Chicken & Sausage Gumbo (Pressure Cooker)

Welcome to Missouri in March—yesterday it was 70 degrees, today it’s snowing.  Tomorrow, it will be 50 degrees.  The day after that?  Locusts, probably.  But we might as warm our bellies with some delicious gumbo while it stays cool outside!

I got a pressure cooker for Christmas last year, and imagine my joy to find a recipe for shrimp gumbo in the recipe booklet that came with it!  Since then, it’s been my new favorite way to make gumbo.  The shrimp version is much quicker, but I was craving chicken & sausage instead.

If you’ve been reading this blog for any time now, you know that I love to experiment with Cajun fusion dishes and making healthier versions of dishes… but when it comes to gumbo, I’m pretty much a purist.  Oh, sure, there was the gumbo risotto that one time (which was delish), but in general, I am a stickler:

• Nothing WEIRD in the gumbo – if it contains corn, potatoes, carrots…essentially anything other than the Holy Trinity, okra & meat, it’s not a gumbo.  Throwing okra into a soup does not a gumbo make.
• No tomatoes.  Gumbo should be roux-based and brown.  Tomato-based “gumbos” tend to be too thin & a bit acidic, in my opinion. 
• If you can see through it, it’s not a gumbo.  A good gumbo should be as muddy as the Mighty Mississippi. 

That being said, there are always “bends” that can be made to the rules to make a good gumbo that’s still a bit “healthed up”.

• Quality ingredients (use organic or home-grown peppers & celery if you can)
• Use chicken breast rather than thigh meat to save on fat
• Use good quality chicken or turkey sausage/andouille for the same reason
• Use instant roux to save some extra fat as well
• Serve with brown rice instead of white.

INGREDIENTS: (makes 6 large servings)

• 3 cups cooked brown rice
• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces
• 1 lb chicken or turkey smoked sausage (andouille if you can find it), cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 tsp olive oil (as needed)
• 1 onion, diced (I used a mix of red & yellow)
• 1 bell pepper, diced (I used both red & green since that’s what I had on hand)
• 1 large stalk of celery, diced
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup instant roux
• 2.5 cups chicken or vegetable stock, unsalted (or 2 cups regular + 1 cup water)
• 10 oz chopped okra, strung*
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 Tbsp parsley
• 1 tsp basil
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp Cajun seasoning (or more to taste after cooking)

DIRECTIONS:
In your pressure cooker, brown the sausage over medium heat for about 4 minutes, then remove from the pot with a slotted spoon to reserve any of the oil from the sausage, and set aside.  Add the chicken to the pot—if the sausage was very lean, add a splash of olive oil to the pot to help the chicken brown without sticking.  Cook through (about 6 minutes).  Remove the chicken from the pot using a slotted spoon.  Add the onion, bell pepper, celery, 1/2 cup water and instant roux to the pot, and cook for about 5 minutes or until the vegetables start to soften.

While that’s going, “string” (aka sauté) your okra.  This is a step taught to me by one of my regular customers at Martin’s in New Orleans.  Okra is inherently slimy once cooked, so it’s helpful to cook some of this sliminess out before adding it to your gumbo.  Place the okra in a large skillet over medium-low heat & stir occasionally.  Eventually, you’ll see “strings” of clear liquid forming between the pieces.  Cook for about 10 minutes, then you can add it to the rest of the ingredients.  The stringing process will likely brown the okra some, which only helps add to the flavor.

Add the meat, okra, stock, water and spices to the pot, stir, and place the lid on the pressure cooker.  Cook at high pressure for 10 minutes, then remove from heat & allow to depressurize (about 15 minutes). 

Serve 1 cup gumbo w/ 1/2 cup of rice, with a side of potato salad (recipe coming soon), and hey, some pickled okra for fun.  And don’t forget the fresh French bread!

NutriFacts:
Calories 380.2
  Total Fat 10.5 g
  Saturated Fat 2.8 g
  Polyunsaturated Fat 0.8 g
  Monounsaturated Fat 1.5 g
  Cholesterol 86.8 mg
  Sodium 998.8 mg
  Potassium 454.1 mg
  Total Carbohydrate 38.0 g
  Dietary Fiber 4.0 g
  Sugars 3.6 g
  Protein 33.8 g

Instant Pot Shrimp & Sausage Gumbo (HAPPY MARDI GRAS!)

Happy Mardi Gras, y'all!

Tree at New Orleans International Airport (MSY).

This year, I was able to make it down to Scott, LA for their parade.  This is always my favorite:  the floats aren't anything amazing like what you see in New Orleans, but my friends live on the parade route, and they throw a big shindig with lots of food and I get to see some of my favorite people on the planet.

