Hey y'all! So long time no see...like a few years long time no see! I've been a busy gal but clearly not busy on here. I am hoping to change that a little in 2016! I will share more of what I have been up to and what I am hoping to do in the future but first fooooodddd.....
Have you ever been to Coyote Blues? If you are in Louisiana I am telling you to go there today! Order their 'Chicken & Sausage Tortilla Gumbo' and have your life forever changed! It is soooooo good! We hit up their Lake Charles location a year or so ago (sigh...just thinking of the South makes my eyes well up. Take me back! I miss it so much). ANYWAYS... this place on the outside is not a make you swerve your car into their parking lot must check it out type place but no lie their gumbo is to die for. Seeing as we lived in Texas it wasn't just a quick 15 minute trip when we craved it so I had to figure out a close enough recipe to tide me over and this is it! I have never measured before so you may need to tweak the seasonings to your taste buds. We like spicy and a lot of seasoning. You may want to start with half and add more if needed.
Mexican Gumbo
Ingredients:
4 C. shredded chicken (rotisserie chicken works great here)
1-2# Andouille Sausage
1 can Rotel
1-2 cartons chicken broth
1-3 jalapenos; depending on level of spice
1 tsp garlic
.5 tsp onion powder
.5 tsp chili powder
.5 tsp Mexican oregano
.25 tsp cayenne
.25 tsp cumin
optional for topping but delish:
cilantro
avocado
sour cream
Roux
.25 C flour
.25 C fat of choice (I use vegetable oil for this dish)
Poblano Rice
2 poblanos, stems and seeds removed, roughly chopped
1 2/3 cups chicken stock
12 sprigs cilantro
1 cup basmati rice
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon canola oil
½ white onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
For the rice: Head over to Rick Bayless or My Madison Bistro for instructions. I pour mine in the rice cooker with basmati rice and substitute the green liquid just as I would use water. Works perfectly. I tried their pot method twice and am not much of a natural when it comes to rice cooking that way.
Mexican Gumbo
1. In a large pot make your roux. If you don't know how to make a roux, bless your heart. Girl you need to learn how and quick! Here is a video. We are going for a light brown roux.
Put your fat in the pan, let it warm a little and put your flour in. Whisk/stir pretty much nonstop. Once you have that golden brown color let it cool just a bit and dump your chicken stock in. If your roux is too hot and/or you dump too slowly it will absorb that stock and you'll have more of your roux and no liquid. Not a big deal in the end but does eat some of your liquid up and is a little harder to get mixed back in to the liquid. If you pour too fast your roux will float around and you'll have to stir a little more to incorporate it. Whisk until your roux is all mixed in, no lumps floating around. At this point I have typically used just the one carton of chicken broth. I like to have the second on hand in case I need to thin it out a little more. Some times I need it, others I don't.
2. When your roux and broth are combined, add your rotel (no need to drain)
3. Add your seasonings. You can add an extra can of Rotel or more green chilis if you'd like. My husband is super weird about chunks of tomato so at this point I use my immersion blender in the pot to destroy those tomato chunks. Not necessary at all! I also rough chop a few fresh jalapenos and toss them in. I keep them pretty big so I can scoop them out easily later.
4. Let this simmer while you brown your sausage. You don't have to brown it but it does add a little deeper flavor and keeps some of that grease out of your pot. Add sausage to the pot.
5. Add your shredded chicken to the pot and simmer. Your gumbo is essentially done! Let simmer to desired thickness and serve over your Poblano Rice. No time for the green rice? Serve it over white or brown rice! Promise me one day you will make the poblano version though...it really is better! So much flavor! I've even served it over the packages of chicken flavored rice. Gasp I know the cancer that must be in that envelope but poblano rice is a little time consuming and well sometimes a girl needs a shortcut!
Enjoy!!
