/ck/ - Food & Cooking

[Anonymous No.12405675]

What is gumbo supposed to taste like? Can you describe it or compare it to any other dishes?

I made it yesterday and I am not sure if I screwed it up or if it is supposed to taste so unpleasant and boring. When I made it, it simply tasted like spicy sausage with a bitter undertone from the dark roux. Perhaps I burnt it, yet it didnt taste like burnt things normally do. Any ideas?

[Anonymous No.12405680]

No its not supposed to taste like that. Did you use high quality products or just common stuff?

[Anonymous No.12405693]

>>12405680
The ingredients were good - except maybe the beer I added, which was a Corona (.33 L). Also the oil for the roux was something cheap with high smoke point, but supposed to be neutral (rapeseed). Maybe the roux was dark enough?

[Anonymous No.12405697]

>>12405693
Supposed to be maybe the roux was *not* dark enough. Could that explain it?

[Anonymous No.12405703]

>>12405697
Maybe but not likely. You just need to keep on trying. Dont give it up, gumbo is great if you get it right

[Anonymous No.12405709]

>>12405675
Sounds like you burnt the roux. It should never taste bitter. I used smoke sausage, crawfish tails, shrimp and crab. Mine has a rich seafood and smoke sausage flavor with a strong background of bell pepper, cayenne, thyme and bay leaf. The roux adds a subtle toasty flavor but it's definitely not a burned flavor.

[Anonymous No.12405711]

>>12405703
Alright thanks anon, will try again. Do you have a certain recipe you could recommend me?

[Anonymous No.12405728]

>>12405709
Thanks, thought that might have been the issue. will pay more attention to the roux next time.

[Anonymous No.12405759]

>>12405711
Not him but I can type mine up in a little here.

[Anonymous No.12405760]

>>12405693
>adding corona to gumbo
What

[Anonymous No.12405782]

>>12405759
If you got the time, yes please

[Anonymous No.12405784]

>>12405675
gumby

[Anonymous No.12405799]

>>12405675
Ya burnt the roux, and it probably broke as well.

[Anonymous No.12405859]

>>12405728
You can get jarred Roux if you're having trouble it's an art to get it right and it makes or breaks the gumbo. It needs to be chocolate colored. Tbh if you have never had the real thing you'll never get it right. No recipe online is gonna get the right flavor they always add extra shit that doesnt do it right.

A good gumbo should have a good pork sausage, chicken thighs or shrimp and crab. Onions, green onion, light celery, bell pepper, lots of garlic. That's literally it just add roux, oil to brown meat and plenty of seasoning. Cook in cast iron pot and add dark roux till appropriate color. Cook thighs with bone in for additional flavor. Do not skimp on seasoning specially cayanne, pepper, and salt. Use a cajun seasoning like Tony's if you want to short cut it's what most do here.

[Anonymous No.12405870]

>>12405859
>buying roux
What a waste of money.

[Anonymous No.12405890]

>>12405870
I mean if you have no idea what it should taste or be consistently then why not? I dont fucking make my own pasta sauce or noodles because they come out like shit so why not just buy ones I know are good?

[Anonymous No.12405903]

>>12405890
because roux takes 30 seconds to make and costs less than 5 cents

[Anonymous No.12405909]

>>12405903
Again if you dont do it right that doesn't matter.

[Anonymous No.12405915]

>>12405859
>just buy it goyim!
>there‘s no right recipe
>but there‘s a singular „right“ way it should taste
Retard.

[Anonymous No.12405917]

>>12405859
>>12405890
Seriously, man. If you want to buy jarred pastasauce because you're lazy or in a hurry that's one thing; a good red sauce does take a while to make.
But roux takes literally seconds to make and if you do any cooking at all you already have the ingredients. Why would you buy that in a jar and then proceed to make the gumbo yourself, which is the part that takes time and effort?

[Anonymous No.12405922]

>>12405915
There's no recipe that's gonna tell you how it should taste and 99% of online ones are gonna add bullshit and not explain it right. There is a right way to taste.
Retard.

[Anonymous No.12405927]

>>12405917
Again my suggestion was to someone who can't make it right. OPs probably is literally about fucked up roux. If you buy a premade one you can get an idea of how it should taste.

[Anonymous No.12405929]

>>12405922
>there’s no recipe
>mix flour and butter until it turns a certain color
damn so difficult better send someone to buy a $15 jar with sugar and stabilizers because gordon ramsay yells at prison chefs on his tv show

[Anonymous No.12406046]

>>12405859
>>12405917
>>12405922
If getting the roux right is the key - how do you do it? Is it not possible to get a guideline on how to do it properly? There is nowhere near me that serves a proper gumbo, and the premade one I would have to order through ebay in any case.

[Anonymous No.12406056]

>>12406046
PUT BUTTER ON THE BURNER TO MELT
SLOWLY STIR IN EQUAL PARTS FLOUR
STIR IN UNTIL LIGHTER THAN CARAMEL DARKER THAN ORIGINAL MIXTURE
DONE
only a complete autist that doesn’t actually cook and spends all his time watching youtube videos freaks out this much over roux

[Anonymous No.12406063]

>>12406046
>>12406056

Don't use butter. Use canola oil this ain't mac and cheese. Put on and off the heat for 30 seconds at a time never stop stirring. Put 1-1 oil to flour it should be milk chocolate color at least by the time you're done. The oil will separate when cooking is done if you use too much so dont be too worried but it should be thick. It should not smell burnt. Never stop stirring.

[Anonymous No.12406214]

>>12405759
>>12405782
Okay, here we go. Keep in mind I’m an NCfag so my recipe isn’t a family one, just what I’ve come up with after researching the dish and experimenting a little.

