What is your remedy to cure the day after Thanksgiving exhaustion? My favorite part of the Thanksgiving holiday is creating a gumbo from the leftovers and the carcass of the turkey. I prefer to use a smoked turkey or at least some smoked turkey or chicken combined with baked turkey leftovers. For some people, the day after Thanksgiving is all about the Black Friday shopping extravaganza, for others it is a day of relaxation and recovery from the food overload on Thursday. For me, it is the calm after the storm. I love quietly cooking in the stillness of the kitchen, stirring flour and oil to make a deep dark rich nutty brown roux, and slowly adding the melange of vegetables, andouille, and turkey to make the perfect antidote to the post holiday chaos.
Smoked Turkey and Sausage Gumbo
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- Prep Time
- Minutes
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- Cook Time
- Minutes
Ingredients
- Stock: (please refer to Sur le Plat recipe for chicken stock for detailed list of ingredients)
- 1 whole chicken or a leftover turkey carcass with meat removed
- For the gumbo:
- 2 large onions, chopped
- 1 cup celery, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ cup sliced green onions
- 1 bell pepper, chopped
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp thyme
- salt, pepper, cayenne to taste
- 1 cup of cooking oil
- 1 cup of flour
- 1/2 lb hot sausage, cut into 1/4" slices
- 1/2 lb andouille sausage, cut into 1/4" slices
Instructions
- Stock: The first step is to make your own stock. If you have a leftover smoked turkey carcass, this will produce the flavors you want. If not, use a whole chicken and make a stock as usual. Essential ingredients ( please refer to the Sur le Plat recipe for chicken stock) : Cover carcass or chicken with water, add 1 carrot, 1 stalk celery, 1 onion, quartered, garlic, parsley, thyme, bay leaf, salt and ground black pepper. Once the chicken is cooked, 45 -60 minutes, debone and reserve meat for the gumbo. Strain vegetables and remove turkey carcass or chicken from the broth and reserve hot stock for the gumbo. Need to reserve at least 2 quarts of stock.
- ROUX: Use equal parts oil and flour. Some people like to make their roux in the microwave. Nothing, however, beats the texture and consistency you can achieve by making the roux in a cast iron pot. Cook stirring constantly with a wooden spoon over medium high heat until a deep dark brown.
- Next add chopped veggies to the roux and cook slowly until tender. Add 1 quart of warm chicken stock in a slow steady stream whisking to blend rue and vegetable mixture. Add another quart of stock and continue stirring.
- Season the roux and vegetable mixture with salt, pepper, thyme, and bay leaves. Continue to cook at a medium heat to reduce and thicken the stock. Stir frequently.
- While the gumbo is reducing, slice and sauté sausage in a skillet over medium heat. When lightly browned, remove and set aside. Once the gumbo mixture reduces and thickens and flavors blend, add meats. Add chicken and any smoked meats such as smoked turkey, duck breast or other smoked chicken parts. Add sausage.
- Simmer the gumbo for one hour, stirring frequently. Serve in a deep bowl over rice. Gumbo, like so many creole pot foods, is best made a day ahead. The flavors definitely improve. In Cajun land they serve gumbo with a small portion of potato salad that is stirred into the gumbo. Try it and bon appetit!
- Servings : 8
- Recipe Type : All Recipes, Mains, Soups
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