Is it always gumbo season? This chicken and sausage gumbo is the same one Chef Patrick Ayres makes at his restaurant in Steamboat springs. And in a twist you probably never saw coming, the rice gets cooked in the oven.
Chicken and Sausage Gumbo
Chef Patrick Ayres
Cook Time: 70 minutes
What is a roux? Why is roux used in gumbo?
Roux is used to thicken gumbo. Once you add stock, you need bring everything up to a boil for the roux to work as a thickener. The darker the roux, the less thickening power it has. Therefore, the darker it is, the more you will need to thicken your soup (in this case, gumbo). Chef Patrick likes to aim for a caramel color when making roux for gumbo.
What kind of oil or fat can you use in a roux?
You want to use a neutral oil with a high smoke point. Vegetable oil or canola oil are what Chef Patrick prefers, but you could even use grapeseed oil. You don’t want to use an oil with a strong flavor, and you don’t want to use one with a low smoke point. Smoke point is the temperature at which the oil starts to burn. Don’t use butter or extra virgin olive oil, because they have a low smoke point.
Should you heat up broth before adding it to your roux for gumbo?
Yes! You want your broth to be warm (at least 100F) before adding it to the roux when making gumbo. If you don’t warm up your broth, you will create ‘roux balls’ which are just little balls of flour.
Why are we cooking the rice in the oven?
In the oven, the rice simmers evenly and cooks perfectly. And, the rice at the bottom won’t be overcooked.
Ingredients List
1 cup of white long grain rice
2 cups water
2 quarts chicken stock
1/2 cup celery, small dice
1/2 cup green bell pepper, small dice
1 cup onion, small dice
5 cloves garlic, peeled, ends cut off, and minced
9oz Andouille sausage, sliced into roughly 1/4” circles
Or substitute any smoked sausage
2 Boneless skinless chicken thighs, roughly 1/2” dice
1 tablespoon Tony Chachere’s
100g vegetable or canola oil, plus more if needed
100g cup ap flour
1 cup of cut okra (you can use fresh, or easily find it frozen in most grocery stores)
2 bay leaves
1 sprig of fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 green onions
Kosher salt, to taste
Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
How to Make Chicken and Andouille Sausage Gumbo
Step 1
Preheat oven to 400F.
Step 2
Heat up a large pot over medium high heat. Add the oil. Add the sliced sausage first and cook it for about 2 minutes. You just want to brown it a little bit. Remove the sausage to a plate with a slotted spoon. You want to leave as much oil behind as possible. This will add depth of flavor to the roux. Season the chicken thighs with Tony Chachere’s and cook for about 2 minutes, until the chicken is opaque on all sides. Use a slotted spoon to remove the chicken to the same plate as the sausage, again leaving as much oil behind as possible. We aren’t fully cooking the chicken, it will fully cook as it simmers in the gumbo.
Step 3
It is time to make the roux. Turn off the heat. Add the flour to the oil and use a whisk to fully incorporate the flour into the oil. The sausage and chicken may have taken more fat (oil) than they gave off. You may need to add some more. You want the roux to look like wet sand when it is cooking. Refer to the video for visuals on this! Once you get the roux to the right consistency, turn your burner back on to low or medium heat. The roux cooks from the bottom up. You don’t need to constantly whisk it, but you want to whisk it frequently to homogenize it. It took Chef Patrick about 9 minutes to make the roux. There are two signs of when a roux is getting ready. One is the color you are aiming for, of course, and the other is the smell. It will start to smell nutty.
Step 4
Meanwhile, heat up your broth to at least 100F.
Step 5
Once your roux is a caramel color, add the celery, onion, bell pepper and garlic. The vegetables will stop the roux from cooking. Stir to coat the vegetables in the roux.
