About Gumbo  How  To Make Roux  Ingredients  Layering Gumbo  Making Stock  Recipes

Dat Magical Gumbo!

Gumbo is a Cajun dish,  that is cooked in a pot on the stove, and is sort of a stew, but not really.
The word Gumbo is African in decent and means "Okra".
Most people I know today do not use okra in their Gumbo, it is too slimy and many people do not enjoy it.
The corner stone of Gumbo's unmistakable flavor is a concoction called roux, and pronounced "ROO".
Gumbo is and has been standard table fare in the poverty stricken areas of south Louisianna.
It is simple to make, but diverse in flavor, and a ritual in its own right.
Of all the things I have cooked over time, Gumbo is far and away the most enjoyable to both cook and eat.

As table fare goes from the stove top pot, Gumbo is the reigning King of enjoyment,
 from gathering the ingredients, to cooking it, to eating it, to remembering it.
It is a rare pot of any other stew type dish that will have you remembering it 10 years later....
All across America, people are discovering the magic of cooking gumbo. It is a simple practice
that has so many complex and rewarding possibilities that there is no end to it's offering you
something new from the same little pot. I still remember several separate pots I've cooked over the years,
and they have been many in number. Some pots are so good that you just cannot believe it.
Each bite offers layers upon layers of complex flavor; an explosion of flavor,
your tongue is shocked by all of the complex combinations.
I dont really know why or how gumbo does this, but it surely does happen.
When the true alchemy has taken place in that gumbo pot,
each spoonful offers an explosion of different flavors to both surprise
and satisfy even the most demanding palette.

No two batches of gumbo are ever the same, so dont think that you cook it once and you've  got it down.
You can't go home again, and you can't make the same pot of gumbo twice either, no matter how you might try.
(And by God I sure have tried)
Most gumbo batches are good, but SOME of them are absolutely excellent, and though you will try to duplicate what you did to make this happen, never again will that pot appear on your stove. It's a one time shot, and when you realize the individuality of each pot of Gumbo, and realize that all there is, is what is in that pot, you come to realize the magic of cooking gumbo.
You may even find yourself freezing a small portion of it, just to keep a little piece of that one magnificent batch.
Whether you're setting out to make your first ever pot of gumbo, or your thousandth, you'll
almost certainly learn something in the process that you'll use the next time,
but the next batch will still have new charms all its own.
This is one of the great pleasures of cooking gumbo.

Gumbo for me and many others has become an outright ritual.
I really mean that, Gumbo becomes a ritual to those who are caught by its spell.
Making roux is a ritual in itself, that is the corner stone of good gumbo.
Although I cook gumbo many ways, the highest order by far for me, comes from cooking duck gumbo.
(Sea food Gumbo is killer too)
Preparing to cook duck gumbo can start in the spring believe it or not, but it certainly doesnt have to.
Fresh vegetables that are frozen for the winter from the garden add a "better than store bought" zing to ingredients.
(And fresh ones are best of all)
Every single duck I take most years goes into this ritual. When I shoot ducks, I am thinking of the pot combination.
The only reason I really even shoot ducks anymore is to cook them in Gumbo.
(Thank God For Gumbo)

I made up these pages to offer you the secrets of making Gumbo as best as I know them. If you do not enjoy the kitchen,
then dont bother trying to make this stuff. This isn't a 5 minute meal, there are 2 hour versions and 2 day versions.
There are "all in the pot at once" versions and multiple layered versions, that use every ingredient to its fullest, offering several degrees of flavor from one item. It can be simple and delicious, or simple and unbelievably  good.
Or perhaps complicated and demanding of your palate.
It can be complex and leave you reeling at its powerful explosion of flavor.
(which is my favorite)
Thats just the way it goes with gumbo.
It will really surprise you, and that is a lot of the fun and charm of Gumbo.

I would not dare call myself a master of Gumbo, but I have walked this trail for a few miles.
I hope you enjoy this and what Gumbo has to offer!   KEEyaw!!!!

A chicken lays an egg, she turns around and looks, and the egg is the size of a grapefruit.
What does the chicken say?
"KEEyaw!!!!"

(The coonass version of GOLLY!) HE He!

About Gumbo  How  To Make Roux  Ingredients  Layering Gumbo  Making Stock  Recipes