Venison Gumbo Recipe - Cajun Gumbo with Venison | Hank Shaw (2024)

FAQs

What are the 2 rules of gumbo? ›

Thou Shalt Always Use a Bowl. If you use a plate, it is not gumbo it is rice and gravy! Thou Shalt Only Use a Wooden Spoon. There is only one kind of spoon that can enter a gumbo pot and that is a wooden one.

Creole gumbo is usually made with okra, tomato, and often a combination of meat and seafood, while the Cajun version contains meat or seafood, and is typically okra-free and made with a darker roux.

The roux is what adds the deep, rich flavor to the gumbo, and it gives it it's thick texture. Make a good roux is a labor of love, but but one that totally pays off, and you can make it ahead of time!

"A roux is the base of numerous Cajun and creole dishes. In Louisiana, natives have a joke about how long it takes to make the roux for certain dishes. Etouffee is usually a 1 beer roux while a full fledged gumbo is a 2 to 3 beer roux.

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.

The "holy trinity" in Cajun cuisine and Louisiana Creole cuisine is the base for several dishes in the regional cuisines of Louisiana and consists of onions, bell peppers and celery. The preparation of Cajun/Creole dishes such as crawfish étouffée, gumbo, and jambalaya all start from this base.

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.

In order to develop a deep roasted flavor in your gumbo, you should cook your roux — being careful not to burn — until it is a deep dark brown color. "Roux needs to be cooked low and slow to bring out the nutty flavor and rich dark color without burning it," says Chef Dickensauge of Houndstooth Saloon in Chicago.

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.

Butter adds great flavor, but since it has a lower smoke point than other fat sources (like vegetable or canola oil), it's more likely to burn when used in a darker roux. “In a dark roux,” says New Orleans–based chef Justin Devillier, “I'll mix butter with a high-heat oil” to keep the fat from scorching.

What kind of rice is best for gumbo? ›

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.

Roux: To make the roux for this recipe, I recommend the classic combination of vegetable oil (or any neutral-flavored oil) and all-purpose flour. Veggies: We will use the Louisiana “holy trinity” of celery, onion and bell pepper as the veggie base for our gumbo, plus some extra garlic for seasoning.

It takes at least 10-15 minutes alone to make the roux and another 1-3 hours for the gumbo to simmer before it's ready to be served. The flavors meld together and intensify making it very flavorful. If you don't have a jalapeño you can add in a hot sauce like tabasco, or leave out the spice all together if desired.

Gumbo consists primarily of a strongly flavored stock, meat or shellfish (or sometimes both), a thickener, and the Creole "holy trinity" – celery, bell peppers, and onions. Gumbo is often categorized by the type of thickener used, whether okra or filé powder (dried and ground sassafras leaves).

To help prevent the roux from breaking or separating in your finished dish, make sure the roux and the liquid (water or stock) are at similar temperatures. Don't add cold roux to hot liquid or vice versa. Also, gradually add one to the other, whisking constantly between additions.