Today we have a wonderful guest blogger, Mama Belle! Mama Belle has the most delightful blog called Bayou Belles And Their Beau, and I find myself sneaking over there quite often to peep into her life. I love her writing style and her humor – so y’all know I had to try her food! She is a Southern Belle from cajun country so y’all are in for a treat! Thanks, Mama Belle! Its all yours!
Christy 
When you live in Cajun country, the number one item that you need to know how to cook is gumbo. Gumbo is eaten all the time, especially once the weather gets cool, which Cajuns refer to as “Gumbo Weather.”
Here’s the problem … a lot of us ladies can’t make a roux to save our lives.
Roux is what makes the gumbo good … a mixture of flour and oil. It’s an embarrassment for a Cajun to not be able to make a roux. And, ya’ll, I’m a good cook. I really am. I just can’t make a good roux.
I have tried, but have never been pleased with the taste. The gumbo has either turned out too oily or not dark enough or with not enough flavor. So, I’ve given up, along with a lot of other ladies, and now use the jarred roux. Everyone I know uses it, even the real Cajuns. So, save yourself a lot of trouble and just buy instead of trying to make your own.
So, here’s how you do it … Chicken, Sausage, and Tasso Gumbo.
This is what you will need (picture of ingredients): I used Savoie’s roux, but you can use whatever kind you can find. I also used previously chopped veggies … way easier. It includes what Cajuns refer to as “The Holy Trinity” … onion, bell pepper, and garlic, but you can cut ’em all up if you want to.
Dissolve roux in water over medium heat and let boil for 1/2 hour.
Season the chicken.
Add meats and vegetables. Bring to a boil; lower fire to medium heat and cook until chicken and vegetables are tender (about 1 1/2 hours). Add green onions and parsley about 15 minutes before and season to taste.
Serve over cooked rice in soup bowls. 6-8 servings. (picture)
When you cook a gumbo, you must have one of two things as a side … potato salad or baked sweet potatoes. I stuck to the healthier choice.
Mama Belle’s Gumbo
Ingredients
- 4 quarts water
- ½ jar of roux
- Cajun seasoning (I always use Tony Chachere's. It's the best!)
- 1 large chicken, cut up (If you don't want the bones, use chicken breasts and boneless thighs.)
- 1 lb. smoked sausage, thinly sliced
- 12 oz. smoked tasso, thin sliced
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 bell pepper, chopped
- 2 pods garlic, minced
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- ½ c. green onions, chopped
- ½ c. parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Dissolve roux in water over medium heat and let boil for ½ hour. Season the chicken by coating with cajun seasoning. Add meats and vegetables. Bring to a boil; lower fire to medium heat and cook until chicken and vegetables are tender (about 1½ hours). Add green onions and parsley about 15 minutes before and season to taste. Serve over cooked rice in soup bowls. 6-8 servings.
Hope ya’ll enjoy it!
~Mama Belle
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I make a “dry” roux that my Mawmaw learned from her Cajun mother-in-law. I use about 2-3 tbsps of crisco, melt that at medium heat in my cast iron, then I add a cup and a half of flour and mix as well as I can. Then I stir, scrape, and mash the clumps of “wet” flour out until it’s all a smooth texture for about 45 minutes or so. I like my gumbo a lighter color, closer to PB or caramel. If you like yours darker, just keep cooking until the flour is cooked to your desired color.
I mix the flour & bacon grease put in iron skillet and in the oven 350 and stir every half hour until it is the color I want. I make some Gumbo last week it was delish sausage, chicken, shrimp, crab plus trinity.
I have never seen jarred roux! I’d be really surprised if they had such a thing out here anyway! Us Southern Californians will just have to stir and stir :/
Grandma always made me stir the roux once she deemed me old enough. She’d have me stir until it was about the color of peanut butter.. maybe a little darker. There was never seconds so I guess I did all right!
Can’t wait till it gets a bit colder. Gumbo sounds soooo good right now.
Thanks for the recipe. I was so afraid that I wouldn’t be able to find the roux mix in the store, seeing that I don’t live in Louisiana. But I was able to find it in the Walmart in Birmingham, Alabama and plan to make it this weekend for the Iron Bowl. Roll Tide. Oh and it was Tony Chachere’s Roux mix.
Stacey
Thanks for all of your efforts! Just love to see real Homemade Southern Food recipes And your tutorials are so nice especially for the beginning cooks, I’m sure it helps them a lot! Your stories are sweet too. Real family stuff! Keep up the good work! Thanks Again!