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I have a pretty  jambalaya recipe that I've been using for a while, but today I figured I'd try the gumbo recipe on the first page. My only apprehension is that I followed the advice about going for a "dark chocolate" color in the roux, and stirred that poo poo for 45 minutes straight over the lowest heat my stove could give me. The end product has hints of that sort of bitter burnt taste to it. It's kind of like dark-but-not-quite-burnt toast, or maybe older coffee. I'm not a fan of the taste of either of those flavors, but my fiance insists that it's perfectly fine.Did I burn the roux, and thus ruin the dish? The only other thing I could think of that might have done that was after getting the roux to the color it was, I turned off the heat and let it sit for ~5 minutes, then added the veggies. When I did so, the roux dried out maybe halfway, then turned a slight shade darker. Should I have waited longer or something? Is there any way to mask that bitterness? I can only taste it right when the food hits my tongue, and then it's quickly overpowered by the amazing flavors of the rest of the food. I guess I'm just paranoid about my first gumbo. 
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May 5, 2014 03:46
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Breaky posted:If it doesn't taste good to you then yeah it's probably a little off. I add the veggies or some stock to my roux the instant it gets to the right color and that quenches the whole thing, cooling it down so it can't burn after that. I bet if you do that next time you'll be fine. No use stressing over a burned roux, it'll happen now and then. If anything it's good to burn and taste one so you know what to avoid. Yeah, I'm glad I did it on the first try, so I know what to avoid. I know I got the technique right, I just did it for too long. Next time, I'll let it go for 30-35 minutes instead of 45. In other news, tonight was my first night actually having the gumbo. I figured that it would taste better if left to sit overnight, so I made it last night and just finished the chicken tikka masala I had from the night before. Letting it sit did allow the bitter flavor to muddle out of the dish a bit, as well as serving it over the Creole Boiled Rice from that nolacuisine site. I also discovered that adding a few drops of tabasco to the bowl completely masked the bitter flavor, which turned the dish from a Decent First Try into loving Delicious.
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May 6, 2014 02:35
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Can I get some opinions on Trader Joes Andouille Sausage? I've used it before and I think it's pretty great, but the only other andouille that's not balls expensive, especially right now, is Johnsonville, so I don't have much to compare to.
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Aug 31, 2014 05:40
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Yes, it's cooked and smoked. I don't recall if it's pork off the top of my head. It's also organic, if that counts for anything.
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Sep 2, 2014 07:08
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feelz good man posted:Sorry, been there myself. There is absolutely no substitute for real barbecue. Don't waste money on liquid smoke either, it's nasty stuff. Liquid smoke has its uses. Combine 1/4 cup Trader Joes Soyaki marinade with 1 tbsp. applewood liquid smoke for an honestly drat tasty marinade. Not barbeque, obviously, but yeah, good use.
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Feb 12, 2015 16:19
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Yeah, last time I made a roux, I used butter, and at first it smelled like butter and flour, and then slowly became something that reminded me of toasted almonds, before moving to popcorn, and then just starting to smell sort of pungent by the time I took it off the heat. That seems to be where you want it to go.
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Feb 27, 2015 18:58
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Yeah, the only time you're gonna see the words "gumbo" and "diet food" together are when the words "isn't a" are in between them.
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Jul 15, 2015 17:45
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I'm probably going to catch a metric gently caress load of flak for this, but frankly, I've always liked the jiffy cornbread mix, dressed up with a good amount of shredded pepper jack, chopped jalapenos, and grilled corn. Literally just dump the little box of mix into a bowl, with a handful of those ingredients and the other poo poo it calls for, then mix and pour into a loaf pan and bake till a toothpick comes out clean. Slice thick and drizzle a bit of honey over it. I don't really have proportions to give, since we just kinda eyeball it, but it tastes amazing and is one of my guilty pleasures of lazy cooking.
neogeo0823 fucked around with this message at 02:08 on Jul 19, 2015 |
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Jul 19, 2015 02:06
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One thing that wasn't mentioned regarding chicken stock(I don't know about doing this for seafood stock, but I assume it can be done) is to roast your chicken and use the roasted leftovers for the stock. Yes, even the drippings left over in the pan. I like to do this because the seasoning that stays stuck to the skin and bones and in the drippings adds a lovely depth of flavor to the stock. I often use 3 carcasses and make like 3 gallons of stock at a time, and will throw a bbq, Cajun, and "regular" herbed chicken carcass in there and get an amazing amber colored stock with hints of smokiness, spice, and all the other little notes from the herbs I used. Plus, you know, I like roasting chickens and eating the crispy skin off the breasts and thighs when it's done.  
