THIS gumbo. There are no two ways about it. You need it in every way possible.
Cooking time: 2hrs 30minutes
Serves :10
Ingredients
- 1 2-3 pound whole chicken
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 2 medium onions diced
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 2 medium bell pepper deseeded and diced
- 2 cups sliced okra
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 pound smoked Polish sausage cut into 1-inch slices
- 1 cup diced smoked ham
- 1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes, with juices
- 1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes with peppers, with juices
- 1 10-ounce can Navy beans
- 2 tablespoons Ole Bay seasoning
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 pound raw small shrimp peeled, deveined, and cleaned
- 4 cups cooked rice optional
How To Prepare
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Wash chicken and place into a large Dutch oven. Cover with water plus about 2 inches. Bring to a boil over medium heat and simmer for about 2 hours. Remove chicken from water and set-aside to cool. Add butter, onion, celery, bell pepper, okra, and garlic to chicken stock.
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Pull chicken from the bone and add back to the stock. Add in Polish sausage, and ham. Cook for about 10 minutes to allow all the juices to incorporate.
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Pour in diced tomates and diced tomatoes with peppers. Smash Navy beans with a fork while in the can and then pour into the Gumbo along with Ole Bay seasoning and bay leaves.
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Bring Gumbo to a boil and stir in additional chicken stock. Cook for 10-15 minutes and then stir in shrimp. Cook until shrimp has turned pink, about 5 more minutes.
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Remove bay leaves from the Gumbo and the Dutch oven from the heat. Serve Gubmo over rice (optional) or by itself.
Notes
Alternately, you may use a rotisserie chicken rather than cooking a whole chicken, if desired. If doing so, I recommend the following changes to recipe: Heat Dutch oven over medium heat. Melt butter and add onion, celery, bell pepper, okra and garlic. Saute until tender, about 3-5 minutes. Continue with remaining steps of the original recipe and add 4 cups of chicken stock to Gumbo when recipe calls for 2 cups. Using rotisserie chicken will reduce cooking time by 2 hours.