Yes, that is a Minion Porta-John.

Robin wins for best catch--hula dancing dolphins with coconut bras.

And I got to meet this lil' cutie, my friend B's new baby!

As per usual, since I am no longer a resident of the great state of Louisiana, I have to work on Mardi Gras. In fact, I will be in training all day learning how to use our new accounting software.  HOWEVER, we will be taking a break over lunch to have the annual Mardi Gras Potluck (coordinated each year by yours truly, because I just can't give it up.)

Last year, I made a boudin king cake, before that it was bacon gouda grit fritters w/pepper jelly sauce, then it was king cake cupcakes, and before that it was another king cake (sans boudin).  This year, a coworker is picking up a king cake kringle from Supreme Bakery here in town, so I decided to make gumbo.  I've done gumbo several times here (see list at the bottom of this post for links), but I've never made it in my Instant Pot.  So I figured...why not?

INGREDIENTS: (makes about 8-10 two-cup servings) 
* Note: if cooking for a smaller group, you can halve this recipe...or you can freeze part of it. It freezes really well.

• 4 cups cooked brown rice (aka 2 cups uncooked rice, cooked)
• 1 lb small or medium shrimp, tails/shells removed
• 1 lb smoked sausage (andouille if you can find it), cut into 1/2 inch pieces 
• 1 tsp olive oil (as needed) 
• 1 onion, diced 
• 1 bell pepper, diced (I used both red & green since that’s what I had on hand) 
• 2 stalks of celery, diced 
• 1 cup water 
• 1 cup instant roux 
• 3 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable stock (or 2 cups regular + 1 cup water)
• 6 cups water 
• 2 cups chopped okra, strung* 
• 4 cloves garlic, minced 
• 2 bay leaves 
• 2 Tbsp parsley 
• 1 tsp basil 
• 1/2 tsp thyme 
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper 
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper 
• 1/2 tsp Cajun seasoning (or more to taste after cooking)

DIRECTIONS:

1) Cook the rice in your preferred method (I used the Instant Pot) and set aside.

2) Set the Instant Pot to Saute and cook the sausage (about 4 minutes). Once browned, remove the sausage and set aside in a medium bowl.

3) Put the okra in the pot and stir for about 3 minutes.  You'll see "strings" of slime coming off the okra--this is good, as cooking out the slime now will keep it from being slimy in the gumbo.  It will start to brown a bit as well, which is a good thing--adds flavor.  After the 3 minutes are up, remove the okra from the pot and set aside--you can put it in the same bowl as the sausage so you're not making extra dirty dishes for yourself.

4) Add the olive oil, onion, bell pepper, and celery to the pot and saute until softened and the onions start to go translucent (about 3-5 minutes).

5) Mix 1 cup water & instant roux together and then add to the pot, stirring until the roux thickens (just a minute or so).

 

6) Add the sausage, okra, rest of the water, chicken broth and spices to the pot and stir well--make sure nothing's sticking to the bottom of the pot.  Then lock the lid on, make sure the lid is set to "Seal", Press "Manual", and cook on "High" for 10 minutes.

7) Let the pot de-pressurize naturally (about 10 minutes), then open the lid and throw in the shrimp.  The residual heat from the gumbo will cook them without letting them get too tough & chewy.

Serve over rice (or with the rice mixed in, because my co-workers are a bunch of Yankees who aren't used to assembling their own gumbo bowls), with a side of potato salad and french bread.  

...and a side of red beans, jambalaya, veggies, Jimmy Johns, and king cake....  Because it's a potluck. And you start Keto tomorrow...so one last hurrah!!!

My Other Gumbo Recipes:
Chicken & Sausage Gumbo (made from scratch)
Pressure Cooker Gumbo
Gumbo Risotto
Duck & Sausage File Gumbo
Slow Cooker Gumbo

Duck & Smoked Sausage Filé Gumbo!

When I lived in Louisiana, the majority of my coworkers were big into hunting.  Fishing too, of course.  Deer, turkey, duck, rabbit, squirrel… you name it, they’ll shoot it.  I learned the different game seasons by observing the Mondays that the office fellas showed up late because they’d been out in a field in camo at daybreak….or when they all started growing their beards out to protect their faces from the early morning winds.

After all, Louisiana is The Sportsman’s Paradise, particularly to those who have a long family lineage in the state.  Their great-granddaddies grew up living off what Mother Nature could provide, and that culture is as ingrained in their blood as their love for rice & gravy or pecan pie.

