to find the ingredients (including okra). My neighbor makes deep-fried okra to go with the deep-fried oysters. It's good!

I'll happily send you my okra mead to thicken your next pot of gumbo.

If I remember correctly you can boil the okra first to remove the majority of the slime then add to the gumbo.

My first thought was why are they using Italian saugsage in a Gumbo?? But that is probably where the licorice flavor is coming from, though I've never tasted it in anything else I've made with that sausage.

I was going to pick up some of that andouille but our little store doesn't have it. I had planned on making a roux next time.

When I thawed the frozen okra in a bit of lukewarm water, and drained it off, the water was a bit slimy. I knew I was in for it.

I'm going to pass on the mead, Creamy, but you know, it might not be bad as a deglaze.

I have no idea what a file is (Except the files on computers and files in my garage...) but I'ma look that up.

gumbo file is sassafras plant ground into a powder. Used in various creole dishes. If you can't find andouille try to find a smoked sausage. Usually the independent butchers will have some type of fresh smoked sausage on hand.

most of the grocery stores these days carry gumbo file in the spices section.

If Im not mistaken file is a ground powder from the sassafrass tree root. McCormick and the like put out a jar of it... I doubt youll have a problem finding it in a bigger grocery store.

Edit: Sorry for the crosspost.

HOW MUCH OKRA???

Mine thickens a little but is never slimey. I LOVE okra in gumbo.

"Stir til brown"?

Roux is an artform.

Gumbo is an artform.

Fennel seeds in any Italian sausage are LICORICE plain and simple.

Krogers sells good andouilli, there is no excuse.

I recommend less okra until you are happy.

Don't give up on it.

Your experience is like making a "Mr Beer" kit, drinking it green, and saying "meh, homebrew jsut isn't that great"

THAT DOES IT!!!!!! Making gumbo tonight. Will document for you.

Homercidal said:

I have no idea what a file is (Except the files on computers and files in my garage...) but I'ma look that up.

Click to expand...

Oh and it is pronounced Feel A

If you have to ask someone and say file you will look like an idiot.

Alton Brown says you don't need to stinking Okra.



But he DOES offer some less slimy uses for it.

Revvy said:

Alton Brown says you don't need to stinking Okra.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmHMLDCflKg

But he DOES offer some less slimy uses for it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYNoE9PdDT8

Click to expand...

I just molested the like button. Sorry about that.

MidTNJasonF said:

Oh and it is pronounced Feel A

If you have to ask someone and say file you will look like an idiot.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I know how it's pronounced. I didn't feel like looking up the special ascii table to enter the correct code for it.

Wal Mart didn't have Andouille. Nobody in the meat or deli areas even knew what I was talking about. I was running too short on time to stop in Meijer. If anyone in the area has it, it will be them. We don't have Kroger near here.

Walmart did have a nice looking cured sausage that I might try if I can't get the real stuff.

On a positive note, I woke up early feeling crappy with a headache and couldn't go back to sleep so I got up and decided to try my hand at making homemade biscuits from scratch. I've tried a few times when I was younger and they never turned out right, but this time they were great!

I had Beans and biscuits just like when I used to stay at my friends house. His family didn't have much money and were from the south. Dried beans slow cooked with ham. Just need to tweak the spices. It doesn't take much to fill you up on those!

Kind of reminds me what a Dominican friend of mine told me about comfort food and growing up. "I know what its like to be broke. I'm not giong to lie. But I never knew what it was like to be poor."

Mm, ch-okra. A coworker brings me fresh picked little ones that are great brushed with oil and grilled whole. Even my kids will eat them.