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Dec 15, 2015 14:17
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Shooting Blanks posted:I always think of Turducken as being Cajun/from Louisiana, so I'm putting this here because...I can't really think of anywhere else for it to go. someone taking Turducken to it's horrifying conclusion: As tempting as a Cthulhu joke would be right now, that thing just screams "Turkraken" to me.
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Nov 23, 2016 02:30
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Woah, woah, woah. What? There's a cajun roast beef, now? You local goons best start spilling recipes now, because this sounds like it combines two of my favorite things to splurge on into one dish.
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Jan 18, 2017 00:52
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Well poo poo, look at the size of that gem I coerced from the rocks. I'm buying the stuff to do this later on in the week as i type this. What Creole seasoning mix do you guys use? I mixed up a recipe i found online back last year, but failed to take into account the fact that it's like 50% cayenne pepper, and so it's all spice and nothing else. Can I get away with store bought mix, or is there a special blend you guys recommend?
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Mar 5, 2017 03:05
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It turned out I had a can of Tony's in the pantry, probably from the last time I made anything creole/cajun and ran into the same issue. That's gonna go in this thing for now, till I get a bit more money and room for yet another container of yet another spice mix. I really need to get on making that spice rack I've been talking about for the last couple of years. In other news, I wanna thank this thread again, because while I was browsing through it earlier today, I happened to find a recipe link for white beans and rice, which I'm making as I type this for work lunches for this upcoming week. Also, I do want to say that after I originally made the post asking for cajun roast beef recipes, I did end up making an actual hunk of cajun spiced roast beef. Literally just like you'd make any other roast beef, just dry rubbed with my spicy hell rub, left to sit overnight in the fridge, then roasted the next day, wrapped in foil and sat in the fridge over night again, then sliced as thin as I could manage while cold. The pan drippings were saved and added to more beef stock base and worcestershire sauce to make au jus. The slices were warmed up in a double boiler cobbled together from a pan and a large bowl, so as to not cook the beef further, which was then served on a soft sub roll with slivered onions and provolone, and french dipped in the jus. No pictures, sadly, as I was in a complete and total state of seasoned beef euphoria and was far far too high on it to reach down and get the camera.
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Mar 6, 2017 02:55
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Tonight's Daube night. I just got it into the oven. Pics will be forthcoming when I have some after-shots of the event. I followed the recipe, but also followed Klyith's example and added a roux to the dish. Sadly, I did not get progress shots of the roux either. I started it and then suddenly had an "ohshititsdone!" moment and threw the veggies in. Overall, I got it to about a... well, I don't have a color to describe it, but just a bit past medium before throwing in the veg. It's a good thing I didn't go darker though, because the roux continued to darken after the veggies were added, and all the way till I added the tomato sauce. I'm actually really sad that I don't have anywhere else to go today, because it's gonna be torture not opening the oven for the next 4 hours.
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Mar 11, 2017 22:17
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Dinner's been and gone. The entire afternoon, I had to resist the temptation to open the oven and begin guzzling sauce.  rubbed down and ready to go.  Oh... Oh, my.  Oh, my!   . Oooooooooooooh shhhhhiiiiiiiiiiiiii  Hhhhhhnnnnnnnggggggg! I would've sliced it thinner, but it was so tender and falling apart so easily that chunking it like that worked just fine. My only regret is that I didn't make twice as much so I can have it all week.