(Cal & Griff…two of the aforementioned coworkers, and the proprietors of my favorite Cajun seasoning, Fontenot & A Half…)

They all acknowledge that it’s an expensive hobby, and when you factor in the cost of gear, guns, ammo, & hunting leases, you’d be far better off taking your car to the nearest supermarket for pre-packaged meat rather than driving out to the Basin marshes.  But they continue on all the same, and who am I to say anything?  Me, who now lives in a landlocked state & has a closet full of scuba gear that gets used about 3 times a year (FYI—Missouri water is COLD.)

Plus, these are Southern gentlemen.  And Southern gentlemen share.  Which is why I actually know how to cook wild game, ‘cuz Lord knows my sleep-lovin’ butt isn’t going out to sit in a cold duck blind at 4am.  No thank you, I’ll still be tucked away in my warm bed.  You just bring it back, all cleaned & pretty, and I’ll cook it up when the clock says a reasonable hour & feed it to you.  How’s that sound?

So in 2007, when Chef John Folse (owner of the Lafitte’s Landing Restaurant and proprietor of the John Folse Culinary Institute) released his massive cook-bible “After the Hunt-Louisiana's Authoritative Collection of Wild Game & Game Fish Cookery”, I snagged an autographed copy from a book signing (at a pricetag of over $40—by far the most I’ve ever spent on a cook book.  But it’s over 800 pages, and according to Amazon, they retail for over $60 now, so I got a heckuva deal).

--

But when I moved to Missouri, I was no longer surrounded by hunters.  Which is nice at times because it means I don’t  get caught in “staff meetings turned fish tales” anymore, but it also means I don’t have coworkers sauntering into my office anymore saying, “hey, I brought in some extra packs of venison/catfish/squirrel; they’re in the freezer if you want one.”  And that part makes me miss my old beard-covered, marsh-loving coworkers a bit.

So when I found out that a couple of the guys in our field department actually are duck hunters, I got really excited.  And one of them was kind enough to bring me a freezer bag full of duck breasts.

What to do, what to do???

I busted out John Folse’s bible & flipped to the “Waterfowl” section.  (For the record, this is the only cookbook I’ve ever seen that has a “Waterfowl” section.)

(Other “normal size” cookbook & phone included for scale.) 

 

Also, said Waterfowl section is about 80 pages long.  So I had a LOT of choices.  Too many, perhaps.  So I ended up reserving half of the duck for a future recipe. 

But I figured it’s high-time I did a gumbo.  I haven’t made a gumbo post on this blog EVER, and I haven’t made a gumbo from scratch since…well…since I lived in New Orleans.  (Note: at that time, I was not aware of the subtle “rules” that govern gumbo making, and that one typically shouldn’t use more than two meats in a gumbo…so my chicken-sausage-clam-shrimp-okra gumbo had some really weird flavors going on.)

 

Ingredients:

3 moderately sized duck breasts (about 1 lb of meat)

6 cups chicken stock or broth

2 bay leaves

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

1 cup roux (whether you use instant roux or the traditional method is up to you)

1 cup diced onion

1/2 diced bell pepper

2 stalks celery, diced

3 minced garlic cloves

9 oz smoked turkey sausage (the original recipe calls for venison sausage, which is a great option if you have it.  I did not.  Sad face.)

Seasonings to taste (S&P, Cajun seasoning, garlic powder)

1/8 cup dried chives or green onions

Filé powder to taste (a somewhat earthy spice made from ground sassafras leaves, typical for gumbos that don’t have okra in them)

4 cups cooked rice

 

Directions:

Rinse the duck breasts & cut up into bite sized pieces…rinse again. Duck breasts are super lean & high in iron…but they’re also pretty bloody.  Thus the gorgeous dark color:

 

Place the duck meat in a large stockpot with the chicken broth & bring to a boil.  Add the bay leaves & red pepper, then cover, reduce to simmer, & let cook for about 45 minutes or until tender.  The salt from the stock will help tenderize the meat.

In a large skillet, make your roux:

(I will “rue” the day that I run out of this stuff.  HAH…rue…roux…get it??? *snorts* Ahem…moving on…)

 

…and after it turns a nice dark brown, add your veggies & garlic.  Sauté for 5 minutes.

When the duck appears to be ready, fish out the bay leaves & discard.  Add your roux-veggie mix one scoopful at a time to the duck & chicken stock, stirring well to combine & integrate the roux between each scoop.  When that’s all added in, add your sausage. 

Cover & let simmer for about 30 minutes, then add seasoning as needed to taste.  (File powder can be placed on the table for guests to add to their own taste, since it’s a very unique flavor, and some aren’t as accustomed to it as others.)

