Gumbo Diplomacy
Dec. 27th, 2020 09:41 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
madbakerThis week's Resolution Recipe: Chicken and Sausage Gumbo.
2 lbs chicken thighs, skin on and bone-in
salt
1/4 cup flour
1 medium yellow onion, sliced (I used 1 1/2 because we had a leftover half onion in the fridge)
1 medium bellpepper, seeded and diced (I used 1 belp and 1 poblano)
1 stalk celery, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced (Ha! I used... more.)
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (I used crushed red)
2 cups chicken broth (I used house-made stock)
12 oz cooked andouille sausage, sliced in 1/4" rounds (I used 6 oz house-made dried Spanish chorizo - andouille is a cooked sausage rather than cured, but eh, whatever. We had this on hand.)
2 bay leaves
4 cups white rice
sliced green onions and hot sauce
Remove the skin from the chicken and cut it in 1" pieces. Set the chicken aside. Add the skins to a largish saucepan, spreading the pieces in an even layer. Sprinkle with 1/2 tsp salt and cook without stirring for 10 minutes to render the fat. Stir, then cook about 5 minutes longer to crisp. Remove the skins and set aside.
There should be at least 1/4 cup chicken fat in the pan; if not, add veg oil to make up the difference. Add the flour to the fat and cook, stirring often, for about 7 minutes - the roux should be toasty and brown. Add the onion, bellpepper, celery, garlic, and cayenne. Sauté for about 4 minutes until the onion is softened. Pour in the chicken broth and use a wooden spoon to dislodge any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
Turn the mixture into the Instant PotTM. Add the chicken, sausage, and bay leaves. Secure the lid and cook on high pressure for 20 minutes. When it ends, release naturally for 10 minutes and then vent any remaining steam. Open the pot and discard the bay leaves. Remove the chicken, bone and shred the meat, and return the meat to the pot.
Ladle over rice and top with green onions and crispy chicken skins. Douse with hot sauce to taste.
What worked: It was pretty good and different from our normal menu. The recipe has you sautéing everything in the IP, which is fewer dishes but less effective. I don't like the way the IP sautés as it doesn't give me any control over the heat and it's more likely to scorch.
What didn't: The recipe says "5 minutes prep" - but that is a big fat lie. It assumes that you have already prepped all the ingredients; it's a cheap way to downplay the time needed. Sheesh, be honest. If I had assumed it really took 5 minutes and only given myself that much time when starting dinner, we wouldn't have eaten until late.
I obviously have strong feelings about this cheap trick, even if it didn't fool me here.
The gumbo didn't really thicken sufficiently; I ended up stirring in a couple Tbsp cornstarch to get it thicker. I think it could have used more bellpepper, as well as a chile pepper for heat.
Will I make it again? Probably.
2 lbs chicken thighs, skin on and bone-in
salt
1/4 cup flour
1 medium yellow onion, sliced (I used 1 1/2 because we had a leftover half onion in the fridge)
1 medium bellpepper, seeded and diced (I used 1 belp and 1 poblano)
1 stalk celery, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced (Ha! I used... more.)
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (I used crushed red)
2 cups chicken broth (I used house-made stock)
12 oz cooked andouille sausage, sliced in 1/4" rounds (I used 6 oz house-made dried Spanish chorizo - andouille is a cooked sausage rather than cured, but eh, whatever. We had this on hand.)
2 bay leaves
4 cups white rice
sliced green onions and hot sauce
Remove the skin from the chicken and cut it in 1" pieces. Set the chicken aside. Add the skins to a largish saucepan, spreading the pieces in an even layer. Sprinkle with 1/2 tsp salt and cook without stirring for 10 minutes to render the fat. Stir, then cook about 5 minutes longer to crisp. Remove the skins and set aside.
There should be at least 1/4 cup chicken fat in the pan; if not, add veg oil to make up the difference. Add the flour to the fat and cook, stirring often, for about 7 minutes - the roux should be toasty and brown. Add the onion, bellpepper, celery, garlic, and cayenne. Sauté for about 4 minutes until the onion is softened. Pour in the chicken broth and use a wooden spoon to dislodge any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
Turn the mixture into the Instant PotTM. Add the chicken, sausage, and bay leaves. Secure the lid and cook on high pressure for 20 minutes. When it ends, release naturally for 10 minutes and then vent any remaining steam. Open the pot and discard the bay leaves. Remove the chicken, bone and shred the meat, and return the meat to the pot.
Ladle over rice and top with green onions and crispy chicken skins. Douse with hot sauce to taste.
What worked: It was pretty good and different from our normal menu. The recipe has you sautéing everything in the IP, which is fewer dishes but less effective. I don't like the way the IP sautés as it doesn't give me any control over the heat and it's more likely to scorch.
What didn't: The recipe says "5 minutes prep" - but that is a big fat lie. It assumes that you have already prepped all the ingredients; it's a cheap way to downplay the time needed. Sheesh, be honest. If I had assumed it really took 5 minutes and only given myself that much time when starting dinner, we wouldn't have eaten until late.
I obviously have strong feelings about this cheap trick, even if it didn't fool me here.
The gumbo didn't really thicken sufficiently; I ended up stirring in a couple Tbsp cornstarch to get it thicker. I think it could have used more bellpepper, as well as a chile pepper for heat.
Will I make it again? Probably.