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Mar 12, 2017 04:07
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I've learned(guess how, roux burning buddy!) to finish your roux a bit lighter than what you want it at. Once you add the trinity in, the roux will quickly darken a few shades, and if it was close to burning before, it'll almost definitely go over the edge during that time. Incidentally, I made a week's worth of gumbo for my work lunches this past Monday, using the recipe on the font page. Nothing special, but I did use a home made ham/chicken stock for the stock, which added the slightest hint of salty smokiness and was actually quite good. But what I did was use my large heavy bottom stainless stock pot, make the roux, and once I got the flower in there and mixed, turned up the heat to medium high and stir constantly at a medium speed till it got to almost a golden brown. Once it got there, I turned the heat off and continued to stir for another 5 minutes till the bubbles subsided almost completely, then turned the heat back on low and added the veggies. What followed was the roux very quickly darkening to almost a mud brown, and giving off notes of popcorn, and/or just-toasted-enough wheat bread. It happened so fast I barely had time to properly sweat the onions, but in the end it didn't matter. The gumbo turned out dark, thick, velvety, and delicious.
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Apr 1, 2017 02:37
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So my wife and i are going to a potluck this weekend. I wanted to bring jambalaya, but she wanted chicken and corn chowder. Confronted with this impasse, we compromised and are now bringing chicken and corn chowder. Does anyone have a recipe for that that's got a good Cajun/creole spin? She's got a dairy allergy, so I'm looking to probably sub the cream for a roux, okra, and file powder. I'll likely cook the chicken separate so vegetarians can enjoy it. So i guess i just gotta get everything in a row for ingredients. Ideas, recipe suggestions, and reminders for ingredients lists and cooking techniques are appreciated. EDIT: Thinking about it, I guess we'll basically be making a chicken and corn gumbo, right? neogeo0823 fucked around with this message at 17:39 on Jul 6, 2017 |
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Jul 6, 2017 17:25
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That Works posted:Maybe some variation on Maque Choux? that looks pretty awesome, yeah. How well does it scale up? The recipe says it makes 2-3 servings, but we're looking at probably 6-8 people, give or take.
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Jul 6, 2017 22:34
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That Works posted:Scales fine just use a bigger pot and double the recipe or more. Sweet. The two things I love best about a recipe are when it is tasty and cheap. I got a guy bringing a whole roasting hen, and the rest of that recipe should cost me less than $2 per person, at a glance. I'll try to remember to do a trip report, especially because my wife is coming along and her phone can actually take pictures worth a drat.
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Jul 7, 2017 00:29
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Thank God and Satan that this is really only the second occasion this video has been appropriate to post in this thread. I can only imagine the bananas are there to help ease the horrendous spice that comes from the 1/4 tsp each of pepper and chili powder.
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Sep 1, 2017 02:07
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Snake Maze posted:I made Shrimp Etouffee for dinner tonight. It was my first time cooking cajun/creole food, and I had never made my own stock/roux before so I was a little nervous, but it turned out great. Roux looks slightly light, but hey, if it tasted good, nice job, man. As for the stock, I don't have a specific recipe in mind, but if you don't find one, don't throw it out. When I make homemade chicken stock, I boil the utter crap out of it till it reduces down to a gel-like consistency, then freeze it in ice cube trays and store it in a freezer bag. I do the math so that I know that 1 cube = 2 cups of stock, and just add said cube to said water and bam, instant stock. I don't see why it wouldn't work for seafood stock as well as chicken stock.
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Sep 3, 2017 00:03
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That Works posted:That looks great! Nice job. Oh yeah, it's not the fact that it's got collagen and turns almost to a gelatin, it's just that beyond that point, most of the water is boiled out and I begin to worry about caramelizing/burning the leftover stuff. You can likely boil seafood stock down farther than chicken or beef stock for that reason though.
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Sep 3, 2017 01:35
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Don't underestimate the smoked pork hock. Yeah, it's optional, but honestly, for me it adds a huge welcome smokey flavor note to the dish, and thus I think of it as indispensable. Check around for them. I can usually get 6 pork hocks for ~$5 here, and I throw 2 into the dish and freeze the rest for next time.
