Rich Seafood Gumbo made with shrimp, crabs, sausage and chicken and so tasty with bold flavors. Serve with boiled rice, crusty French bread or grits. This Seafood Gumbo is a Creole dish that should be on your list of "special meals to make for my family". It is that special.
12ozAndouille sausage - chopped into 1 inch slicesI used pork but you could use chicken or another type. Substitute with Kielbasa or other smoked sausage
1poundskinless boneless chicken thighs (1/2 kg)
1tablespoonCajun/Creole seasoning
1/2teaspoonground black pepper
2cupssliced okraI used frozen okra
1poundlarge shrimp (1/2 kg)peeled and deveined
1/2poundcrab legs
Chopped green onions for garnishing
Boiled rice for serving
Instructions
Prepare the chicken.
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F.
Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil then rub some oil on the foil.
Cut chicken into about 1-inch pieces. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt (see Note 1) and 1 teaspoon of Creole seasoning and mix well to ensure that the seasoning gets to every part of the chicken.
Place the chicken on a single layer on the prepared baking sheet. Place in the oven and cook for 15-20 minutes until the chicken is golden brown.
Make the roux.
Place oil in a dutch oven/cast iron pot and let it heat up on high heat for about 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium.
Add the flour to the oil whisking as you add the flour. Continue whisking until there are no lumps. Keep the whisk aside then use a wooden spoon and continue stirring the flour. The mixture will turn from white to light brown, to peanut butter brown to chocolate brown. Once it is chocolate brown, proceed to the next step. It takes about 20 minutes to make the roux so don't rush it.
Saute the vegetables.
To the pot, add the diced onion, celery and bell pepper. Keep stirring and let the vegetables cook until they sweat. About 5 minutes.
Make the gumbo.
Add the minced garlic to the pot and stir for about 2 minutes. Then add all the chicken broth, the bay leaves, the chicken and the sausage. Cover the pot and bring to a simmer for about 20 minutes.
To the pot, add the black pepper, shrimp, crab legs and Creole seasoning. Let them simmer together for about 20 minutes.
Finally, add the sliced okra and let it simmer with the okra in for about 10 minutes. Taste to ensure that the seasoning is perfect. Note that I didn't add salt because my chicken broth was salty enough and made the dish sufficiently salty. If you use a low sodium chicken broth, be sure to adjust the salt as needed.
Serve.
Serve your Seafood Gumbo warm over boiled rice or with any side you like. Garnish with chopped green onions if desired.
Notes
1. Only add salt to the chicken if the Creole seasoning you use is salt-free.2. An optional garnish for serving your gumbo is chopped parsley.3. Some people fear using okra in their Gumbo because they do not want it slimy. I used sliced frozen okra and my Gumbo wasn't slimy. You could fry the okra separately in oil to cut the slime. Heat oil in a pan, add the chopped okra then cook until the slime is gone. Check out this video to see how to properly fry the okra to cut the slime. If you would rather not have okra in your meal, use gumbo file instead.4. If you choose to use gumbo file, add it to the pot just before you turn off the heat.