South Louisiana Gumbo

[Mike Henderson]

Over Christmas I got together with my family and my Cajun brother-in-law made gumbo. I took pictures and put up a tutorial on my web site.

If you've ever wanted to make gumbo, or just wondered how it's made, check out the tutorial.

Mike

[Bonnie Campbell]

That looks delicious! Another good dish is ettoufee, mmmmmm good!

[Bruce Page]

Mmm, Mmm, that looks good!

[Eric DeSilva]

Looks great. Makes me wish dinner wasn't so far away...

I'm curious about the dry roux. I've always gone the oil/flour "roux-te." (Sorry fer the lousy pun.) Seems easy to get the lumps out that way, and they don't tend to form once other liquids are added--do you have issues with flour lumps with the dry route?

[Mike Henderson]

Looks great. Makes me wish dinner wasn't so far away...

I'm curious about the dry roux. I've always gone the oil/flour "roux-te." (Sorry fer the lousy pun.) Seems easy to get the lumps out that way, and they don't tend to form once other liquids are added--do you have issues with flour lumps with the dry route?

No, just add hot liquid slowly and stir while adding it. Comes out very smooth.

I still do the oil roux, also. But maybe I'll try the dry roux route (say that ten times fast) next time.

Mike

[Steve Schlumpf]

Mike - thanks for the tutorial! I saved it to my favorites and will have to give it a try! I used to live right on the coast of southern Alabama and seafood gumbo was always a favorite of mine!

[Jason Roehl]

Aw, man, you guys are killing me here. We used to have 2 different Cajun restaurants here in town (not at the same time) that were awesome. The first was run by the wife of a state senator (may have been a rep at the time), but she shut it down partway through eventually losing her battle with cancer. That one had an awesome lunch buffet with all kinds of goodies on it, but I especially remember the bread pudding with whiskey sauce for dessert. The second place had an awesome crawfish etouffee (only dish I ever had there, it was so good I never bothered to try anything else), but I think the owner made a mistake when she changed it to adults only so she could have a bar there (didn't have the room for a separate bar area). That's also where I discovered Chipotle Tobasco sauce (major part of my yearly budget, I think).

I'm gonna have to go talk nice to the wifey, maybe she'll make some of those dishes soon...

I love Cajun food. Especially when it's hot.

[Kevin Arceneaux]

Zatarain's makes a mix already that is really easy to use as does Louisiana Fish fry.

If you really want to do it right, you have to use some bacon grease. It makes it all that much better.

[Mike Henderson]

I love Cajun food. Especially when it's hot.

I grew up in and around Cajun country and all we ate was "local" food. But it was not made especially hot. It did have seasoning (pepper) but not to the level I see Cajun food cooked to today. IMO, when it's seasoned excessively hot, you lose the other tastes in the dish. Like many things in life, it's a balance.

Mike

[Jason Roehl]

Mike, I don't necessarily care for food that is just hot. I like good flavor, too, and I've had plenty of both. My tolerance for heat is probably higher than a lot of people's, so a lot of heat doesn't necessarily drown out other flavors for me like it might for other mere mortals. I've found that as I get older and can better tolerate the heat on my lips and tongue, it's farther down the system that doesn't do so well...

[Tom Veatch]

Born and raised in Louisiana and have never believed that eating should be a painful experience. Spicy is OK, but when the only taste sensation is pain, it's not food.

[Jason Roehl]

Yeah, but capsaicin is good for you, and the endorphin rush afterwards is kinda cool, too. And, anything that doesn't kill me only makes me stronger.

[Dennis Peacock]

Yeah, but capsaicin is good for you, and the endorphin rush afterwards is kinda cool, too. And, anything that doesn't kill me only makes me stronger.

I like the way you think Jason.!!!!!

[Dennis Peacock]

Thanks for the tutorial Mike..!!!! This will be on my menu for fixing in the next 2 weeks.!!!!

[Steven DeMars]

I grew up in and around Cajun country and all we ate was "local" food. But it was not made especially hot. It did have seasoning (pepper) but not to the level I see Cajun food cooked to today. IMO, when it's seasoned excessively hot, you lose the other tastes in the dish. Like many things in life, it's a balance.

Mike

Somewhere along the line non-Cajuns have decided to make Cajun food hot . . . That is NOT authentic Cajun food.

Anyone can make something hot, but taste good is another . . .

Steve