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Chicken and Andouille Sausage Gumbo Recipe

A hearty non-seafood gumbo with chicken and sausage that will stick to your ribs and make you feel like you are in the deep south

Course Soup
Cuisine cajun
Keyword cajun food, chicken, gumbo, sausage
Servings 10
Author Hannah @ Eat, Drink and Save Money

Ingredients

  • 1 diced white onion
  • 1 green pepper diced
  • 2 ribs of celery diced
  • 1 C canola oil You can sub in bacon grease or lard or a combo of oils. You can even recycle oil that you used for frying. This is the best type of recyle for using whatever oil you have on hand, although I'd refrain from using expensive or robust oils like olive or sesame.
  • 1 C AP flour
  • 1 beer Your roux shouldn't be done quicker than it takes you to slowly sip a beer.
  • 1 1/2 lbs Andouille sausage sliced
  • 8 boneless chicken thighs You can use breast or rotisserie if you like. The dark meat adds to the flavor here so even if you don't love thighs, this is a good recipe to use them. They shine here!
  • 4 tbsp creole seasoning I prefer Tony's Creole Seasoning but you can make your own or use another brand
  • 2 C fresh okra sliced You can omit if you don't like okra, but once again, this is a great recipe to try something new. The okra ends up tasting like the roux, not okra.
  • 3 tbsp minced garlic
  • 6 C cold chicken stock Homemade if preferred, but anything works in a pinch. I've even made it with water before when we were out of chicken stock. A rich enough roux will help out a lackluster stock.
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • hot sauce to taste Put some in the gumbo and also set it out for serving
  • white rice for serving
  • diced green onions for serving

Instructions

  1. Mix your onion, celery, and bell pepper together: The Holy Trinity

  2. Brown the Andouille sausage in a large Dutch oven over medium high heat. Remove sausage when brown, but reserve the sausage grease to add flavor to the roux.

  3. Open a beer to enjoy while making your roux.   Make your roux by adding canola oil to your Dutch oven on medium heat. When the oil is hot (sizzles with a drop of water) slowly add in your flour about 1/8 C. at a time. Wisk the oil and flour to dissolve and then let it rest a few minutes. Let it rest while you take a sip of your beer. Then add another bit of flour. Keep doing this until all the flour is added. It should take at least 25 minutes, but can take up to an hour if you want your roux very dark. The longer you take the darker and richer your roux. I tend to time my roux making by the amount of time it takes me to drink a beer which is approximately 25 minutes and usually gives me a chocolate milk colored roux. The key here is to let the roux rest long enough to brown but not long enough to burn, which is why I choose to drink a beer. The time it takes to take one little sip is just enough time to let the flour brown. If you stir continuously, you will never get a brown roux. And don't worry if you accidentally burn a little bit of the roux. We call that "smoky gumbo" in our house and still have no problem eating it.

  4. While roux is cooking, bake your chicken thighs for about 25 minutes on 350 degrees. Sprinkle with 1 tbsp. of Tony's for some added kick. When finished cooking, let cool and shred the chicken. Alternatively you can make this in an Instant Pot or a slow cooker.

  5. Once the roux is dark enough, turn down the heat to medium low, add the remaining seasoning and the Holy Trinity, cook, stirring often, for about twenty minutes or until the vegetables soften.

  6. Add the okra, cook for about 2 minutes.

  7. Add the sausage. Stir.

  8. Add the cold stock and garlic.

  9. Bring to a boil. Bring this down to a simmer and let it go for at least 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

  10. About 10-15 minutes before you're ready to serve, add the chicken, Worcestershire and hot sauce if using.

  11. Garnish with green onions and serve with boiled white rice, crusty french bread, and another good cold beer (I like Dixie or Abita Amber).