Shrimp and Oyster Gumbo Makes 8 to 10 servings 2 pounds raw shrimp, with heads if possible Salt, black pepper and cayenne to taste 3/4 cup vegetable oil 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 cup chopped celery 2 cups chopped onion 1/2 cup chopped bell pepper 4 cloves garlic, minced 1 package frozen gumbo crabs, halved (optional) 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon cayenne Texas Pete Hot Sauce to taste 1 pint oysters with their liquor 1/4 cup green onion tops chopped 1/4 cup chopped parsley 4 Bay leaves Hot cooked rice for serving Peel the shrimp, and deveined. Season shrimp with salt, pepper and cayenne. Refrigerate. Put the shrimp shells and heads in a stock pot with 1 gallon water. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer. Cook 15 minutes. Strain and discard solids. Return the stock to the pot (which you have washed or wiped out if anything is clinging to the edges) and keep warm until use. In a large Dutch oven, heat the oil over high heat. With a long-handled whisk, stir in the flour, and stir constantly as the roux darkens. When it is the color of a copper penny, dump in the onions, celery, bell pepper and garlic all at once. Stir well. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring often with a long-handled spoon, until vegetables are wilted, about 10 to 15 minutes. Slowly add the hot shrimp stock. Bring mixture just to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer. Stir occasionally to make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom. After 30 minutes, add the gumbo crabs, if using. Cook another 30 minutes. Add the shrimp and stir well. Add the salt, cayenne, and hot sauce. Cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste the gumbo and adjust seasoning if necessary. Add oysters with their liquid and cook another five minutes, just until the edges of oysters curl. Taste again and re-season if necessary. Remove from heat, and stir in the onion tops and parsley. Serve in soup plates over hot cooked rice. Like most one-pot dishes, this one will taste better the next day after cooking. If made ahead, add oysters, onion tops and parsley just before serving. To store: Divide into smaller containers and refrigerate within two hours. To cool an entire pot of hot liquid such as gumbo, stir it well to release heat. After 30 minutes to 1 hour of cooling, put ice into zip-top freezer plastic bags, securely close them, and add them to the pot to cool it. Remove the plastic bags when the gumbo is cool enough to handle, and divide it into smaller containers to refrigerate or freeze. Variation: Add 1/2 to 1 pound claw crab meat, picked over for shells, along with the oysters. FYI: you can add chicken, a few pieces of ham. You can also add crawfish, scallops. If blue crabs arent available you can use stone/Jonah crabs or snow crabs but if you use the crawfish, scallops, stone/Jonah or snow crabs add them 30 minutes before servicing. If you like a red based/tomato gumbo: use one 16 to 20 oz can of tomato sauce. And 1 1/2 cups of home style Salsa (usually found in the cheese section -chunky
Posted on: Wed, 30 Oct 2013 17:39:25 +0000