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Jul 17, 2018 00:45
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Are there any good low carb recipes you guys can share? I'm doing a keto diet and basically can't have sugars, bread, starches, rice, and carbs in general.
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Aug 13, 2018 17:13
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Crap, i forgot about flour in the roux. Actually, the guidelines for the diet say i can have limited amounts of coconut flour. I wonder how that would even work in that situation?
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Aug 13, 2018 17:34
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Human Tornada posted:You guys are being weird. I live in a small-medium city in Ohio and have no problem finding frozen and fresh okra, file, jars of roux all of that stuff in the local grocery stores. They even have a little "southern/cajun" section. Can confirm from western NY. Though we don't have a separate cajun/creole section, it's mostly just spread out over the various other departments.
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Jan 27, 2019 13:52
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Hey goons, I found this dump of recipes. Maybe you'll enjoy them, maybe you already know them all. I dunno, but I'm looking forward to trying a few when next I have to go shopping. Cooking For The Soon To Be Dead 
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Apr 12, 2020 20:26
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The_Doctor posted:Nolacuisine, which has a bunch of recipes in the OP has vanished! Oh no! I just referenced the a couple weeks ago. Wonder what happened?
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Feb 15, 2021 04:30
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Doom Rooster posted:I was planning on making a big batch of gumbo tomorrow, but am completely out of my usual canola oil and the store shelves here in post snowpocalypse Texas were completely bare today. Do you have any butchers around that are still open? See if they have any fat, or rendered lard/tallow/schmaltz. The last time I made gumbo, I went looking for pork fat to make lard. Couldn't find any, but found beef fat at $2/lb, so bought like $6 of that and made tallow. I got enough to make the dish and has enough left to cool into little butter-stick-like bars for regular cooking. Super easy to render down, to. Just takes some time. Outside of that, the Crisco's gonna be overall less healthy for you(lol), but the fry oil will carry flavors over, so if it smells kinda bad now... EDIT: To clarify, yes, I realize where you are, so it might be entirely possible there's absolutely nothing available, but un-rendered fat is often considered a garbage product that's not typically sought-after, so maybe? neogeo0823 fucked around with this message at 02:40 on Feb 21, 2021 |
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Feb 21, 2021 02:38
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Anyone got a good recipe/procedure for instant pot red beans and rice? I'm definitely interested. Also, I plan on getting smoked pork hocks for flavor, but want additional ham bits for meat. What should I get for that? Ham steak?
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Jul 1, 2021 17:26
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My inlaws do deep fried turkey every year with a cajun butter injection. How do I do a gumbo from that? Make stock with the carcass?
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Aug 13, 2022 22:04
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Goons, it has been Five. Goddamn. Years. since I had made daube. The first and last time I had made it, I had apparently hosed up something and made it too spicy for the wife. I remember it being amazing. She only remembers the heat. Well, I *finally* convinced her to let me make it again today. And this time I went milder than I thought it needed, and it truly did turn out fantastic. Have a few pictures. On the house. Mise en place. Sirloin roast, trimmed of fat cap. The fat was cubed, mostly-rendered, and then vegetable oil added till I got the 1/3rd cup measure needed for the roux step.  The wine is an inexpensive malbec, on recommendation from the guy at the liquor store. It worked quite well, tbh. No pics of the cooking process, because Reasons. This is right after the 4 hour simmer in the oven.  Sliced Extra Thiccc.  Same exact everything, just the plate turned around. My knives are always decently sharpened. This roast was so tender that it half shredded from the act of being cut by a sharp knife.   And the money shot. The wife approved of this one. I got the heat level juuuust right. I can't wait to have this tomorrow, after the flavors have melded. 
