Steave,
Here is my Dad's receipe that has been in the family for years:
LESLIE CLARK'S SEAFOOD GUMBO
2 med Onions, chopped (or 3 bunches of green onions)
2 cloves Garlic, minced
2 stalks Celery, chopped
4 Bay leaves
2 med cans diced tomatoes
1 tsp Season All, 1 tsp Black Pepper
1/2 jar Dougets Dark Brown Roux
In 2 qts water, add above ingredients & simmer about 15 mins. If it thickens too much, add water.
Add:
4 Beef Bouillion Cubes
2 tsp Leah & Perrins Worchester Sauce
2 10oz pkgs of frozen Shrimp or 2 lbs of fresh cooked & peeled Shrimp
2 cans Crab Meat
2 10oz pkgs frozen cut Okra
1 1/2 cups uncooked rice
Salt to taste
(Optional; 2 cans DeJean Brand Oysters)
Simmer 30 mins, adding water as needed and stirring often. Season to taste with Chacheres Cajun Seasoning. Just before removing from heat add 2 heaping tsps of Gumbo Filet. Taste improves with additional simmering or after sitting in fridge overnight.
(Option for Chicken Gumbo: Substitute 3 cups diced chicken for shrimp & crab meat and chicken Bouillion for beef Boullion)
Here is my wife's receipe for Chicken Gumbo:
MINTA'S CHICKEN GUMBO
1 whole chicken or 4 hindquarters
1 lb of your favorite sausage, sliced
1/2 jar of prepared dark roux
2 small cans Tomato Sauce or 1 regular can diced Tomatoes
1 small Onion, diced
6 stalks green onion, diced
1 tsp minced Garlic
4 cups cut Okra, fresh or frozen
4 cubes Chicken Boullion
4 Bay Leaves
Chachere's Creole Seasoning to taste
Boil chicken in 2 qts water with Bay leaves until chicken will slip off the bones. Remove chicken from water, allow to cool some, debone & remove all skin & fat, then dice. With chicken stock, use commercially prepared roux following directions on the jar.
Add chicken meat back to the pot, add sausage & all other ingredients except Okra. Simmer about 20 mins, then add Okra. Bring to a boil and cook about 5 mins. Remove Bay leaves. Serve over previously cooked rice. Add Gumbo Filet to taste at the table.
Squirrel, wild duck, or leftover Thanksgiving Turkey may be substituted for the chicken.
If you want to prepare Gumbo for the freezer, take out the Bay leaves, and don't cook the Okra until you prepare it for the table.
