Chicken, Sausage and Okra Gumbo

Gumbo Ingredients
Chicken Stock
3 lbs. of chicken legs
3 lbs. of chicken thighs
Alternatively, use a whole chicken. I couldn’t find one at the time
3 yellow onions, chopped in quarters
2 bell peppers, chopped in quarters
3 celery stalks, chopped roughly
5 whole carrots, peeled and chopped roughly
3 heads of garlic, peeled
2 tbs of salt
6 bay leaves
10-15 whole peppercorns
Roux
2 cups of flour
1 ¼ cup of corn oil
Remaining Gumbo Ingredients
2, 16 oz container of Guidry’s raw seasoning blend (approximately 2 chopped onions, 2 chopped bell peppers, 2 chopped celery stalks)
2 tbs of minced garlic
3 lbs. of smoked sausage, sliced
1 lb. of fresh or frozen okra, sliced
Garlic Powder, to taste
Onion Power, to taste
Badia Complete Seasoning, to taste
Smoked Paprika, to taste
Slap Your Mama Creole Seasonings, to taste
Oregano, to taste
Culture Creole Seasoning, to taste
Black Pepper, to taste
Salt, to taste
Cayenne Pepper, to taste
Sage, to taste
Thyme, to taste
Parsley, to taste

Directions
Chicken Stock
1.  Fill a 16- or 20-quart stock pot to about ¾ level with water.
2.  Place it on the stovetop and turn the temperature to medium-high heat.
Add the chicken to the pot
3.  Add roughly chopped onions, celery, bell peppers, carrots and whole garlic to the stock pot.
4.  Add bay leaves, black pepper corn and salt to the water.
6.  Allow the stock to come to a rolling boil. Reduce the heat to make sure it doesn’t boil over but it should be at a continuous boil.
7.  I normally boil the stock at least an hour or until the chicken is full cooked. The water should have a yellowish-brown tint when the stock is completed.
8. Remove the chicken from the stock and remove the skin. 
9. Debone the chicken and set the chicken aside.
10.  Turn the stock off and leave it on the stove until it is time to add it to the gumbo.

Prep Your Meats and Seasonings
Do these all of these things before you make your roux.  Once you start the roux, you won’t be able to stop.
1.  Slice the raw seasonings, if applicable and set aside.
2. Slice the smoked sausage and boil it.  I do this to get the grease out of it.  Once the sausage is done, drain the water and grease from the sausage.  Set the sausage aside.
3. Place the okra in a heated skillet and add a tablespoon of vinegar.  Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder and Creole seasoning.  Sauté the okra in vinegar until the okra starts to turn to a darker green.  Set the okra aside.  This is done to cook the slime out of the okra.


Making Roux
1.  Using a heavy bottomed pot, turn your stove to medium heat and add the corn oil to the pot.
2.  Add the flour and stir continuously to blend the flour and oil together.
3.  Continue to stir until the roux begins to darken. Turn the fire down between low and medium. Be careful not to burn the roux.  Do not turn the fire too high.  This is a process that requires patience. It will seem like it is not turning brown but keep stirring.  It is a very gradual change.  Keep your heat between low and medium.
4.  Your roux will reach a point where it seems like it isn’t darkening any further.  Turn the fire up slightly but most importantly, don’t stop stirring!  
5.  If you feel like the roux is getting away from you, turn it back down, but continue to stir.
6.  Once the roux has reached the desired level of darkness, you will stop it from cooking by adding the chopped raw seasonings.

Putting the Gumbo Together
1.  Now that you have added the raw seasonings (minus the garlic) to the roux, sauté the veggies until they are translucent.  You can raise your fire some, at this point the roux is less likely to burn.
2.  Add the garlic and cook an additional minute or two. Season the roux with dry seasonings.
3.  Use a small pot or pitcher to transfer warm chicken stock to your roux. Do this in small batches while blending the roux and stock together with a spoon. Freeze the leftover stock!
4.  Continue to add warm stock to your roux and blend until the pot is more than half full but no more than ¾ full.  We have to save room for our meats.
5.   Allow the gumbo to come to a slight boil at medium heat.
6.  Next add your chicken and sausage. Allow the gumbo to simmer about 30-45 minutes.  Be sure to stir periodically.
7.  Next add the okra.  Let that simmer about 15 minutes.
9.  Taste the gumbo and adjust the seasoning level to your taste.
10. Add green onions to garnish.
Serve over warm rice!