Serve one heaping cup of gumbo over 1/2 cup rice.

(Center rice ball formed using an ice cream scoop—then gumbo poured around & over it.  This is a pretty traditional serving presentation.)

 

NOTE: It’s also traditional to have potato salad as a side dish with gumbo—some people mix the potato salad in with the gumbo as well.  It REALLY complements the flavors of gumbo well, so I highly recommend this.  In fact, I may make some deviled egg potato salad soon to serve with this.  Some people really like to have a hard boiled egg on the side.

 

Many thanks again to the Eichmeyers for providing the duck!  I can’t wait to pick another recipe to use the rest of the duck meat for!!!

 

Nutrifacts: (Makes 8 servings)

Calories 388.2

  Total Fat 12.5 g

  Saturated Fat 3.8 g

  Polyunsaturated Fat 1.3 g

  Monounsaturated Fat 4.1 g

  Cholesterol 104.6 mg

  Sodium 1,077.1 mg

  Potassium 368.0 mg

  Total Carbohydrate 39.1 g

  Dietary Fiber 4.5 g

  Sugars 4.1 g

  Protein 26.1 g

Chicken & Sausage Jambalaya: Cookoff Worthy Contender?

Last weekend the Hubs & I went to the Sertoma Cajun Cookoff here in Springfield.  My awesome friend Tara got us two free tickets and I was just itching to see what was there.  I’ve thought about entering, but I wanted to check out my potential competition first.

I’m used the the Sertoma Club’s annual Chili Cookoff, which is MUCH bigger with hundreds of booths.  So I was surprised to see only about 20 booths at the Cajun Cookoff. All the same, there was a wide variety of choices, from Bananas Foster Crepes to “Cajun Mac & Cheese” to tiny crawfish pies, gumbo, jambalaya…and a few of those “errrrr” entries where they make something that’s halfway between gumbo & jambalaya and you’re NOT really sure which they were aiming for.
    
Clockwise from Top Left: Mini Crawfish Pie (yum); little-too-buttery shrimp & lobster…something (“gumbo” is my assumption, but y’all know how I feel about tomato-based gumbo); burnt roux gumbo (remember kids: if you’re making a roux from scratch, aim for the color of peanut butter, not coffee); a REALLY tasty chicken gumbo topped with fried okra; and too-blonde roux plus crunchy-rice chicken & sausage jambalaya…that for some reason also smelled like weed.  For reals.
It got me wondering:  If I enter, WHAT would  I enter?  There were no etouffees…but then again, I don’t have a “go to” etouffee recipe, and I don’t really want to deal with a full day of people asking me what “E-toofy” is.  There were only a few gumbos—but that chicken gumbo up there is a CONTENDER, I don’t think my recipe would beat it.  But I’m pretty sure I could beat the crunchy rice jambalaya…because after all, I have John Folse & his bible on my side.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken, cubed
• 1 tsp Cajun seasoning
• 1 lb sliced andouille sausage
• 1 Tbsp dry roux (or liquid roux) - optional
• 1/8 cup olive oil
• 1 cup onions, diced
• 1 cup celery, diced
• 1/8 cup minced garlic
• 3.5 cups chicken stock/broth
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 cup sliced green onions
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• salt & pepper to taste
• hot sauce, to taste
• 2 cups uncooked instant brown rice

DIRECTIONS:
In a large (5-6 qt) pot [cast iron, if you have it], brown your chicken in the olive oil.  Then stir in the andouille, reduce heat to medium, and cook for 10-15 minutes.

On top of that, add the dry roux, onions, celery, bell pepper & garlic.  Continue cooking until the veggies are all well caramelized.  Then add the chicken stock/broth/whatever, bring to a boil, the reduce to simmer for 15 minutes.  Now add the mushrooms, green onions, parsley, and stir well, and season to taste w/ S&P and hot sauce. 

Then add the brown rice, bring to a rolling boil, and then reduce heat to low, cover, and let cook for 15 minutes or until the rice is done.
Once everything’s cooked, remove from heat, stir and then re-cover to keep the steam in the pot until time to serve. Check flavors & season again to taste.

Makes about 8 servings. 

NutriFacts:
Calories 371.3
  Total Fat 17.2 g
  Saturated Fat 5.5 g
  Polyunsaturated Fat 0.3 g
  Monounsaturated Fat 0.4 g
  Cholesterol 54.4 mg
  Sodium 1,106.6 mg
  Potassium 289.4 mg
  Total Carbohydrate 36.8 g
  Dietary Fiber 3.4 g
  Sugars 1.8 g
  Protein 18.6 g