Gumbo: A 2 Hour Roux and the Soul of an Old Black Woman

Today is the Monday after Easter. My folks live in Minneapolis, and I live in the fine city of Austin. I got a call from my mom today where between my mom, dad, and I spent 20+ minutes talking about what we ate for Easter dinner, and how it turned out. Easter Sunday we spent somewhere in that ballpark talking about what we were going to eat later that afternoon. I'm pretty sure I had a conversation with someone earlier in the week - talking about the meal and specifically what they were doing for dessert.

Is it any surprise I turned out the way I did? That I have a food blog; that my obsession with food is for better or worse one of my defining characteristics; that I talk about food while eating food; that I spend 45 minutes on a treadmill thinking about food every time I'm at the gym?

Easter Sunday in my family almost inevitably means a ham. My dad, in particular, loves to go all evil scientist with his hams: studding them with cloves, smoking them, grilling them, THEN baking them in some insane concoction loaded with fruit and spices. And it's fantastic. I think he told me on the phone this year it was just his "standard" sauce with apricots and beer and dijon and a ton of different spices. The discussion about my mom's potatoes, and the desert carried on for quite some time as well.

For some reason, though, I decided that this Easter I needed to make a gumbo. And not just a gumbo, but the best damn gumbo someone as pigmentally challenged as myself could throw together. Maybe I was just yearning it, maybe it was Treme coming on the same night (had a lot to do with it), or maybe it was the only way I could get the absolutely horrible gumbo my friend made a few weeks back out of my head.

I've only made gumbo once before. It was good, but nothing worth bragging about. Proportions were a bit out of whack, my shrimp stock wasn't great, and most crucially - the roux needed to get another 2-3 shades darker before I fully committed. What I did retain from that gumbo about 2 years ago was the process - I picked up the rest from about 3-4 different recipes I looked at.

The results were stellar. It was a true labor of love, with the total combined time (between all prep, stock making, etc) being in the 6 hour time frame, I can understand why they call it soul-food. Asa, seeing me spend 2 hours perched up on my counter, stirring constantly, gave me a bit of grief. Upon tasting the first bite, he exclaimed I "had the soul of an old black woman". Probably the best compliment someone can give you in those circumstances...

With no intention of writing a post on Gumbo I set off on my journey, and forgot to take pictures. My apologies for a vanilla post.

The Gumbo Process:

Basically it all starts with your shopping list. Are you doing meat or seafood? I chose seafood and the rest is dictated by that choice.

Step 1 - Buy Shrimp With the Shells On. Without shells you can't make your stock. Like just about everything else you cook on the planet, water alone will likely be a very poor and flavorless substitute for a rich stock. The stock (recipe below) only took about 45 minutes to an hour (maybe a few minutes longer, add an additional 15 for peeling the scrimp) to come together, but it was entirely worth it.

Step 2 - Buy Real Andouille Sausage (smoked). You can buy raw Andouille from a number of stores, but unless you plan on smoking it yourself, it just won't give you the same texture and flavor. I used Aidel's because it was what I could find on hand - but use what you can get.

Step 3 - Do all of your prep in advance. Chop all your veggies. Chop you sausage. Make your spice mix. Prepare your stock well in advance, and make sure it's hot before adding to the roux. Get all of your measurements down (if that's what you do). When you spend upwards of 2 hours to make a perfect roux, and things can burn at ANY second (in which case you have to start over), do you really want to start chopping veggies or mixing spices? Do you want to be forced to use plain water so your roux doesn't burn because the stock isn't ready - or you haven't strained it yet?

Step 4 - Make a perfect roux. The most critical step, and the most antagonizing. Frankly, it's not difficult so much as it is tedious. This is where the soul in soul food comes from. My roux took me 2 hours - of constant stirring, never leaving the pot unattended for more than 15 seconds at a time. If you allow even the slightest amount of the roux to burn your whole dish is toast and you have to start the fuck over again. General consensus is to start with medium hot oil, whisk in your flour and continue on medium heat until it turns to a shade just darker than a milk chocolate bar - almost a reddish brown. I saw a technique to do a 12 minute roux which i tried for fun and failed at miserably. That's some roux-ninja shit I won't develop for quite some time.

Step 5 - Time your seafood. The stock and veggies may need to boil for 1.5-2hours, but the seafood really only needs 15-20 minutes. As opposed to stews like a green chili pork stew where the meat almost dissolves into the sauce, your seafood will just end up getting tough and nasty if you throw it in too early. Have patience, grasshopper.

