Seafood gumbo with with andouille sausage, crab claws, clams and gulf shrimp is one of those delicious dishes that is uniquely Southern.
Start by Making a Roux
Seafood gumbo begins with a roux that is very simple to make and involves mixing flour with oil and baking it. Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Place the vegetable oil and flour into a 5 or 6 qt Dutch oven and whisk to combine. Bake it uncovered for 90 minutes, whisking every 30 minutes. That is all there is to it. This will become the thickening base for the gumbo.
Make Shrimp Stock
While the roux is baking, make some shrimp stock. This is incredibly easy and is far better than commercial shrimp stock of fish stock. Just peel the shells off the shrimp and boil them. Remember to refrigerate the shrimp while the stock is cooking.
Put Together the Seafood Gumbo
Now it starts getting interesting. It’s time to sauté the vegetables and build the base of the gumbo.
When the roux is done cooking, remove the Dutch oven and place on on the stove top over medium heat. Add the vegetables (except for the tomatoes) and cook for 7 – 8 minutes or until onions are translucent and the other vegetables have softened.
Next, add the tomatoes, salt, black pepper, thyme, cayenne pepper and bay leaves and stir.
Slowly add the shrimp stock then reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Fair Warning: This is going to smell GREAT.
Then, carefully add the clams, crab claws, sausage and shrimp. Stir it to combine and sprinkle in the file powder while stirring constantly. File powder is made from ground up leaves of the sassafras tree and is an essential ingredient in gumbo. I found it at my local market.
Continue to stir for 1 additional minute. Cover and simmer on the lowest heat setting for 10 minutes.
Fry Up Some Okra
Just before it’s time to serve, fry up some okra to place on top of the gumbo before serving.
Heat 2 inches of canola oil in a high sided pan over medium heat to 350˚F. Place the cornmeal in a shallow baking dish and season it with salt and pepper. Toss the okra in the cornmeal mixture and fry in small batches until golden brown. Remove the okra with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Season with salt and pepper.
Put it All Together
Divide the gumbo among 4 shallow bowls. Top with fried okra, chopped parsley and chives, then serve.
Other Great Recipes to Try
Watch How to Make Seafood Gumbo on YouTube
Seafood Gumbo with Andouille Sausage
Ingredients
Roux
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Stock
- 2 quarts water
- 12 shrimp shells
Gumbo
- 1 cup yellow onion chopped
- 4 ribs celery chopped
- 2 carrots peeled and diced
- 1/2 cup green pepper chopped
- 1/2 cup red pepper chopped
- 5 cloves garlic chopped
- 2 roma tomatoes seeded and chopped
- 1 tbs kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper freshly ground
- 1 tsp fresh thyme chopped
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 crab claws
- 1 lb littleneck clams scrubbed
- 6 oz andouille sausage cut into 1/4 inch slices and browned
- 12 medium shrimp raw, heads removed, shelled
- 1 tbs file powder
- 1 tbs chives chopped
- 2 tsp parsley chopped
Fried Okra
- 1/2 lb okra cut into 1/4 inch pieces
- 1 1/2 cups yellow cornmeal
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper freshly ground
Instructions
Bake the Roux
- Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Place the vegetable oil and flour into a 5 or 6 qt Dutch oven and whisk to combine. Bake uncovered for 90 minutes, whisking every 30 minutes.
Make the Stock
- While the roux is baking, clean and peel the shrimp and refrigerate. Place the shells in a 4 quart saucepan with 2 quarts of water and bring to a boil over high heat. Decrease the heat to low and simmer. Reduce to 1 quart (about an hour). Remove from the heat and strain the stock into a new pot.
Make the Gumbo
- When the roux is done, remove the Dutch oven and place on on the stove top over medium heat. Add the onions, celery, carrots, green pepper, red pepper and garlic. Cook for 7 – 8 minutes or until onions are translucent and the other vegetables have softened. Add the tomatoes, salt, black pepper, thyme, cayenne pepper and bay leaves and stir. Slowly add the shrimp stock while whisking continually. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Carefully add the clams, crab claws, sausage and shrimp. Stir to combine. Sprinkle in the file powder while stirring constantly. Continue to stir for 1 additional minute. Cover and simmer on the lowest heat setting for 10 minutes.
Crispy Okra
- Heat 2 inches of canola oil in a high sided pan over medium heat to 350˚F. Place the cornmeal in a shallow baking dish and season with salt and pepper. Toss the okra in the cornmeal mixture and fry in small batches until golden brown. Remove the okra with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Season with salt and pepper.
Put it All Together
- Divide the gumbo among 4 shallow bowls. Top with fried okra, chopped parsley and chives, then serve.