Jamie's Spicy Meat Gumbo

I know I teased more Jamie recipes last week than I actually posted about...but that was for your own good. Beer Butt Chicken was fine (and very juicy, even though I was worried my prehistoric oven over-cooked it), but nothing earth shattering...although Hubby has since insisted it was worth posting about. Maybe if I use a better rub next time. I'll keep you posted. As is, my favorite part is that it looked more than slightly inappropriate before and after cooking:


Heh.

I also made Zucchini and Couscous Salad...it made a ton and, over the course of a couple days, I ate a ton...but to be honest, it's pretty similar to my Greek Chicken and Quinoa Salad, and I prefer the latter. It was good, but something was missing for me.

Yesterday, however, I attempted one of his Gumbo recipes...and it's worth sharing. There were a few changes I had to make: his version calls for sweet potato and fresh herbs, all of which I was out of, but omitting the potato was fine, and dried thyme and bay leaves worked just as well. I also added the hot sauce, since my cayenne pepper seemed a little questionable, and used beef broth instead of chicken. Served over some white rice and we pretty much destroyed it. It was hard to just have one serving. (But I did. It's not exactly low-fat.)



I'm not going to lie and say this is an easy one...I mean, it's not difficult, but it does take time (About 2.5 hours, AKA way more than I anticipated—otherwise I would have done it on a weekend). Just pay attention to it and, as Jamie says, 'dedicate a bit of love' to it.

Also, and this is gross...I'm recommending you take the skin off the chicken either from the start or after you brown it. Between that and the bacon and sausage, I skimmed off a good 1/2+ cup of fat/attached broth while it cooked. It took forever to do, and liquid fat is just nasty to deal with.



Meat Gumbo
olive oil
1 package bone-in chicken thighs (about 6)
S&P
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper (or about 2 tsp Frank's or other cayenne sauce)
3 spicy sausages, thickly sliced (I used the Spicy Louisiana flavor)
4 slices of smoked bacon, chopped roughly
Large onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and chopped
4 stalks celery, trimmed and diced
3 tbsp flour
6 cloves garlic
leaves of 6 thyme leaves, or a little less than a tsp dried
4 bay leaves
6 cups broth
green onion to top

Season chicken with salt, pepper, paprika and cayenne. In a large pan (You need a big one), heat a bit of olive oil (I'm sure spray would have worked fine), and add the chicken, sausage and bacon. Let brown a few minutes over high heat, then flip and stir fry it all around for about 10-15 minutes or until everything is a little golden. Reduce heat to medium high and remove chicken from pan and place on a large plate. Cover with foil to keep warm.

The pan should have a bunch of drippings in it by now, so just add the veggies (onion, bell peppers, celery) and saute about 10 minutes (move it around a bit occasionally).

In the meantime, pour yourself a drink, grab a book, tune the station to something you like. Cause you're about to be stuck at the stove for awhile. Add the flour, and start stirring; slowly but very often is good. Jamie says it should be at least peanut-butter dark by about 10-15 minutes, but mine never got that dark, and I cooked it about 25 minutes. So...aim for darker than lighter, and cook between 10 and 30 minutes.

Stir in the broth, bay leaves, thyme, garlic, and a bit more pepper. When it comes to boil, reduce to a low boil (medium low heat or so), and cook about 45-60 minutes, stirring once in awhile. When it's ready, the chicken will easily pull off the bone.

When you're ready, remove the chicken from the pot, pull off all the meat, and return just the meat to the gumbo. Season to taste with S&P and hot sauce.


He says this serves 6-8...I say closer to 8. But Jamie loves his fat-kid portions. About 245 cals (plus rice) if you aim for 8 servings.