Step 6 - Cook your rice with extra shrimp stock/chicken stock. A trick my family has been doing for years, just substitute the stock for water. It will add such an incredible amount of flavor to your rice...I barely cook rice without stock anymore. I also add about a cap-full of rice wine vinegar or other vinegar (white wine/apple cider/etc) to the party. Not essential, but you won't go back to making normal rice anytime soon.

On to the recipe:

I used a 7qt Le Creuset Dutch Oven, and it was nearly full. Use a heavy pot..it makes a difference. Feeds 10-12

Shrimp, Crab, Andouille, and Okra Gumbo:

2 Onions 

3-4 Stalks of Celery

1 Green Bell Pepper

1 Red Bell Pepper

3-4 Ripe Tomatoes (~1 lb)

6 Cloves of Garlic

1 lb of Okra

12oz Andouille Sausage

2 lbs of 31-53ct Shrimp Shelled

.5 lb of Lump Crab Meat

6 Bay Leaves

Salt and Pepper

.5 tbls Thyme

.5 tbls Cayenne

3-4 tbls Cajun Seasoning (recipe below)

4 qts shrimp stock? (imprecise measurement...recipe below)

Canola Oil

3 cups of rice

Crystal hot sauce

Red/Brown Roux:

1.5 cups of AP Flour

1.25 cups of Canola Oil

Dice the onions, celery, peppers and garlic. Keep the onions separate from the other vegetables. Dice the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Cut your andouille into half moons and set aside. Slice your okra into rounds 1/8-1/4 an inch thick and set aside.

Begin your roux. - Note - there are tons of great articles on making a roux which I'll let you research yourself. Do what you feel most comfortable with. Heat a pan over medium-medium high heat. Add your oil. Once the oil begins to shimmer and slightly smoke, whisk in your flour. Continue whisking constantly for the next 45-90 minutes. Yeah - you may want to turn your phone off and take a bathroom break. You will see the oil and flour roux turn from pale, to a creamy yellow, to a light "peanut butter" stage, to something resembling milk chocolate, to a dark chocolate reddish/brown color, at which point its done. 

All of the good recipes give approximate times, but so much is variable, that the color is an indicator rather than time. For me, it took almost 2 hours, but my le creuset was being a bit temperamental and the wooden spoon I was using may have been almost too effective. Or my heat may not have been high enough with such a heavy pan. Either way about 30-45 minute should get you near a peanut butter stage, 50-70 minutes a milk chocolate, and 70-90 an almost burnt looking roux. 

The texture the whole time should be liquidy, but not oil-y per se, and never clumpy. It should smell nutty, but not burning. Please note that the darker it gets, the more flavor it will have, but the less thickening power the end product will have as well. It may seem like a lot of roux, but at this dark of a color, you may only have 1/4 the thickening power you were with in the peanut butter stage.

Once your roux reaches the correct color, add your onions. Stir it in well. This is a magical phase as the onions and roux get much darker very quickly, and almost form a caramel like texture. Allow them to cook for 5 minutes, stirring relatively frequently. Add your peppers, celery, and garlic, and cook for another 5 minutes or so. Add your diced tomatoes and juices, spices and spice mixture, and bay leaves and allow to cook for 3-4 minutes. Those who like it hot can add quite a bit of cayenne (as i have listed in the recipe), or you can taste as you go along. The toasted spices make a difference.

Take hot shrimp stock, and add just enough to cover the roux and veggies. stir in, wait for it to come to a boil, and then add the rest of the stock. Turn the heat up to high, and bring everything to a boil for about 5 minutes, and turn down to a simmer. Skim the fat off the top (there will be some) every so often.

In a large frying pan, heat a bit of canola oil on high, and brown your andouille. Throw the sausage into the gumbo, leaving the excess oil in the frying pan. Add a bit more oil, and stir fry your okra. This helps cook the okra, as well as remove some of the sliminess. Depending on the size of your pan, you may need to do this in 2-3 batches. It should take about 5-8 minutes per batch, depending on the size of your pan, heat, and sliminess of okra. Throw the okra into the gumbo.

Boil the gumbo for around an hour, tasting for doneness of vegetables and seasoning. Begin to cook your rice. When there is about 20 minutes of total cook time left on your rice, add the 2 lbs of shrimp. With about 10 minutes left, add your lump crab. When the rice is done - fluff it, and serve. Garnish liberally with hot sauce.

