Prawn and Sausage Gumbo

This was terrific! My friend from Louisianna helped me make this, and told me instead of constantly stirring the roux, to let it sit for a minute or two, then stir, let sit, etc. I don't think my roux would have EVER turned brown if she hadn't told me this! I put more green pepper in than this called for, a can of tomatoes, used 1/2 olive oil and half veg oil, other than that, stuck to the recipe for an excellent product. One other note: My friend told me her mom makes a lot of roux at a time, and freezes it in baggies so that next time, she doesn't have to stand at the stove for so long. Thanks Merwin!  -  17 Sep 2007  (Review from Allrecipes US | Canada)

I am from and still live in southern Louisiana. I think some people don't realize that good southern cooking takes time. People here love to cook. Alot of us base our weekends on food..inviting friends and family over to share good times being outside on a nice day driking and talking while we cook one stew, gumbo, jambalaya, sauce picante, etc. all day long. Its nice to sit around and smell the good smells while enjoying the day. Good food takes time and is always well worth it in the end.  -  08 Dec 2004  (Review from Allrecipes US | Canada)

I grew up eating my mom's gumbo, so as I read many recipes and reviews, I also had some ideas such as gumbo must have okra and tomatoes! I think this is the best recipe I've found. I did speed it up by doing a few of the steps simultaneously in two pots, so my total cooking time was about 2 hours. 1. First I browned the chicken in light olive oil (holds up to heat better than regular) in a heavy skillet. I put the chicken aside to be added back and cooked in the gumbo during the last 40 minutes. (Chicken included is how I know gumbo.) 2. Then I cooked the roux in the heavy skillet simultaneously with browning the sausage (I used Polish, sliced in circles) in a large soup pot. For the roux, I added to the oil that had browned the chicken more olive oil and 1/4 cup of butter to make a total of about a cup of oil/butter, and gradually added about a cup and a half of flour, stirring constantly so that the roux was smooth. I like to use a metal spatula (aka turner) so that I can quickly scrape the bottom of the skillet and not let the roux burn. 3. While the sausage browned in one pot, and the roux browned in the other (stirring every couple of minutes), I finely chopped the Cajon "trinity" of onion, bell pepper, and celery. I added the vegies to the sausage pot, along with cajon seasoning (salt, pepper, etc.), garlic, and a little olive oil. 4. When the vegies were wilted and the roux was "darker than peanut butter," I added the roux to the sausage and vegies, along  -  01 Oct 2008  (Review from Allrecipes US | Canada)