Mistakes in making gumbo

My gumbo, full of mistakes.

The other day I had a pound of just-harvested okra and decided I would make gumbo.

I heated maybe ¼ c of olive oil and added the Holy Trinity of chopped onion, celery and green pepper, about 2/3 c each. Sautéed till translucent then removed to a bowl with a slotted spoon. Added ¼ c or so flour to the pan and stirred. There was still some dry flour so I added a little more oil and cooked over low heat, stirring frequently, till I had a roux that was golden brown and toasty smelling. Added some stock (duck, what I had on hand) and continued stirring, gradually adding more till the mixture would not absorb any more liquid without thinning, maybe 3 c total. Added the okra, sliced into 1-inch rounds, returned the sauteed veggies to the pan, and cooked 10 minutes or so. Tasted and it was perfect, no additional seasoning required. Wanted some protein so tossed in ½ lb of whole peeled shrimp. Served over rice and thoroughly enjoyed.

How many mistakes can you spot here?

First, I sautéed the vegetables separately before making the roux. I’d consulted the Jubilee cookbook which told me to make the roux then add the trinity but this made no sense to me. Why miss out on the chance to sweat the veggies and get maximum flavor? But multiple recipes I found online had the same advice.  Chef Paul Prudhomme has a video with a beautiful roux and the vegetables added after.  I do understand gumbo is a humble dish which originated as home cooking with folks who maybe had only one pot. Still, you could sweat the veggies then push them to one side, yes?

Paul Prudhomme is making a lot of roux, in this still from his video.

Second, why did I use so little roux? I have made roux many times in various renditions and understand gumbo requires a product which is browned but not burnt through constant stirring over low to medium heat. There should be approximately equal amounts of fat and flour; you want to see a paste that is not quite dry because there is still some oil bubbling in the pan. Roux can be cooked from a just-combined pale brown to a not-quite-burnt dark. I went for a darker version and when I reached that point I started adding liquid, a bit at a time, till the mixture would not absorb any more. It was exactly what I wanted.

But if you look at various recipes online (like this and this) you will see enormous amounts of roux being created so the result looks like a pan of chocolate syrup. Fine if you want to save some for later, but most of these folks are using it all on the spot which means you will stop adding liquid long before it reaches the saturation point and you will end up with an extremely heavy gumbo due to the amount of fat and flour. Maybe that’s what you want, not me.

Also, why should I use a roux in the first place if I have okra; won’t the okra thicken the gumbo on its own? And I forgot to mention I sprinkled on some gumbo filé (a special version given by a friend from a secret Southern stash) at the end which is also recommended as a thickener by some recipes. So I now have three redundant thickeners, yes? Do a search for “how to thicken gumbo” and you will find endless hits for “3 ways” with this article being the most interesting. But in truth almost everyone agrees you start with roux. The okra adds texture and filé adds flavor when sprinkled on at the end so I believe neither will thicken on its own. (I’ve made a variation of a tomato and okra dish many times and it is definitely not runny, but neither does it approach the texture of gumbo.)

My conclusion: it’s a lot easier to make gumbo than to talk about it. So let’s sit down and eat. P.S. See this recipe post for a less-cranky approach to gumbo.