Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

Chicken and Sausage Gumbo is a family favorite! I serve this recipe for our family on a weekly basis.

Some of my best family memories involve good home-cooking! 

I remember not only eating great food, but I also have fond memories of my mother, father, aunts, uncles, and grandmothers teaching me how to cook food that brought our family together. 

We had a large extended family, but we lived relatively close to each other so every holiday was booked at a specific family members.

My mother always hosted Easter, my Aunt Lisa had a gathering for Mother’s Day, the entire family would go to the Family Lake House for Memorial Day and Labor Day, Fourth of July was usually hosted by Aunt Susan, Thanksgiving would rotate between different families, and Christmas Eve was always at Aunt Karen’s. 

Crockpot Gumbo

Slow Cooker Chicken Chorizo Gumbo

Shrimp and Sausage Gumbo

Although we celebrated holidays at different houses, the one thing that remained constant and kept us coming together again and again was the delicious food!

If there was one dish that I enjoyed the most, it was Gumbo!  While my family and I are all die-hard Texans, our patriarch hailed from Louisiana.  After joining the Army, he settled in Houston where he served as a Police Officer.  His family taught my grandmother, who was from Mississippi, how to cook Gumbo and other Cajun favorites.

The great thing about Gumbo is that it can be enjoyed in cold weather, but it is also great in the warmer weather months too. 

Another great thing about Gumbo, is that it feeds a lot of people for not a lot of money.  It is usually served with rice, potato salad, and sweet tea.  The recipe has been passed down to me, and I’ve made it my own! 

While Gumbo makes me feel closer to home, I recently had the fortune to move to Louisiana, and I’m excited to use authentic Cajun ingredients in my recipe.  No matter where you live, I’m excited to share my take on an old family recipe with you. 

The great news is that no matter where you live, the ingredients can be found in any grocery store in America.  Additionally, the great thing about Gumbo most Cajun families have differing recipes, so feel free to take poetic license with your Gumbo recipe. 

For example, if you can’t find smoked Andouille sausage in the grocery store, you can use other smoked sausage, ham, or even SPAM. In my recipe, I just use boneless chicken thighs and breasts, but I grew up watching my mother use a whole chicken.  Some folks say adding tomatoes to Gumbo is sacreligous, while others insist that okra is a Gumbo staple. 

The bottom line is that you can add whatever you like to Gumbo… so with that said let my recipe be a place for you to start, and then add or subtract whatever you like. 

Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 1 large onion
• 1 four-bottom green bell pepper
• 3-4 stalks of celery hearts
• 1 bunch of green onions
• 1 can of Rotel tomatoes
• 2-3 links of andouille sausage
• vegetable oil
• all purpose flour
• 2-3 Bay Leaves
• Salt, Pepper, Cayenne Pepper, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder for Chicken marinade and for vegetable seasoning
• 32-64 ounces of chicken broth
• a large cooking pot
• grill (optional)

Directions:

First, I cook the chicken on the grill.  However, if you don’t have a grill that’s fine.  You could pan fry or even bake the chicken in the oven.  I prefer to grill the chicken over charcoal because I like a little bit of smokey flavor in my Gumbo. 

No matter how you cook your chicken, make sure that it is at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit internal temperature. 

Before grilling, I dust the chicken with salt and pepper. Once the chicken is cooked, let the chicken rest for 5-10 minutes before dicing up. 

Next, I finely dice the onion, bell pepper, and celery. 

The three of these vegetables together are known as the “Cajun Trinity!” 

The trio is found in most all Cajun cooking.  When combined they have a sweet, earthy, and savory smell. 

Once finely diced, I add the Trinity to the pot with a few tablespoons of cooking oil, and a few dashes (dash = about a half a teaspoon) of salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and cayenne pepper.

Stir the diced vegetables with the oil and spices over medium heat until the vegetables are soft (about 10-15 minutes). 

Once the Trinity veggies are soft, I’ll add the can of Rotel Tomatoes and give them a stir. 

Once the veggies are looking good, I will add the chicken broth. 

Now, in the list of ingredients I listed between 32-64 ounces of chicken broth. 

Sometimes I like thick Gumbo so I’ll use less broth, and other times I’ll use more broth to make it more soupy. 

It will depend on your preference, and I’ll admit there have been sometimes when I’ve added 48-54 ounces of chicken broth. 

After the broth is added, I will add the diced chicken.  Then I will add the smoked Andouille sausage. 

You do not have to cook the sausage, but if you’d like to cut it up and fry it in a pan or warm it up on the grill whole before cutting up then that’s fine.

Once the chicken and sausage are added, cover the Gumbo and let it simmer on low.

Finally, the most important ingredient is the Roux. 

How to Make Roux for Gumbo

Now, I will mention that you can buy Roux online or at a grocery store. If you would prefer to make it homemade, keep reading!

This is the most difficult part of making the Gumbo, but the Roux is what will give the Gumbo it’s rich color and flavor.

In a separate frying pan, add 1/2 cup of either vegetable or corn oil.  DO NOT USE olive oil! 

Then, add 1 cup of all purpose flour, mix the flour and oil until they are the consistency of peanut butter.  Much like peanut butter, if there is a little excess or seeping oil, then that’s ok. 

Now, turn up the heat to medium-hi and stir, stir, stir!  Don’t stop stirring until the Roux is a rich dark chocolate color. 

This process of stirring can take anywhere from 15-30+ minutes depending on how high your heat is.

Don’t give up!

This homemade roux is totally worth it in the end.

Tip: I do use my microwave exhaust fan towards the end of this process as it can get a little smoky at the end once it’s coming together the way it should!

Once the Roux is complete, add a spoonful at a time to the Gumbo and stir each spoonful in well. 

Cover the Gumbo again and let it simmer on low for an hour or so.  Serve with rice or potato salad. Add fresh chopped green onion if you’d like! 

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