Day Two:

Seafood Gumbo…clean, simple and delicious!  Roux – no okra…you know my thoughts on the mix – Won’t do it! Day Two is a roux gumbo.  I know that I say this with every post, but I really, really do love seafood gumbo!

The secret to a great seafood gumbo is fresh shrimp, crabmeat and oysters…Now, it is ok if you bought your shrimp fresh and froze them in water (just so that they were fresh to begin with!)  Not ok to use frozen crabmeat or oysters – freezing these types of seafood just changes the texture.  You can always tell if crab claws have been frozen, because the meat will stick to the thin membrane that runs down the middle – always.  And I just won’t freeze oysters.  If you can’t get these two ingredients fresh, just make a plain shrimp gumbo – nothing wrong about that!  Again, just my opinion…

Ingredients:

2 lbs fresh shrimp… de-headed, peeled and de-veined (don’t ever use shrimp and forget to de-vein them!)

1 lb. fresh crab claws

1 lb. fresh lump, white or claw crab meat

1 quart fresh oysters – use all of the liquid that the oysters are packed with!

2 medium onions, chopped

1 bell pepper, chopped finely

1 cup celery, chopped finely

1 cup dark roux

3 quarts shrimp or seafood stock –

I love to make fish, shrimp and crab stocks, separately.  It is a little time-consuming, but I love having them in my freezer.  Or, you can make a quick stock by boiling the shrimp peelings with a couple of unpeeled onions, 1 bell pepper, 1 stalk of celery, a couple of carrots and a small bunch of parsley in a medium pot for about 1 hour.  Skim the top, as it cooks on a medium heat.  Strain into a bowl or directly into your pot.

If you don’t have any seafood stock made and in your freezer and you don’t have time to make the shrimp stock, use Knorr’s Shrimp Bouillon Cubes – it’s great when you are in a hurry!

—————

Saute vegetables in oil for about 10 minutes or until just tender, not browned

Add stock, blending well

Add roux and dissolve completely, stirring constantly

Let vegetables, stock and roux cook together for about 1 hour on medium low heat.  Stir often!

Add shrimp, crabmeat and oysters – bring back to a light boil, cook then lower and cook for a few minutes (not more than five minutes). Turn off heat and cover.  You only want to cook the shrimp until they turn a nice pinkish orange, stirring very gently (be really careful not to break up your crabmeat!)

Add chopped green onions and parsley

Let gumbo sit for at least 30 minutes to let the flavors release (actually, the longer the better!)

Serve with rice, potato salad and fresh bread…

This gumbo will disappear before your very eyes…good old seafood gumbo…really works anytime of the year!