76 Reviews of Gumbo

From: Bruce Benjamin

On Jan 22, 2008

This is a pretty good gumbo recipe. I was a chef for many years and the last place I worked was a Cajun/Creole restaurant. I was cooking this cuisine long before I worked there but it's there that I perfected my skills. Needless to say I've made a lot of roux and a lot of gumbo. For those who are having trouble with their roux burning I suggest turning down the heat. I know stoves vary in heat output but in my opinion medium high heat is usually too high. I use a cast iron Dutch oven and start with medium heat. As the roux darkens I reduce the heat a little almost to low. The darkest roux I've ever used is a dark reddish-brown color, never almost black. In my book, you're better off with a roux that's too light than one that has a bitter burned flavor. I've also found that the roux will darken slightly when you add the veggies. I don't know why but it does for me. For the sausage the best by far is andouille sausage. It's a spicy smoked sausage. There are countless combinations of meats that can go into a gumbo but I think the use of a good andouille adds a smoke flavor that makes the gumbo taste great. If this isn't available you can substitute another smokey and spicy sausage. Regarding the use of okra, not all gumbos have okra in them. Gumbo File powder is an alternative to the thickening quality of okra and many recipes include either one or the other. I prefer the File powder because it not only thickens but adds a nice flavor. I also added a little tomato paste to this recipe as well as some cayenne pepper. If you are making a seafood gumbo, instead of using chicken stock you can use seafood stock or even bottled clam juice or a combination of these. Again, this made some pretty good gumbo and even if I didn't modify the recipe at all it would've turned out very good.

From: JazzDK

On Dec 11, 2003

Phenomenal! I was trying to "copy" a dish we had in Chicago last weekend and this recipe was it, but better! My DH & I both like more spice, so I added a little crushed red pepper and it was just wonderful. Thanks for the great recipe, Kevin!

From: OldFrenchCajun

On Dec 16, 2006

I've been eating gumbo all of my life since I'm a pure French Cajun. This recipe is a good one but a few changes and it would be a real Cajun gumbo. First of all, you NEVER put okra in a File gumbo. Some New Orleans cooks may do this but this is why most of the Cajun dishes in New Orleans are only ok but not great. File came from the Indians and is a thickening agent but not all people use it. The French people who settled here from Nova Scotia took a bland soup with little taste called gumbo and added many French cooking modifications to create what is now the great Cajun Gumbo you find in South Louisiana. There is another Cajun gumbo some may not think they would like but believe me it is also great. This is a Seafood Gumbo with no roux. The taste comes from the shrimp, crabmeat, sausage but mostly from something, people don’t like until they taste it cooked the way it is cooked in Cajun country. You have to smother down onions and cut okra, etc. until they merged together, which takes a couple of hours to do correctly. Once this is done and added to a pot of water with the sausage, crab meat, shrimp, seasoning, etc. that has been cooking for an hour it becomes a great dish that many Cajun like as much as a File Gumbo. Many people that don’t eat okra love Cajun Okra/Seafood Gumbo. When I have time, I would like enter a few recipes and find out if some of you would prefer it with some minor changes. Anyway, I'm glad there are good recipes on this site like this one. I'm so tired of fake gumbo recipes with tomatoes. Yukkkk! M Léger

From: Brewhead

On Jun 21, 2003

This was good Gumbo, I liked it alot. I had Gumbo at Red Lobster the other day and yours was way better! From the Brewhead

From: Roosie

On Jan 14, 2004

Very good method and basic recipe. I made mine with lobster, crab, celery, red bell peppers, onions, lots of garlic and mushrooms. One word of caution- don't blacken the roux too much. Mine wasn't "almost black" but I still felt that it tasted a bit too singed.

From: Just Cher

On Jan 26, 2003

I whipped this up last Sunday for Monday nights dinner as it was to be a very cold day. Allowing it to sit over night in the fridge really intensived the flavors. It was very easy to put together and I did add more tabasco as we do like our dishes on the hot side. I used shimp & chicken and it was excellent. This was right on. Thanks Kevin

From: Laura Lee

On Feb 25, 2003

This recipe is really tasty and easy to make.One thing I changed was omitting the salt. Theres salt in the creole seasoning I use, also in the sausage.

From: April Guzman

On Jul 3, 2004

WOWZA! Thank you all for your comments because I incorporated some of your advice into the recipe! I didn't blacken the roux but deeply browned it, I left out the scallions for a topping, I didn't add salt as my creole seasoning has it too, and I added okra as I too love it For my first gumbo, it was excellent! I love it! I did use beef stock instead of chicken, so I figured the roax had no purpose but I was wrong, I loved the flavor it gave the gumbo. The hot sauce was an excellent addition, I used Cholula, if you have other ideas, please share hehe. Thank you very much for sharing everyone, and a big thanks to you Kevin for sharing this! I enjoyed this dish with the sangria recipe that was shared by cuestick

From: riffraff

On Jan 17, 2005

I made this with shrimp and chicken. Took me about 30 minutes to make the roux (I did NOT want to burn it) which MAKES THIS DISH! I added about a teaspoon and a half of cayenne for a little heat. Served over Basmati rice. Thanks for such clear instructions.

From: 928684

On Feb 26, 2009

I made this for my work for Fat Tuesday. I was born and raised in Louisiana, so I have a very discerning taste towards gumbo, jambalaya, and etouffee recipes. While, I agree a little with Vlada that it was a little bland, I found that adding some additional Cayenne pepper to it added a decent amount of heat. I, of course, added A LOT of Tony's, but the cayenne defintely helped it further along. The people I work with in Kansas loved every drop of it. It wasn't as spicy as I normally like it, but it was delicious nonetheless!