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.

Some good gumbo seasonings include paprika, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, dried oregano, dried thyme, and bay leaves. Additionally, you can add other seasonings to adjust the flavor, such as black pepper, ground cumin, white pepper, and file powder.

"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.

This gumbo starts with a dark roux as its base. Once the roux is ready and combined with water, add sautéed chopped green bell pepper, onion and celery to the pot. Sear the chicken and sausage, too, before throwing them in, and letting the gumbo cook low and slow for hours.

I - Thou Shalt Never Use Tomatoes If we've learned anything from the Disney folks, it's this. Any cooyon with half a brain knows "Making Gumbo 101" contains this golden rule -- it's roux-based and not tomato-based! Tomatoes are for things like spaghetti sauce.

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.

Creole gumbos most often include tomatoes, shellfish and dark roux and often okra and filé powder, an herb made from ground leaves of sassafras trees. Cajun gumbo doesn't have tomatoes and usually also contains chicken. It's not uncommon for both Creole and Cajun gumbo to include meats such as ham or sausage as well.

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.

Cooking the gumbo for a good three to four hours on simmer is imperative. "The long cooking time adds time for flavors to develop and ensures a burst of flavor," says Biffar. Make sure to give it time to let everything mesh together, this is not a dish to be rushed!

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.

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.

In my opinion, gumbos fall into three categories, Seafood Gumbo, Gumbo Z'herbs and Meat Gumbos. Gumbo Z'herbs is a gumbo that is mostly made of green leafy vegetables.

Gumbo can have tomatoes, especially if it's Creole gumbo and seafood gumbo. Cajun gumbo usually doesn't have tomatoes but it does have a dark, chocolate-colored roux of flour and fat. Celery, onions and bell pepper, a nice stock, and protein (often including smoked sausage), are mixed with garlic and cayenne pepper.

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.

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.

Learn How to Make a Roux for gumbo so you get the best rich Cajun flavor. Simply whisk together flour and either melted butter or oil, then simmer until you achieve a white, blonde, light brown, or dark color for all of your thickening needs.

A roux is a sauce built on a simple ratio of 1 part butter to 1 part flour. You start by melting butter, then add in flour, and cook the mixture over low heat until it's thick and lump-free.