It’s that time of year! In celebration of National Gumbo Day this Sunday, the 12th, I’ve included three of my all-time favorite Gumbo recipes below. Not only is Gumbo the official cuisine for the state of Louisiana, it is the perfect dish for the crisp Fall weather. Enjoy these recipes and don’t forget to tune-in to QVC today at 11 a.m., 3 p.m., 4 p.m. & 8 p.m. And check out everything ‘Emeril’ on QVC.com, including items that are featured on my new cooking competition show on TNT called “On the Menu”!
Duck & Wild Mushroom Gumbo
Duck and wild mushrooms are the perfect partners in this rich, earthy gumbo. Should you happen to have a duck hunter in your family, feel free to substitute an equal weight of wild ducks for truly deep duck flavor.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 6 hours
- Yield: 4 quarts, 8 servings
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Ingredients
- 1 large duck (5 to 6 pounds)
- 2 teaspoons Rustic Rub
- 2 teaspoons plus 1 cup vegetable oil
- 6 quarts water
- 2 onions, quartered
- 2 ribs of celery, coarsely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, smashed
- 4 bay leaves
- 3 sprigs of fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- 1 1/4 cups flour
- 2 cups chopped onions
- 1 cup chopped bell peppers
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- Salt and cayenne pepper
- 6 cups sliced assorted wild mushrooms, such as shiitakes, oysters, or chanterelles
- 8 cups cooked white rice
- 1/2 cup chopped green onions
Directions
Preheat the oven to 450°F.
Remove the neck and any innards from the cavity of the duck and rinse innards and duck well under cool running water. Pat dry.
Using a sharp boning knife, cut the legs away from the duck and then cut each leg quarter in half at the joint. Cut the wings off of the duck, then carefully cut the breast meat away from the bones. Cut each breast half into two pieces. Place the 2 legs, 2 thighs and 4 portions of breast meat onto a platter and season with the Rustic Rub. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate while you make the duck stock.
Cover a large baking sheet with aluminum foil and drizzle the 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil over the foil. Cut the duck wings apart at the joints and place them on the baking sheet. Cut the duck carcass into several pieces using poultry scissors and place on the baking sheet. Add the reserved neck, gizzards, and heart to the baking sheet and season everything lightly with salt and pepper. Transfer to the oven and roast until everything is golden brown, 40 minutes to an hour, turning as necessary to promote even browning.
Place the roasted duck pieces into a large stockpot and add the water, quartered onions, celery ribs, smashed garlic, 2 of the bay leaves, thyme sprigs and peppercorns. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook, skimming any scum from the surface, until you have a rich stock, 2 to 3 hours.
Remove from the heat and strain the stock through a fine-mesh sieve. Discard all solids. Set stock aside while you make the roux.
Heat the remaining cup of oil over medium high heat in a large, heavy Dutch oven until hot. Whisk in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the roux turns the color of a dark copper penny. Should the roux begin browning too quickly, reduce the heat so that it doesn't burn. As soon as the roux is the correct color, immediately add the chopped onions, bell peppers, celery, and garlic and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are tender, about 6 minutes. Slowly whisk in the stock and add the remaining 2 bay leaves, the dried thyme, and season lightly with salt and cayenne. Bring the liquid to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer.
While the liquid is coming to a simmer, heat a large nonstick skillet over high heat. When hot, add the seasoned duck pieces, skin-side down, and cook until golden brown and crispy. Brown on the second side and then add the duck pieces to the gumbo.
To the drippings remaining in the skillet, add the mushrooms, in batches if necessary, and season lightly with salt and pepper. Saute until the mushrooms are golden brown and fragrant. Add the mushrooms to the gumbo and cook the gumbo until any floury taste is gone and the duck is tender and falling from the bone. Serve the gumbo with each guest getting a piece of duck or, if preferred, remove the pieces of duck from the gumbo and take the meat from the bones. Stir the duck back into the gumbo and serve over hot white rice, garnished with green onions.
Chicken And Smoked Sausage Gumbo
This classic gumbo is always a favorite at Emeril's Restaurants. It's packed with flavor and great for parties or tailgating. Make this gumbo the night before for even more flavor. Just warm it up, whip up some rice and put out the hot sauce when you're ready to serve.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 2 1/2 to 3 hours
- Yield: 6
Ingredients
For the stock
- One 4-pound chicken, rinsed and dried, cut into pieces
- 1 onion, unpeeled, quartered
- 1 rib celery, cut into 2-inch lengths
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 quarts water, chicken stock, or canned low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
For the roux and gumbo
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup flour
- 3 onions, chopped
- 2 ribs celery, finely chopped
- 1/2 green bell pepper, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne, plus more to taste
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 1/2 pounds smoked sausage, halved lengthwise, then cut crosswise into half moons
- 1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced
- 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
- Salt to taste
- Cooked white rice, for serving
- Louisiana hot sauce, for serving
- File, for serving
Directions
Place chicken, onion, celery, garlic, bay leaves, and liquid to cover the chicken by 1 inch in a large soup pot or small stockpot. Add salt and pepper and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook, skimming any foam that rises to the surface, until chicken is fall-from-the-bone tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour. (Add water if necessary to keep chicken submerged in liquid.)