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Sep 2, 2022 23:46
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Phil Moscowitz posted:Man I love daube, only ever made it the French way. That looks awesome. Check out page 18 of this thread for the recipe. Other goons on that page suggested making a roux, by searing the meat in 1/3rd cup oil, then adding the same amount of flour, do the roux, then add the mirepoix in when ready. IME, the blackened bits from searing the meat don't interfere with the roux process, but you'll wanna add the mirepoix to the roux a bit earlier than you might otherwise, as the stuff on the bottom of the pot looked like it was about to burn till I got it scraped up after the moisture from the mirepoix loosened it. Another goon suggested that instead of cooking on the stove top for 4 hours, preheat the oven to 300F, then turn it down to 275F when you put the pot into the oven. I like this method as you get less chance of burning the stuff on the bottom of the pot, and you don't have to stir it at all except when you flip the meat halfway through cooking.
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Sep 3, 2022 18:31
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Well, great. Now I'm hungry right before bed. Dammit.
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Jan 30, 2023 03:36
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Human Tornada posted:Add a little flour to the main pot to soak up the grease, and then add the meat back in and a couple quarts of homemade chicken stock and seasonings. I used hot sauce, Worcestershire, bay leaves, soy sauce, fish sauce, paprika, thyme, file, black pepper, Peychauds bitters, and some Kashmiri chili powder just for fun. Quick question on this post. Those various spices, do you happen to have any measurements for them? Even approximate ones would be great. Normally, I do a basic gumbo, but I'm getting things together for lunches for work, and I'm feeling fancy and wanting to try something a bit different, and this sounds pretty excellent at a glance.
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Mar 25, 2023 00:39
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I was afraid you guys would say something like that. Not that I am incapable of measuring with my heart, but I always prefer to have a point to jump off from the first time I start slinging spices with wild abandon on a recipe that I've not done that to yet. Are we talking like, teaspoons here, or tablespoons? Literally a pinch of this and that? Mostly, my concern stems from the fact that this is going to be my lunches for the week for work. If it was like, a single serving thing, I'd not care nearly as much.
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Mar 25, 2023 02:45
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Human Tornada posted:Everyone before me was pretty on point but if you're dead set on using measurements I would estimate I used: Thank you for this. I'll try to remember to report back with what amounts I find work well for me, based off of these portions. I'll tell you right now, I was not expecting 12 shakes of bitters. I'd have expected like 4 or so. Everything else seems a bit lower than what I'd have expected, more or less. But, this is why I ask these questions. It never hurts to verify ahead of time. I'd have hated to have made this, hoping for delicious food for the week, and have it turn out wildly off in flavor the next day, you know?
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Mar 26, 2023 02:01
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Trip report: Gumbo was made and has been getting eaten all week. Flavor-wise, it turned out pretty dang good. But gumbo always turns out good, so that's not unusual.The different herbs and spices and the like added a bit of intrigue, but I think I need to up the amounts for next time. I could taste everything, but it was just pretty subtle. I used all of the listed amounts except for the bitters, which I did 8 shakes of. One thing that did happen was that I almost ruined the roux. I have an electric stove that had an apparently failing coil that I used for this, and it burned out right as I got the stock into the pot. Apparently, while I was making the roux, the coil was busy burning itself up, and blackened the bottom of the dutch oven right under my nose. But thankfully, I was able to gently scrape out the roux into a separate pan, carefully clean the crud out of the bottom, and then continue on. The only downside was that the non-burnt roux didn't get as dark as I normally make it. Ah well. I ended up making far and away too much gumbo for one guy to eat in a week, so I brought the remainder in to work and split it amongst the crew. It got rave reviews, so that's good.
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Mar 30, 2023 00:14
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Am I heathen for making my gumbo with roux, okra, and file powder? I kind of hope not, but also, I don't care if I am, seeing as I just got done with a silky smoooooth gumbo for my work lunches this week.
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Oct 28, 2023 03:31
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| # ¿ Apr 28, 2024 07:02 |
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That Old Ganon posted:Do any of you fry your chicken before adding it to your Gumbo right before serving? Do you mean pan fry, or deep fry? I do a quick browning of my chicken before I throw it in, but I couldn't see breading and deep frying it as doing anything other than adding more flour to the dish. Though, hmm... rereading your post, now I'm curious about having gumbo with a big piece of really crunchy fried chicken on the side. neogeo0823 fucked around with this message at 11:05 on Nov 1, 2023 |
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Nov 1, 2023 11:03
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