What did I cook this weekend.....

[paulthenurse]

Roux. Storm. Okra Ethanol.

It's a cruel world

 

[Staestc]

Roux. Storm. Okra Ethanol.

It's a cruel world

You're cracking me up!

 

[Staestc]

So would you southern guys walk me through the whole gumbo process please? If you make a roux why do you need okra, leaving aside for a month the anthropological connections between African slave cooking and French/Canadian "Cajun"refugee cooking? From a functional point of view you're going to bind up the soup.

Admittedly I've never been to Louisiana. That will change.

Thanks for enlightening a ******* Yankee. I'll repay the lesson in seafood for anyone who comes this way

I will give you my take in a few minutes. Busy at the moment. But I learned Gumbo from my late mother in law, my late dad who was born in N'awleans, and my mom who is from Alabama. So I've pretty much got Cajun and the south covered.

 

[Staestc]

So would you southern guys walk me through the whole gumbo process please? If you make a roux why do you need okra, leaving aside for a month the anthropological connections between African slave cooking and French/Canadian "Cajun"refugee cooking? From a functional point of view you're going to bind up the soup.

Admittedly I've never been to Louisiana. That will change.

Thanks for enlightening a ******* Yankee. I'll repay the lesson in seafood for anyone who comes this way

Gumbo is basically a Cajun stew. Blonde rouxs are used all the time as methods to thicken all kinds of things. As you take a roux darker the thickening character decreases and the flavor increases. Gumbo rouxs are for flavor, not thickening. Really dark rouxs lend an almost nutty flavor to the dish.

The roux is scorching hot and dangerous by the time it gets to this point. My youngest daughter has scars on her arm to prove what happens when you start bull****ting when you are helping with a roux and ignore the warnings your father gave you about liquid napalm.

The rest of it is just a stew. When the screaming hot roux is done you throw in the trilogy of onion, bell pepper, and celery. The smell of that alone is my favorite part of cooking gumbo.

If you got your shrimp fresh and saved the heads and shells you can make an awesome shrimp stock from them to add, because you need more liquid after you throw the veggies into the roux. I freeze shrimp stock but run out before I run out of frozen shrimp so I usually use chicken stock and water to bring the liquid content up.

The rest is meat, and okra. Okra traditionally was used because the slime given off will thicken the stew. Alternatively Filet is used either while cooking or at the table as a thickener and for flavor. Filet is ground sassafras. It really, IMO, brings little to the table in the form of flavor, but it does thicken.

Meats you use vary depending on what you have available. In northern LA you find rabbit, venison, etc. used in gumbos. As you move further south it's all about seafood. Firm fleshed fish are awesome. Usually when I'm cooking this down at the coast we clean blue crabs and throw them in whole. I buy pasteurized crab here and throw that in when I run out of frozen crabs.

As far as other ingredients I throw in a couple of bay leaves, just because, a bit of oregano, some Cajun seasoning (Slap yo mama tonight) , and of course some cayenne.

Hope that was not more than you wanted in a response. Lol
Cheers

 

[Staestc]

Oh, I left out an obvious but important point. It needs to stew for 4 hours or more before you even think of putting shrimp and other seafood in. You should throw that stuff into the hot stew shortly before you are ready to serve. Might seem obvious.

 

[Staestc]

Missed getting a picture after I plated it, but here's the final roux, the pot before I added extra stock, the pot as it started it's long simmer.

 

[paulthenurse]

Thanks for the excellent tutorial. On the list. Obviously not a quick after work meal

 

[brewbama]

Chicken Saltimbocca with White Wine and Lemon Sauce served with Garlic Buttered Rice

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1492899320.234354.jpg

 

[RevKev]

A little of this and that

View attachment 1492905813176.jpg

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

NY strips were on sale, with mash and fresh steamed veggies.

 

[Bklmt2000]

Every Easter, we have a spiral-sliced ham, and the next day, I make a batch of slow-cooker green beans, and in with the fresh green beans, I include the ham bone from the day before, along with some water and seasonings.

Takes about 9-10 hours on low to cook, so I put everything together in the morning and let it cook all day.

So good. If anyone wants, I can post pics of my recipe/method.

 

[trav77]

Chicken Saltimbocca with White Wine and Lemon Sauce served with Garlic Buttered Rice

View attachment 397621

Nice. Saltimbocca was one of my favourites when really learning to cook well and I still love making it now and again,

 

[kev211]

Smoked up some ribs and made mac salad with baked beans and salad with homemade brioche croutons

View attachment 1492929437111.jpg

 

[paulthenurse]

Missed getting a picture after I plated it, but here's the final roux, the pot before I added extra stock, the pot as it started it's long simmer.

I couldn't bring myself to let the roux get that dark. It was dark but not brick red like yours. Simmering for about three hours now and SWMBO won't get home for at least two. I used a small hunk of salt pork, leftover sausage, the last of the leftover lamb with the stock and veggies. I have shrimp and a small piece of talapia to add at the end. Pretty tasty so far. No okra within 200 mikes of Boston in April, and the girl at the grocery store looked at me like I was speaking some dialect from roaming nomads in the Gobi desert when I asked for File powder.