Shrimp Stock

Shells from 2 lbs

1 onion - rough dice with skin still on

2 celery - rough dice - with leaves

Carrots - rough dice

Cold water

Kosher Salt - at least a few tbls

Bay leaves

Chili flakes

Peppercorns

Combine all ingredients in a large pot (4-5 qt) with cold water and bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes, then turn down to a simmer and allow to simmer for 45-60 minutes. The broth should be fragrant and a pale yellow. Strain into a bowl, and chill immediately if you are not using it in the next 30 minutes.

Cajun Spice Blend

I'm pretty piss poor with measurements. Think of this more as a "proportion" or "measures" rather than exact amounts.

1.5 tbls Paprika

1.5 tbls Cayenne

1 tbls Kosher Salt

1 tbls Cracked Pepper

1 tbls Thyme

.5 tbls Mexican Orgeano

.5 tbls Onion Powder

.5 tbls Garlic Powder

.5 tbls Celery Salt

.25 tbls Savory

.25 tbls Allspice

Combine all thoroughly. If you don't have Savory or Allspice they are non-essential but add a really cool note to the dish. I also always have them in my pantry.

BBQ Field Trip #2: Luling City Market

Greetings fat kids! March was one hell of a month for me. Between Tahoe, SXSW, and my family coming into town in late March, I have probably taken a few years off of my life. But it was all worth it, despite some serious damage to my liver and fitness.

Last week my mom and brother were in town for the weekend. Luke was visiting college campuses trying to come to a final decision as to where he will be attending school next fall, and my Mom came with for the trip to Austin. Even though my family and I lived in Texas for 8 years, it was in Round Rock, and we didn't spend a lot of time exploring the gem that is Austin, TX. So every time they are in town, I love to act as an ambassador/tour guide - exploring the restaurants and sights we missed while living in the burbs. This definitely includes a BBQ road trip every time they are in town. Last time it was a trip to Coopers for my graduation dinner. This time it was City Market in Luling.

The trip began at my house at 11:30 on Saturday morning. As I have mentioned previously, the 11:30 departure was crucial as the BBQ bewitching hour happens somewhere between 11:30 and 1; and if I am going to make an hour (or longer) drive each direction for BBQ, it better be at it's best! As usual, there were a bunch of "tentatives" that had partied a little too hardy to make the pilgrimage on a Saturday morning, leaving us with a comfortable group of 6: Asa, Corey, Mom, Luke, Adam Salamon, and I. Asa and Corey drove down in Asa's car, and the rest of us piled up (very comfortably) in Adam's Murano, and shot down 183 to Luling.

The drive down 183 south to Luling could not be more different than the drive up 71 to Llano (and Coopers). Where the drive to Coopers is hilly, beautiful, and entertaining, the drive down 183 to Luling is flat, desolate, and depressing. I actually feel like any trip to Coopers has the added benefit of the scenic drive. In the late spring (coming up very soon actually) the hills will be covered with wildflowers of all colors, painting an absolutely dreamy landscape to your left and right during the 90 minute drive. I wish I could say something even remotely similar for the drive to Luling, but being frank, you drive in a straight line for 60 minutes surrounded by some of the ugliest terrain in Central Texas. It's brown, dusty, desolate. If you're looking for evidence that Texas isn't the most naturally beautiful place on the planet, you wouldn't need to look much further than that strip of land. Word to the wise: bring along a good conversationist or some good music. It's gonna be a long drive.

The drive down 183 takes you right through Lockhart. Every time I go to Luling, it takes an unbelievable amount of will not to stop at Kreuz or Smitty's...if only for a "snack". Asa and Corey were a bit ahead of us, and started to get worried that we stopped in Lockhart and forgot to tell them. It's only an additional 15 minutes to get to Luling, and arguably worth it every single time. Still, temptation is a bitch.

We arrived in Luling, and immediately hopped into line. The smell hits you in the face as you walk in the front door. Although the smoke room is in the back (where you actually purchase the meat), the smell permeates the entire restaurant with it's glorious delectable perfume. It's an excellent aperitif, building the hunger as you wait for what seems like an eternity. We arrived a few minutes after 12:30 and had a moderate line in front of us. Maybe a 10-15 minute wait after the hour drive is actually lucky. The line continued to grow as we waited, and by the time we had ordered our food, was snaking around the entire dining room, probably a 30-40 minute wait near the back.

