Creole Gumbo Recipe From Mrs. Elie
Invite your friends and family over to dig into the Creole version of this classic Southern dish
- By Lolis Eric Elie
- Smithsonian magazine, June 2012, Subscribe
Read about the history of gumbo and Lolis Eric Elie's memories of preparing the famous creole dish with his mother. Below is the recipe:
Ingredients
• 5 quarts water
• 1 dozen fresh crabs, raw, boiled or steamed
• 2 pounds medium to large shrimp, peeled and deveined (reserve the shells and heads to make seafood stock)
• 2 pounds smoked sausage, cut into 1 inch rounds (1 pound each of two different sausages is optimal)
• 3/4 pound Creole hot sausage (if available), cut into 1 inch rounds
• 2 pounds okra cut into rounds
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 large onions, coarsely chopped
• 6 large cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 5 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 bunch green onions, tops and bottoms, chopped
• 1 large green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 pound crab meat, picked and cleaned of shells and cartilage
• 2 tablespoons Creole seasoning, such as Tony Chachere’s Original Creole Seasoning
• 4 bay leaves
• 4 tablespoons filé powder
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 6 cups steamed white rice
Clean the crabs, removing the lungs, heart and glands and other parts so that only the pieces of shell containing meat (including the legs, swimmers and claws) remain. Refrigerate the meaty parts of the crabs. Put the portions of the crabs that have been removed into a 6- or 8-quart stockpot. Add the shrimp heads and shells and 5 quarts water to the pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from the heat.
Cook the sausages in a skillet in batches over medium heat, turning occasionally, until the pieces are slightly brown and much of the fat has been rendered. Remove the sausage and set aside on a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Discard the excess fat remaining in the skillet before cooking the next batch of sausage.
Once all the sausage has been cooked, wipe the excess oil from the skillet, being careful not to scrub away those bits of sausage that have stuck to the bottom of the skillet. Add the 2 tablespoons vegetable oil. Heat the oil over medium heat and then add the okra. Lower the heat to medium and cook the okra until it is slightly brown and dried, stirring frequently, about 45 minutes.
While the okra cooks, place the 1/2 cup vegetable oil in a 12-quart stockpot. Heat the oil over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, a tablespoon at a time slowly add the 1/2 cup flour to prepare the roux, stirring constantly. Once all the flour has been added, continue heating and stirring the roux until it becomes a medium brown color, somewhere between the color of caramel and milk chocolate, about 10-15 minutes. Add the onions to the roux, stirring constantly. Once the onions are wilted, add the garlic, parsley, celery, green onions and bell pepper. Strain the seafood stock into the large stockpot. Add the browned sausage and bay leaves and bring everything to a boil over medium-high heat. Then reduce the heat to medium and continue to cook.
Once the okra is cooked, add it to the gumbo pot. Continue cooking the gumbo for 60 minutes. Add the reserved crabs and shrimp and cook for 15 minutes longer. Remove the gumbo from the heat and stir in the Creole seasoning and filé powder. Let the gumbo rest for 15 to 20 minutes. As it cools, oil should form on the top. Skim the oil with a ladle or large spoon and discard. Stir in the picked crab meat. Taste the gumbo and adjust seasoning with more salt and pepper as needed. Serve the gumbo ladled over steamed rice.
In case of leftovers, gumbo freezes well. But if you cook it right, you won’t have to worry about leftovers.
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Comments (14)
Hi....one question: when was your mommy born....good cooks never used "Creole seasoning, such as Tony Chachere’s Original Creole Seasoning"...come on, now!!! Tony Chachere did not exist until 1972!! Is your mom less than 45 years old. Gimme a break!! Write about somethig else, my man!! And not gumbo!!
Posted by rob on May 5,2013 | 09:52 PM
I just made Mrs. Elie's recipe for dinner tonight and, wow!! I haven't been back in N'awlins for years and it instantly brought me back! Raves all around the dinner table. A friend who last had Creole gumbo in NOLA 24 yrs ago was speechless. Thanks for sharing this with the world!
Posted by Andrew on March 31,2013 | 11:03 PM
I'm not from Louisiana but a good portion of my wife's family is. I've made this recipe a few times now, and it has become my go-to gumbo replacing all others that I've played with in the past. I've had several people tell me it's the best gumbo they've ever tasted, and I agree with them. Thank you for sharing such a great, authentic recipe!
Posted by Mike S. on December 26,2012 | 02:19 PM
Tried this and loved it. I had no creole sausage but it is still very good. Thank you
Posted by verra Dewitt on December 13,2012 | 09:21 AM
Loved your story. The gumbo sounds great and like my family's from LA. I make a chicken/duck gumbo file' because I do not eat seafood. Wonderful food! I think I am hungry.
Posted by linnicy on November 28,2012 | 09:18 PM
i've had 30 people tell me 30 different ways to cook "authentic" gumbo and it all boils down to personal taste. (pun intended) @val burton: I use mostly bacon fat (lard) to make my roux and people love it.
Posted by david on November 27,2012 | 09:36 PM
Matt I am sure it was LARD fat from a pig I am a country gurl and from alot of stories I have heard since childhood the pig provided food nothing was wasted. Although I could be wrong but I am amost sure I am right or close to it.
Posted by val barton on November 21,2012 | 11:10 AM
Mrs. Elie you have just gave the world the authentic back home way to cook gumbo. My mother's cooks her gumbo pretty identical to yours and she learned from the best. Aunties from Southern La. Rayne, Oppolousas, Vi Platte, Lafayette area.... I recommend your recipe for anyone who does not know this is a great start... and when they add some love to it...they are well on their way.
Posted by val barton on November 21,2012 | 11:05 AM
I have a question about Mrs. Elie's gumbo recipe. Is the dozen claws in addition to the 1lb of meat? I don't understand as I have never made gumbo. Thank you
Posted by Uarda Taylor on August 24,2012 | 05:58 PM
Great article! Something like gumbo can be a slippery topic.. As to your recipe, it looks delicious. I wonder if you know what might have been used vice vegetable oil prior to its invention by the industrial chemists early in the 20th century.
Posted by Matt Prather on August 5,2012 | 10:15 AM
This is the real deal, I enjoyed reading the article. The recipe is the way my mom mad it. I am from New Orleans, La I am currently living in Houston TX. I always get upset when I see a restaurant advertising Creol Gumbo and it looks like stew. I have seen strange ingredients such as fish, king crabs, boiled eggs and scallops, I was very happy to see such an authentic (GENUINE) recipe that I have cherish and enjoyed since childhood and adulthood. Thanks, Natural Nawlins
Posted by Lynn H. James on June 26,2012 | 07:30 PM
M-m-m-m. Thank you! I am looking forward to trying this recipe. I am from the Appalachia -- we don't go on so about food, as far as I have observed, so people with their regional food fetishes fascinate me.
Posted by Viki Day on June 7,2012 | 03:17 PM
lawd, that makes me hongry! Sounds just like how my daddy used to make it. I remember chasing the crabs around the kitchen.
Posted by grace on May 15,2012 | 04:07 PM
Yeah you rite!
Posted by nmlhats on May 15,2012 | 09:11 AM