A Tale of Two Gumbos

We can make this hard or we can make this easy. 
Southern Living (Dec. 2004) has a quick-and-easy Chicken & Sausage Gumbo recipe that is delicious. It is much lighter than traditional gumbo and perfect for those of us watching our calories. The second Chicken & Sausage Gumbo recipe is Emeril's. It's not quick and easy (or light), but it is delicious. (I've been making it for about four years now - so I can vouch for the recipe.) It's always made for Christmas dinner at my house.

Quick & Easy Chicken-Sausage Gumbo

1/2 lb smoked sausage, cut into 1/2-inch thick slices
1 to 3 tbsp vegetable oil
5 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 cup coarsely chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
2 large garlic cloves, pressed
1 medium-size green bell pepper, chopped
2 cups chicken broth
1 28-oz can diced tomatoes
1 to 2 tsp Creole seasoning
4 cups chopped cooked chicken
Hot cooked rice

Cook sausage over high heat in Dutch oven 5 min., stirring often. Remove sausage with a slotted spoon. Drain on paper towels.

Add enough oil to drippings in Dutch oven to equal 3 tbsp, and whisk in flour; cook over med-hi heat, whisking constantly, 5 min. Add onion and next three ingredients; cook 5 min., stirring often. Stir in broth and next two ingredients. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 5 min. Add sausage and chicken; simmer, covered, 5 min. Serve over rice. (Contributed by Clairiece Gilbert Humphrey of Charlottesville, VA).


Emeril's Chicken & Smoked Sausage Gumbo

1 c. vegetable oil
1 c. flour
1 1/2 c. chopped onion
1 c. chopped celery
1 c. chopped green bell peppers
1 lb smoked sausage, cut up
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne
3 bay leaves
8 c. water
1 lb chicken, cut up
1 tsp creole seasoning
2 tbsp parsley, fresh
1/2 c. green onions
1 tbsp file powder (optional - I never include it...it's thick enough on it's own and I like my gumbo a little soupy)
1 bag frozen sliced okra (my addition...not in Emeril's original recipe)

Combine the oil and flour over med. heat. Stir slowly 20 to 25 minutes. (This is the critical stage in any gumbo. You have to stand right over it and watch the color. When the roux is the color of a Hershey's chocolate bar (pictured above), it's about right. But one minute of not watching can be the difference between a perfect roux and a burnt mess. I also find it helpful to stir the roux with a whisk rather than a spoon - but I have no idea why this is better...can't explain the science, it just works for me.) Add onions, celery and bell pepper and stir 5 min.

Add sausage, salt, cayenne and bay leaves. Stir 4 min. Add water and stir till combined. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to med-lo. Cook, uncovered, stirring occassionally, for one hour.

Season chicken with Creole seasoning and add to pot. Simmer for two hours. Add okra and cook for as long as directions on the bag suggest. Remove from heat and add parsley, green onions and file powder (if desired). Remove bay leaves.