>Holy Trinity
Naturally we start with this. Finely dice 2 stalks of celery, 1 large white onion, 1 green bell pepper, and 1 red bell pepper. Also chop up the leaves from the celery. Throw it all in your stock pot with a big pinch of salt and a couple cracks of black pepper. No oil. Put the lid on the pot and put it over very low heat for about 30 minutes. Don’t brown them, just sweat the juices out. You’ll know it’s ready when the onions are transparent.

>Meats
First we do the meats that can hold up to being simmered for hours. Andoullie or smoked sausage and about a pound of boneless chicken thighs. Cut the sausage into bite-sized slices and sear them in a stainless steel pan with a tasteless high smoke point oil. Once they’re good and browned take them out of the pan and put them aside. Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper, sear them in the same pan without cleaning it, and set them aside to rest. Drain the grease from the pan but don’t clean it, we’re going to deglaze it later.

>Stock
Use a good chicken or fish stock, homemade if you have the time. Heat the pan from the last step and deglaze it with some of your stock. Scrape the bottom with a wooden spatula, make sure you get all that stuck-on fond because that’s where tons of flavor hides. Pour that into the stock pot with the vegetables. Cut up the chicken thighs and throw those in two along with the sausage. Pour in the rest of the stock, give it a good stir, and bring it to a boil, then simmer.

>Okra and seasoning
Cut a pound of fresh okra into thick slices. Throw it in the pot. Mince 4 garlic cloves and add those too. Add thyme, parsley, sage, black pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste.

Cont.

[Anonymous No.12406217]

>>12406214
>Roux
Melt two tablespoons of butter in your deglazed pan on low heat. Gradually add two tablespoons of all purpose flour(important that it isn’t self-rising) through a sieve. Add a little bit at a time, stir, then add more until it forms a nice thick paste. You may need to add more flour if it’s too thin. Cook on low heat until it smells nutty and has a dark brown color, like mud. Let it cool, then stir it into the stock pot. Bring it all to a boil, then cover and reduce to a simmer. Leave it alone except to stir occasionally for 2-4 hours.

>Shrimp
Season a pound of medium shrimp, shelled and deveined, with salt and pepper. Sear in a pan. Set them aside. After the gumbo has simmered for at least 2 hours, add in the shrimp. Let it simmer 30 minutes more. Stir in about a tablespoon of filè powder, then serve over white rice.

[Anonymous No.12406236]

>>12405675
it's a stew. you create and develop depth through layers of flavor. from the mirepoix to the roux to broth and the sausage and & shrimp.

[Anonymous No.12406247]

>>12406046
Bottom right is ideal but safer would be 2nd or 3rd on the bottom row.

https://jesspryles.com/recipe/how-to-make-a-roux/

[Anonymous No.12406260]

>>12406214
>>12406217
Fuck me, that‘s like a month‘s worth of goodposting for this soyjak board. Thanks, based anon.

[Anonymous No.12406295]

>>12406214
Thanks based gumbro

[Anonymous No.12406320]

>>12406056
Speaking of autism, butter would burn after a few minutes. Not at all suitable for making gumbo. Terrible advice

[Anonymous No.12406331]

>>12406320
butter is used in traditional cajun recipes

[Anonymous No.12406413]

>>12406260
>>12406295
Thanks guys. Keep in mind that the proteins can be swapped out a little. I’d definitely not skip the sausage but the chicken and shrimp can be dropped in favor of crab meat, ham, crawfish, tilapia, red snapper, oysters, clams, even gator tail if you have access to that. If it walks, crawls, swims, or flies it can probably go in gumbo. Just consider how well it holds up to being simmered to determine when you add it in. You can also add diced tomatoes along with the okra if you like that. Some people claim tomatoes should never be in gumbo, but others claim they’re an essential ingredient. Up to your personal taste really.

Lastly, you can make a vegetarian gumbo called gumbo z’herbes by skipping the sausage, using vegetable stock, and replacing the various meats and seafood with multiple kinds of greens. Theoretically you could add various vegan proteins like tempeh and seitan for a more satisfying stew, but at that point it’s not really gumbo.

[Anonymous No.12406599]

>>12405675
>gumbo
>tastes boring

you made it wrong

[Anonymous No.12406611]

>>12405859
>buying roux in a jar

[Anonymous No.12406935]

>>12406599
YES I KNOW MUTHAFUCKA

[Anonymous No.12406976]

>>12406413
Thanks dude. I dont think it would be wise to use butter making the roux, but otherwise great

[Anonymous No.12407052]

>>12406056
>t. never made gumbo

[Anonymous No.12408450]

>>12405675

If you can taste the roux then you burnt it or didn't let it cook long enough when stewing it. If all it tastes like is sausage you really skimped on the vegetables and didn't use fresh stock.

[Anonymous No.12408468]

>>12405675
Nigger curry.

[Anonymous No.12408472]

>>12405917
>seconds
Well that's an exaggeration. Chocolate roux takes a bit longer because you need to brown the butter. And finesse because you need to not burn the butter.

[Anonymous No.12409334]

>>12406331
Sure, but never for making dark roux.

[Anonymous No.12410222]

>>12406056
> don't buy roux make your own its easy
>gets it completely wrong
congratulations for proving his point. you are the perfect candidate for just buying premade roux because you're too fucking stupid to make it yourself, and too goddamned fucking stupid to realize you're wrong, much less how completely and utterly wrong you are.

[Anonymous No.12410224]

>>12406331
butter is used for lots of things in cajun cooking, but you do not use it for making dark roux. not more than once anyway.