Bachelor Pad Royale: Chicken and Smoked Sausage Gumbo

By Chuck Sudo in Food on Feb 5, 2008 3:30PM

Sometimes you can't wait for Mardi Gras to cook up a hot pot of gumbo. We love the rich textures brought on from the roux, the savory elements lent to it by the various meats, and the spices of the broth. Add some filé powder and ladle some over wild rice and we can't think of a more perfect dish for a damp, rainy day.

We have a few gumbo recipes that we fall back on. One of our standbys is a chicken and smoked sausage variety that we recently added a kick to by making a roux using duck fat we bought from our local butcher. It was our first time using duck fat, and we cursed ourselves after two bites for not using it sooner. It made a rich dish even richer.

What You Need

1 cup duck fat
2 cups flour
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
2 small yellow onions, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 cup okra
1 cup corn
2-½ quarts chicken stock, heated
2 tablespoons Creole or Cajun seasoning
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon thyme
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons sea salt
1 pound smoked sausage, sliced ½ inch thick
2 pounds broiled and deboned chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces

• The roux is both the most time-consuming and labor intensive element of this recipe. Melt the duck fat in a 12-quart stockpot. Whisk in the flour until foaming. Cook, stirring often, until it turns a dark mahogany in color, about 1 hour.
• Add the peppers, onion, celery and okra and cook five minutes, or until soft. Whisk in the chicken stock and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer. Add the spices and cook, skimming the fat as necessary, about 45 minutes.
• Add the sausage and chicken and cook for 15-25 minutes. Ladle over long grain or brown rice, season accordingly.