Remove chicken to a heatproof bowl and set aside to cool. Strain broth through a fine-mesh sieve and set aside. When chicken is cool enough to handle, remove skin and bones; discard. Pull meat into bite-size pieces and place in a bowl; refrigerate until needed.
While stock is simmering, make roux: In a large, heavy-bottomed Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat; whisk in flour. Cook, stirring constantly, reaching every portion of the bottom of the pot, until roux begins to take on some color. Reduce heat to medium or medium-low and continue cooking and stirring constantly until roux reaches the color of milk chocolate. (The timing here will vary depending on your cooktop as well as the pan you are using; the most important thing is to not let any portion of the roux scorch, and to stir constantly until you've reached the desired color.)
Add the chopped onions, celery, and bell pepper and cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables have softened, 5 to 7 minutes. If stock has cooled by this time, add it to roux-vegetable mixture along with cayenne and bay leaves, and stir to combine. (If stock has not cooled by the time vegetables have softened, set aside to cool; you should always add a hot stock to a cool roux or vice versa.)
Once roux and stock are combined, bring to a gentle simmer. Continue to simmer until sauce is thickened and flavorful, about 2 hours, skimming any foam or excess oil that comes to the surface.
While simmering, saute sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat until browned on all sides. Add sausage to gumbo. Taste gumbo and season lightly with salt. Simmer for 2 hours.
After simmering, add chicken, chopped scallions, and parsley to gumbo. Stir well and continue to simmer for 30 minutes longer. Adjust thickness if necessary, then season with salt and cayenne to taste.
Serve gumbo ladled over hot white rice in large shallow bowls, with hot sauce and file at the table for guests to use to their liking.
Cook's Note: Gumbo thickness is a matter of personal preference. Some folks enjoy a very thick gravylike sauce, and others prefer their's to be more on the brothy side. Either is correct; make it how you like it!
Emeril's Classic Seafood Gumbo
You can't go wrong with this classic seafood gumbo, which is chock-full of shrimp, fish, and oysters swimming in a broth richly flavored with gumbo crabs.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 2 to 2 1/2 hours
- Yield: 3 quarts, 8 to 10 servings
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups finely chopped onions
- 3/4 cup finely chopped green bell peppers
- 3/4 cup finely chopped celery
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- One 12-ounce bottle amber beer
- 6 cups Shrimp Stock
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 pound gumbo crabs (about 2)
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1 pound white fish fillets, such as catfish, grouper, snapper, or sole
- 1 tablespoon Emeril's Original Essence
- 2 cups shucked oysters with their liquor
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1/2 cup chopped tender green onion tops
- White Rice, for serving
Directions
Place an 8-quart stockpot over medium heat, and add the oil. Allow the oil to heat for about 5 minutes, then add the flour to the pot. Stir the oil and flour together with a wooden spoon to form a roux. Lower the heat to medium low and continue to stir the roux for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the color of milk chocolate. Add the onions, bell peppers, and celery to the roux and stir to blend. Stir the vegetables for 5 minutes, then add the garlic. Cook the garlic for 30 seconds before adding the beer and Shrimp Stock to the pot. Season the gumbo with the thyme, bay leaves, gumbo crabs, Worcestershire, salt, and cayenne. Bring the gumbo to a boil and lower the heat to a simmer. Continue to simmer the gumbo for 1 hour, skimming the foam and any oil that rises to the surface.
Season both the shrimp and the catfish with 1 1/2 teaspoons Essence. Stir the shrimp and fish into the gumbo and cook for 2 minutes. Add the oysters to the pot and cook, stirring often, for an additional 5 minutes. Taste the gumbo and season if necessary.
Garnish with the parsley and green onions and serve in shallow bowls over white rice.
Recipes Courtesy Emeril Lagasse
Hi! My name is Ashley Nadon, and after over five years at L'Occitane, I’m a super-fan of this incredible brand. A little bit about me… I married my high-school sweetheart a couple years ago--we met when I was just 14, saw sparks fly years later at the very end of high-school, and finally tied the knot 10 years later while living in NYC. Now we have recently moved back to our hometown of Houston, Texas, and have our first baby on the way, a girl… December, get here already! Well actually, our second baby, since we have our precious little Cocker Spaniel, Tex.
Shoes On Sale is a personal and emotional journey for the entire Fisher Family. Created by my sister Jodi who lost her battle to cancer 5 years ago and my dad Jerome Fisher as co-founder to rally the footwear industry in support awareness and funding for a cure . Since then we have raised millions which is encouraging as we need to continue supporting Jodi's vision and to finish what she so passionately and selflessly started.
