Easy Shrimp and Sausage Gumbo Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What are the 2 rules of gumbo? ›

Great gumbo starts with roux, a flavorful thickening agent made from equal parts fat and flour. Once the roux is a deep golden color, add diced veggies and sausage to the mix. Then, incorporate beef bouillon, hot sauce, tomatoes, and seasonings to intensify the flavor.

While simmering, saute sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat until browned on all sides. Add sausage to gumbo. Taste gumbo and season lightly with salt. Simmer for 2 hours.

NO! take raw shrimp, de-vein it, then add to the simmering gumbo and cook till the shrimp turns pink and opaque, just 2–3 minutes, important not to overcook shrimp! No, you'll just throw the flavor away. Add it to the gumbo a few minutes before serving.

For the most flavor, use stock or broth in your gumbo instead of water. Whether you use chicken or vegetable stock, homemade or boxed, the stock will give your gumbo more depth and complexity.

Gumbo is much denser than a simple soup; the broth has a thick, almost viscous consistency. And that characteristic is most commonly created by making a roux, cooking flour and oil together until they thicken and darken. Otherwise, gumbo can be thickened with file, which is just powdered dried sassafras leaves.

Heat on medium-high until you get a slow boil going. Reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook for an hour, stirring periodically.

Turns out, your preference for tomatoes in gumbo comes down to whether you learned your skills from a Cajun cook or a Creole cook. (Learn about the difference here.) Cajun gumbo does not include tomatoes in the base, but Creole gumbo (typically shellfish or seafood gumbo) does call for tomatoes.

Classic Shrimp Gumbo: In a large pot, sauté onion, celery, and green pepper in oil until softened. Add garlic and Cajun seasoning, then stir in broth, tomatoes, and okra. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer for 30 minutes, then stir in frozen shrimp and cook until shrimp are pink and cooked through.

For purposes of this discussion, we will limit our focus to plain old polished white rice. Even then, it comes in different sizes — short, long and medium grain. I prefer medium grain rice in a gumbo, because the grains puff up, the perfect medium for a gumbo. The thick gumbo juice sticks to the grains just right.

What is the best sausage for gumbo? ›

Smoked andouille sausage is best. If your sausage is raw, slice the links and brown them in a pan before adding them to the gumbo pot. Alternately, you can use smoked ham instead of smoked andouille sausage.

I used pre-cooked/Cajun-seasoned shrimp which made this gumbo with okra that much easier, but you can just use raw shrimp. Adjust the spice to make it as hot or mild as you'd like. Leftovers freeze well. Serve with rice and/or crusty French bread!

Shrimp only need a few minutes to cook on their own. They should be added to the gumbo pot immediately after you have turned off the heat so they don't get overcooked and tough.

From a purist standpoint, you should use green bell peppers and yellow onions. You can use red peppers and white or red onions for a different flavor.

Thou Shalt Never Tell People Where the Potato Salad Goes. This is a personal choice, leave this discussion out of the kitchen. Though Shalt Always Stir Your Gumbo Counter-Clockwise. It is said if you stir your gumbo counterclockwise you will have a quiet hurricane season.

Turns out, your preference for tomatoes in gumbo comes down to whether you learned your skills from a Cajun cook or a Creole cook. (Learn about the difference here.) Cajun gumbo does not include tomatoes in the base, but Creole gumbo (typically shellfish or seafood gumbo) does call for tomatoes.

Roux is made by cooking equal parts flour and fat together until the raw flavor of the flour cooks out and the roux has achieved the desired color. Butter is the most commonly used fat, but you can also make roux with oil, bacon grease, or other rendered fats.