Haitian Creole Seafood Gumbo Recipes

Steps:

• In a large pot, put 2 cups water, salt [to taste] add crab boil, thyme and peppercorns.
• Bring to a roiling boil; add crabs and boil for approximately 20 minutes, add tomatoes and okra, and simmer slowly.
• While this simmers, make the roux.
• Slice the bacon strips into small pieces and fry.
• Remove.
• Sauté the chopped onion and garlic in the bacon grease.
• Remove.
• To bacon drippings, add enough flour to make a thin gravy.
• Use very low flame, stir continuously, taking care to make it dark brown without burning it.
• Add bacon and onion& garlic bits back to mixture and heat.
• Add roux to simmering seafood pot.
• Stir very well.
• Add shrimp and simmer approximately 30 minutes.
• Add oysters and simmer only until edges of oysters curl.
• It is done, serve over a bed of rice.

Steps:

• Make a roux by whisking the flour and 3/4 cup bacon drippings together in a large, heavy saucepan over medium-low heat to form a smooth mixture. Cook the roux, whisking constantly, until it turns a rich mahogany brown color. This can take 20 to 30 minutes; watch heat carefully and whisk constantly or roux will burn. Remove from heat; continue whisking until mixture stops cooking.
• Place the celery, onion, green bell pepper, and garlic into the work bowl of a food processor, and pulse until the vegetables are very finely chopped. Stir the vegetables into the roux, and mix in the sausage. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-low heat, and cook until vegetables are tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat, and set aside.
• Bring the water and beef bouillon cubes to a boil in a large Dutch oven or soup pot. Stir until the bouillon cubes dissolve, and whisk the roux mixture into the boiling water. Reduce heat to a simmer, and mix in the sugar, salt, hot pepper sauce, Cajun seasoning, bay leaves, thyme, stewed tomatoes, and tomato sauce. Simmer the soup over low heat for 1 hour; mix in 2 teaspoons of file gumbo powder at the 45-minute mark.
• Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons of bacon drippings in a skillet, and cook the okra with vinegar over medium heat for 15 minutes; remove okra with slotted spoon, and stir into the simmering gumbo. Mix in crabmeat, shrimp, and Worcestershire sauce, and simmer until flavors have blended, 45 more minutes. Just before serving, stir in 2 more teaspoons of file gumbo powder.

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, toss together the okra, vinegar, and salt. Set aside for about 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a large pot, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, bell pepper, and garlic and sauté until well wilted but not browned, about 6 minutes. Stir in the bay leaf, thyme, oregano, cayenne, and tomatoes. Add the broth, raise the heat to medium-high, and bring to a boil. Decrease the heat to maintain a brisk simmer and cook for 30 minutes to blend the flavors.
• While the broth simmers, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Working in batches to avoid crowding, brown the sausage balls on all sides, 7 to 8 minutes per batch. As each batch is finished, transfer the balls to the simmering broth mixture.
• When all the balls have been added, rinse the okra and add it to the pot. Continue simmering for 15 minutes. Add the shrimp and the oysters and their liquor, cover the pot, and remove from the heat. Let stand until the shrimp are barely pink and the oysters are slightly plump, about 5 minutes.
• Serve right away, accompanied with the corn bread.