INGREDIENTS
- 1 whole Fryer Chicken 3-4 lbs cut up
- 4 cups Chicken Stock
- 1 cup White Wine
- 1/2 lb Lean Baked Ham cubed into 1/4” pieces
- 1.5 lb Sliced Andouille Sausage
- 2 whole Medium Sweet Onions, diced
- 1 Green Pepper, diced
- 2 Ribs of Celery, finely diced
- 2 tbsp Fresh Minced Garlic
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 1 tbsp Creole Seasoning
- 1 tbsp Shinedown Symptom Sauce
- 1 bunch Scallions, thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp Minced Parsley
- 2-3 tbsp Filé powder Salt and pepper to taste
ROUX INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup Flour
- 1 tsp Oil of your choice.
Notes: I prefer lard, beef tallow, or duck fat. You can use vegetable oil but I avoid that stuff when I can. Do not use olive oil or any oil that has a low smoke point.
DIRECTIONS
- Season your chicken with salt and pepper. In a large heavy pot, heat 1 cup of lard/oil on high, and fry your chicken pieces until brown and cooked through. Flip as needed. 165 degrees internally. Remove chicken and set aside to cool. Once cooled, pull the meat into bite sized pieces.
- Reduce heat to medium low and add your flour. Stir constantly until achieving a blonde or light brown roux. It takes roughly 10-15 minutes. Whatever you do, put your phone down (thinking of you Zach), pay attention, and do not stop slowly stirring and scraping your roux around the pot until it’s done. If you burn it, start over or it will ruin the dish. It should smell nutty and rich. If you smell the smallest scent of burning, start over. Now let’s gumbo!
- Immediately add the sausage, ham, onion, green pepper, celery, parsley, and garlic. Stir and cook for 10-15 minutes or until vegetables are softened. Add your wine, Shinedown Symptom Sauce, chicken pieces, green onions, and all of the seasonings EXCEPT the filé, and mix thoroughly. Continue to cook for a few more minutes, and then gradually stir in your chicken stock. Raise the heat and bring to a boil, then reduce and simmer uncovered for about 40-60 minutes. Stir frequently but be gentle to not fully break up the chicken. Remove from heat and let the simmer settle, then add the filé powder and stir. It will help thicken. Let stand for 5 minutes or so, and then serve over some rice. Ça c’est bon!
Notes: Gumbo varies greatly from family to family. Adjust it to your liking. A lot of gumbo recipes use thyme and it is traditional. I don’t like the flavor, so I tend to leave it out. A little secret of mine is to cook the sliced sausage in a pan first to get it a bit crispy, plus it allows you to render some of the fat out of it. If you can’t find filé powder, don’t stress, it still tastes great without it. Some people like their gumbo thick, some like it soupy, you do you! Lastly, you can use the base to make a seafood gumbo. Just make sure to not cook the seafood prior to the gumbo. Add it towards the end and only cook till done. Shrimp, oysters, crab, and fish cook very fast.
“These recipes were made possible thanks to Barry Kerch, drummer for the band Shinedown – show him some love on Instagram!”
Andy – the Marketing & Sales Manager | Sauce Wizard, full-time foodie, and lover of all things hot sauce. He’s got a serious thing for flavor and spice, which is why he’s been on his own personal mission to crown the best hot sauce EVER (though his indecisiveness really keeps getting in his way). Some of his current favorite Torchbearer Sauces include Son of Zombie, Garlic Reaper, and Mushroom Mayhem, but ask him next week and the answer might change. He also hopes to be on First We Feast’s Hot Ones one day, if Sean would finally just answer his emails…