The smoke room is isolated, and with good reason. The pits are hot, the smoke is heavy, and after a few minutes in there you start to wonder if you are slowly becoming BBQ yourself. It's a cash only establishment, so there is an ATM located right outside the smoke room, your last hurdle to overcome before enjoying BBQ perfection. Once inside the smoke room, you have 3 options: Sausage, Brisket, and Ribs. I have to applaud Luling's simplicity, especially when compared to the extravagance of Cooper's. It's never a question of what you want (you want it all), it's just a question of how much. The Fat Kid standard? 4 ribs per person, 1-2 links of sausage per person (2 at Luling), 1/2 lb of brisket per person (go light on brisket at City Market). We ended up spending about 5+ minutes in the smoke room, waiting on the two MASSIVE orders in front of us. One guy's bill ran over $200. The smoke was too intense, and my momma had to step out for a minute or two until we could actually order.

The pits in the smoke room. Epic.

After the crew got their orders we snagged a table in the back to dig in. Common with a lot of BBQ joints, you order meat in one place, and sides/drinks/etc in another. I personally believe this is because sides really deserve second class treatment. You don't need them. You probably shouldn't order them. Even drinks are usually superfluous. Hopefully this anecdote can illustrate my point: My mom picked up 4 beers (for 3 people) and we actually had to argue who was going to drink the last free beer, because no one really wanted it. I can't remember the last time I passed up a free Shiner. Ever. And sides just fill you up...so why bother?

Yeah

I could very comfortably claim City Market has the best ribs, the best sausage, and the best sauce on the planet. Any one of those 3 elements alone would be worth the drive. the ribs are barky. Every single one was perfectly barky. Every.single.one. How is that possible? Tender, but still retaining their texture, with the addictive bark on the top is just not possible on every rib. Yet they accomplished it. Mesmerizingly smokey, slightly salty (but not overly pronounced like many other places), just perfect.

The sausage is a revelation. The best BBQ sausage I've ever had. Better than the ribs, even. Literally exploding with grease, these sausages are in no way good for you. The texture is perfectly crumbly, the smoke flavor unparalleled, the fat permeating every piece of the sausage. I feel like I should be writing soliloquies about this sausage, singing every one of it's praises, pointing out ever intricacy of it's flavor. But I have neither the skill nor patience to do that, so I feel like you just need to trust me on this one: best.sausage.ever. 

Which leads us to the sauce. The sauce of the gods. It's mustard based. It's sweet. It's very tangy. It's got a bit of spice to it. You don't feel like you're drinking liquid fat like with the Salt Lick's sauce. If that's the easiest frame of reference for this review, then imagine the Salt Lick's sauce. Now amplify all of it's characteristics. It's bigger, it's bolder, it's got more zip, but still is far more balanced and light than the Salt Lick's sauce. It's a perfect compliment to City Market's heavy smokiness and absurd fattiness. It cuts through the heaviness and adds it's own twangy goodness without overpowering. It could easily steal the show (and frankly does, in a lot of ways), but is only a part of the equation making up the perfect rib or the perfect sausage. It's the stuff that dreams are made of. Oh, and you can buy a quart of the sauce at the front for $3.50. Worth it, every time.

Lastly - the brisket. Now don't get me wrong. Their brisket is in no way bad. It's actually quite good. But it's just not elite. Not anything like the ribs. Not anything like the sausage. Not anything like the sauce. The sauce can actually make it taste quite amazing, but it needs the sauce. Which is a critical shortcoming for BBQ. The brisket is a bit tougher than you'd like from a place like City Market. It's also a bit leaner than you'd expect. Think of something more resembling a slice from one of the larger, more commercial places. The smoke flavor is nice (but not as heavy as the other meats at City Market), but still not over the top quite like that of Cooper's, Snow's, or Kreuz. I wouldn't say that you need to avoid the brisket, but given the option of only 2 of the 3, I'd never even consider getting the brisket. My general rule of thumb with 1/2 lb of brisket per person doubles when you go to Cooper's (because it's just.that.damn.good), and gets cut in half at Luling, because you are better off getting double or triple the sausage you thought you wanted.

We drove home, sluggishly, meat coma in full effect. The crew was absolutely floored by the meal, just as I was, and ready to nap away the afternoon. And so we did.

The more I write this review, the more I am convinced that Luling City Market is the perfect counterpoint to Cooper's. Cooper's has the greatest brisket known to man, and some of the worst BBQ sausage I've ever had. It's foil, City Market, has the greatest sausage, and shockingly mediocre brisket. Cooper's is still my favorite, still the champ, but the change of pace at Luling City Market is a beautiful thing. As a last note, I will eventually revisit Lockhart. But for the time being - if you're making the drive to Lockhart, you might as well just continue on another 15 minutes. It's worth it.