Rajon Cajon
This meal was Tommy C approved
Its pronounced, Ragin Cajun. Dunno why they spell it with ‘o’s. Probably people who don’t go to the library.
So today I busted out ol gramma Henderson’s gumbo recipe. She was an amazing cook but didn’t really do recipes. More one of those ‘use the force’ kinda cooks (mmmm, Star Wars reference). So when my cousin asked for her gumbo recipe, my gramma rattled off a list of ingredients by the pinch, handful and just about. My cousin had to watch gramma cook it so she could measure for the damn Yankees.
We got a recipe, but it came out a bit tricky to understand (the measuring standards included colors of refrigerators and multiple uses of the same veggies).
So this is my translation of ol gramma Elsie’s wonderful gumbo:
It begins with a roux. This can be kinda scary, cause you can mess up real quick. Don’t do that though, unless you wanna, but I wouldn’t.
To make the roux use equal parts fat and flour. I used 1 c Melted Butter (you can use oil or a different fat here too) and added 1 c Flour to a large soup pot (you can use a skillet for easier access and transfer into a bigger pot later). Then you gotta stir that bastard over medium heat. Did you even see the swear I used?
Doesn't that look delicious! No, not really, it looks like one of Emma's nasty flour-water pancake things
This is the fun part. You get to sit over a warm stove and watch as the butter and flour slowly caramelize and take on some nutty flavors and darker color.
Or… it takes a lot of stirring over a hot pan for your tan stuff to turn browner.
Whichever path you choose, you gotta get a darker roux to get a better flavor and consistency. But you gotta keep stirring or else you will scorch your roux and it will taste like burnt.
This is kinda where you want it. You can go darker if you want. I went with lazy.
Once it gets nice n brown, take it off the heat and from here, its a pretty simple matter of dumping crap into a pot. Southern peepz keep it real.
I stirred 3 Onions, chopped and 3 cloves of Garlic, minced into the roux. Then I slowly added 8 cups of hot water. You gotta do this slowly so that you don’t get a funky chunky soup.
Once you got all that stirred in and you have a nice brown soupy lookin pot, you add more veggies.
I added:
1 bag Okra, thawed over low heat in a skillet
3 Jalapenos, seeded n chopped
3 Stalks of Celery, chopped
2 cans Diced Tomatoes
2 Bay Leaves
Crushed Black Peppercorns
Crushed Red Pepper
Cayenne
Simma down now.
I let this simmer down for a little while to let the ingredients make flavor babies together. Mmm babies.
Once this reduces a bit, maybe 10-15 minutes, I added 2 1/2 c Chicken Stock. Gramma used to throw bouillon cubes right into the pot. That sounds kinda salty to me (maybe that’s why it was so good) so I used some chicken stock I had made earlier. Any stock would work, seafood stock sounds pretty tasty.
I then added 2 lb Raw Shrimp. More is better, but I work in a kitchen and get paid just enough to keep up with my heroin addiction (Hey Mom!). It helps to buy shrimp with the shell on for their flavor, but then the bum who lives on your couch complains about having to peel them.
I let this simmer for about 30 minutes, then added 2 cans Crab, Salt, Pepper, a little more Crushed Red Pepper, a splash of Sherry Vinegar and some Filé. Then you ladle the gumbo over some Cooked White Rice and nom on it. Nom.
I need a camera with a flash. Although...I bet theres an app for that!
One last thing, the ‘Trinity’ of Cajun cooking is onions, celery, and green pepper as opposed to the typical onion, celery, carrot base for a lot of french cooking. This is one thing I disagree with in Cajun cooking. Green peppers are a waste. Get Jalapenos, they actually have flavor. Cut the seeds out if you don’t want the spice. If you don’t like jalapenos. SHAME! But then just get Red peppers, which are RIPE green peppers. Why would you ever want to use unripened food? Mmm, rock hard avocados… not in my house, JAKE!
I use green peppers, cause they are half the price of red peppers. I use red peppers too though.
Yea, but jalapeños are cheaper
Jalapenos are cheaper yes, but green bell peppers don’t sting your eyes and genitalia as bad when you eat sloppily. I did burn my fingers when I peeled those shrimp, though I did like pretending that they could still run around with those dangley meat flaps they call legs. You also forgot to specify that the okra needs to be frozen in human saliva to give it the correct consistency.
Yeah but Carlye doesn’t like spicy food.
most of the spicy in jalapenos is in the ribs and seeds. i learned that from ryan, so it must be true.
I like the detail you put into your recipes – everyone else talks about ‘just stir for 10 minutes till its the right colour’ which means ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to me. So thanks! Gonna try this one out
Looks tasty. I agree about the general sentiments and the specificities about jalapeños: just cut the ribs and seeds out of the jalapeños Joe, and Carlye should be all right. Although I’ve enjoyed a nice batch of guac no problem that brought everyone else to tears. I roux that I didn’t get to try any of this.
save me some
Looks just like the gumbo Grandmother Elsie made. You rocked the gumbo. Wish I could have a bowl. I’ll just have to make a pot. Of course a real Cajun would tell you that you have to make the roux with a black (i.e., cast iron) pot!