Whatever. Smells nice so far.

 

[paulthenurse]

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1492977262.414790.jpg

 

[paulthenurse]

Oh and I threw in a handful of dried Vietnamese shrimp. I'm debating adding fish sauce towards the end. Seems like it would fit nicely. Probably won't be "gumbo" when it's done but it will be good. You serve it over rice, correct?

 

[Temptd2]

I couldn't bring myself to let the roux get that dark. It was dark but not brick red like yours. Simmering for about three hours now and SWMBO won't get home for at least two. I used a small hunk of salt pork, leftover sausage, the last of the leftover lamb with the stock and veggies. I have shrimp and a small piece of talapia to add at the end. Pretty tasty so far. No okra within 200 mikes of Boston in April, and the girl at the grocery store looked at me like I was speaking some dialect from roaming nomads in the Gobi desert when I asked for File powder.

Whatever. Smells nice so far.

Around here at least, you can buy frozen sliced okra. Works fine, I've used it more often than I've used fresh.

Gumbo filé is usually in the spice section, but I've also found it in the ethnic foods section or near stuff like Slap Yo Momma or other cajun spices.

It looks good the way it is though!

 

[RevKev]

This was tasty

View attachment 1492984666285.jpg

 

[paulthenurse]

Groan....

That was god. I could be Cajun

 

[Temptd2]

Shredded beef/cotija cheese/onion enchiladas, panful of a dozen, and then plated with homemade refried beans (from pressure-cooked pintos) and Mexican-style rice. Didn't get a picture with the homemade pico de gallo but oh well! At least I got some pictures!

I'm stuffed.

 

[bfish]

Made some beans and cornbread before the rain and cool weather settled in Friday night:

 

[LakesideBrewing]

Wood fired, pepperoni, Sicilian style pizza.

 

[applescrap]

So would you southern guys walk me through the whole gumbo process please? If you make a roux why do you need okra, leaving aside for a month the anthropological connections between African slave cooking and French/Canadian "Cajun"refugee cooking? From a functional point of view you're going to bind up the soup.

Admittedly I've never been to Louisiana. That will change.

Thanks for enlightening a ******* Yankee. I'll repay the lesson in seafood for anyone who comes this way

I would personally relish the chance to eat some fish and chips and hang out with you.

 

[applescrap]

Missed getting a picture after I plated it, but here's the final roux, the pot before I added extra stock, the pot as it started it's long simmer.

Thanks for the gumbo lesson. I've admired your stews and gumbos since joining the sight. I need to start trying some of these dishes. Starting with the chili colorado.

How do you make that roux? I think I make mine too dry.

 

[applescrap]

Shredded beef/cotija cheese/onion enchiladas, panful of a dozen, and then plated with homemade refried beans (from pressure-cooked pintos) and Mexican-style rice. Didn't get a picture with the homemade pico de gallo but oh well! At least I got some pictures!

I'm stuffed.

That looks soooo good. Any refried bean tips?

 

[Temptd2]

Wellll - do you have a pressure cooker? I used my Instant Pot - 2 cups beans, 6 cups water, high pressure for 2 minutes, let drop pressure naturally; removed lid, strained off water, added 6 more cups water plus two big tablespoons bacon fat, a tablespoon chili powder, a tablespoon dried epazote, a big teaspoon dried oregano, another of cumin. Put back on high pressure for 10 minutes, let pressure drop naturally, opened and poured off some of the liquid, salted to taste and let stand til cool. Refrigerated, putting into a quart round container with some of the liquid - actually got two containers about 3/4 full each.

Tonight, I poured off a bit of the liquid then stuck an immersion blender in the container and blended til pretty smooth. Heated in the microwave. Next time I'll probably go ahead and put the blended beans in a skillet with another tablespoon of bacon fat or lard and fry them up til some of the liquid cooks off - they were just a tad bit thinner than I would have preferred - however, have had them served that way at many Mexican restaurants around here! I just like them a bit thicker.

Pretty easy overall, and these were some 4 year old pintos that we had vacuum-sealed in plastic containers but a couple of them lost vacuum - this was one of them. Had tried last week to cook the dang things in the roaster oven and after 12 hours they were nowhere near tender. KOTC declared them "dead" but I'm too stubborn to give up that easily, hence the pressure cooker, which worked like a charm. KOTC is now convinced it's THE way to cook beans and boy do I agree with him! Saved us from throwing out about ten pounds of dried beans.

 

[bob1852]

Fried rice and Tom Yum Goong soup.

 

[cpa4ny]

Ngoh Hiang

Minced pork, minced shrimp & finely chopped water chestnuts with a multiple of Asian seasonings, wrapped in dried bearcurd skin, basted with a bit of oil and baked in an Airfryer (traditionally, this dish is deep fried).

Came out absolutely delectable.

 

[gratus fermentatio]

@AZ_IPA & @cpa4ny You guys always have great presentation & your pics look so tasty! I'm going to have up my game. Regards, GF.

 

[Remmy]

Amazing stuff!