Step 6
Ladle in about 4 oz of warm broth and stir it into the roux with your whisk to make sure everything is smooth. Repeat this two times, and then add the rest of your wam broth. Whisk to combine. Add in the chicken, and the sausage. Whisk or stir to combine. Season with a big pinch of kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add the okra, bay leaves, fresh thyme, smoked paprika, and cayenne pepper. Stir to combine and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to a simmer and simmer, uncovered for 45 minutes. Stir the gumbo every few minutes to prevent it from settling on the bottom and scorching.
Step 7
Meanwhile, add the water and rice to a saucepan with a lid. Season with a pinch of salt and bring to a simmer with the lid on. Once simmering, transfer to a 400F oven and cook for 45 minutes. Thinly slice the green and light green parts of the green onions and set aside.
Step 8
After the gumbo has simmered for 45 minutes, add half of the sliced green onions. Stir and reduce the heat to your lowest setting until your timer for the rice goes off.
Step 9
When the rice is done, remove it from the oven. Take the lid off to let the steam escape, and then fluff the rice with a fork.
Chicken and Sausage Gumbo
Ingredients
- 1 cup of white long grain rice
- 2 cups water
- 1/2 cup celery, small dice
- 1/2 cup green bell pepper, small dice
- 1 cup onion, small dice
- 5 cloves garlic, peeled, ends cut off, and minced
- 9oz Andouille sausage, sliced into roughly 1/4” circles
- 2 Boneless skinless chicken thighs, roughly 1/2” dice
- 1 tablespoon Tony Chachere’s
- 100g vegetable or canola oil, plus more if needed
- 100g cup ap flour
- 1 cup of cut okra (you can use fresh, or easily find it frozen in most grocery stores)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 sprig of fresh thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 green onions
- Kosher salt, to taste
- Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Heat up a large pot over medium high heat. Add the oil. Add the sliced sausage first and cook it for about 2 minutes. You just want to brown it a little bit. Remove the sausage to a plate with a slotted spoon. You want to leave as much oil behind as possible. This will add depth of flavor to the roux. Season the chicken thighs with Tony Chachere’s and cook for about 2 minutes, until the chicken is opaque on all sides. Use a slotted spoon to remove the chicken to the same plate as the sausage, again leaving as much oil behind as possible. We aren’t fully cooking the chicken, it will fully cook as it simmers in the gumbo.
- It is time to make the roux. Turn off the heat. Add the flour to the oil and use a whisk to fully incorporate the flour into the oil. The sausage and chicken may have taken more fat (oil) than they gave off. You may need to add some more. You want the roux to look like wet sand when it is cooking. Refer to the video for visuals on this! Once you get the roux to the right consistency, turn your burner back on to low or medium heat. The roux cooks from the bottom up. You don’t need to constantly whisk it, but you want to whisk it frequently to homogenize it. It took Chef Patrick about 9 minutes to make the roux. There are two signs of when a roux is getting ready. One is the color you are aiming for, of course, and the other is the smell. It will start to smell nutty.
- Meanwhile, heat up your broth to at least 100F.
- Once your roux is a caramel color, add the celery, onion, bell pepper and garlic. The vegetables will stop the roux from cooking. Stir to coat the vegetables in the roux.
- Ladle in about 4 oz of warm broth and stir it into the roux with your whisk to make sure everything is smooth. Repeat this two times, and then add the rest of your wam broth. Whisk to combine. Add in the chicken, and the sausage. Whisk or stir to combine. Season with a big pinch of kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add the okra, bay leaves, fresh thyme, smoked paprika, and cayenne pepper. Stir to combine and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to a simmer and simmer, uncovered for 45 minutes. Stir the gumbo every few minutes to prevent it from settling on the bottom and scorching.
- Meanwhile, add the water and rice to a saucepan with a lid. Season with a pinch of salt and bring to a simmer with the lid on. Once simmering, transfer to a 400F oven and cook for 45 minutes. Thinly slice the green and light green parts of the green onions and set aside.
- After the gumbo has simmered for 45 minutes, add half of the sliced green onions. Stir and reduce the heat to your lowest setting until your timer for the rice goes off.
- When the rice is done, remove it from the oven. Take the lid off to let the steam escape, and then fluff the rice with a fork.