Hello Gershom, it looks like Fall is here. All the leaves have turned, and lots of them are on the ground. We’ll leave them right there like we always do. Somehow that just seems more natural. Along with the cooler weather, the guys are hungry for different food. Of course, all of them are thinking about venison, but til then, they have to eat something. So, we got your recipe for Gumbo out of the old shoe box and started looking for the stuff we’d need.
3 tbs vegetable shortening (we used bacon grease. Got lots of that) 3 tbs flour (we used Bisquick) 1 onion, chopped 2 ribs celery, chopped (not sure what a “rib” is. We used a couple of sticks) 1 green bell pepper, chopped 6 C warm chicken broth (We used water and bouillon cubes) 1 can of diced tomatoes (just because we had them) 1/2 lb okra, cut into 1/4” pieces (What’s okra? Left it out) 1/2 C uncooked rice 1 tsp salt 1 to 1 1/2 tsp of filet powder if you have it (We only filet big fish. No such thing as powdered fish. We left it out.)
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (We used the Slap Ya Mama you sent us.)
1/2 tsp pepper 1/4 tsp thyme (It was an old tin box but no bugs, so we put it in.)
2 bay leaves 1 broiler-fryer chicken (no chicken, so we used a duck that Henry shot last week) 6-8” cajun sausage, chopped (we used kielbasa) 1-2 dozen peeled shrimp (we had some frozen shrimp and peeled the breading off) 1/2-pint raw oysters and liquor (used some fresh clams from the lake. Ed pried them open and fiddled with the meat. What kind of liquor?)
3/4 - 1 cup cooked crawfish (it took a while, but we got twenty big crawfish from Lake Mary – it’s overrun with them) squirrels (that was easy) In a large Dutch oven (no Dutch here, just Finns), melt shortening over low heat; add flour and cook, stirring until brown, about 10 minutes Add onions and bell pepper and celery; cook until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.
Slowly add warm broth; stir until broth reaches a boil.
Add rice and spices. Bring to a boil.
Add chicken (duck) and sausage; when mixture boils again, reduce heat to low, cover and cook till the meat falls off the bones. Remove the chicken (duck) and pick the meat and return it to the pot, discard bones and other nasty parts. Then, add the shrimp, crawfish, and oysters as you wish. If you are using squirrel, they are best pre-boiled and picked, and add with the chicken.
Well, I’ve gotta tell you, we had to make the roux twice. We burned it the first time when we all went outside to watch a big flight of geese go over. We had to use Bisquick because a mouse got into the flour. The mouse only ate a little bit, but then Fred’s new pup knocked the container off the shelf looking for the mouse, and it all went on the floor. The tomatoes were my idea. I think they were pretty, swimming around in there. The clams turned out to be tough, but they tasted OK. We always have a couple of squirrels all cleaned and ready to go in the freezer. Lots of squirrels this year; maybe the whole crew is nuts. Sorry, had to put that in there.
Anyway, the Gumbo turned out fine. In fact, we’ll be making it again this winter. A big pot of gumbo simmering on the back burner would be worth coming in off the ice for. Your recipes are always a hit here. Well, I should close, I think there’s a ‘coon in the trash can.
-Your friend Ernie and all the guys at the Iron Lake Fishing Club.