So its been awhile....... But I am back and ready to keep journaling my kitchen adventures. Each night, I write down the ingredients I used to make dinner. Several weeks ago, we had venison and shrimp gumbo for dinner. Venison and shrimp?!? It sounds like a weird combo, but it was delicious! That morning we had decided to clean out and thaw our deep freezer. Deep beneath the ice there were partial packages of freezer-burnt shrimp and several links of deer sausage that were given to us, months previous, from Brandon's dad. Finding the deer sausage was a great surprise. The shrimp on the other hand was much less exciting. I was inches from tossing it in the trash before realizing that I maybe able to revitalize the shrimp in some sort of soup. But what kind of soup could I make? Then it came to me, what could be more creole than shrimp and deer meat?!? Brandon and I both love New Orleans. We love everything from the food, to the culture, to the atmosphere of the city; and we cannot wait to go back in a few months.
The trick to most creole/ cajun recipes is the roux. A roux is combination of oil and flour that is heated in a stock pot before making a sauce of soup. Roux's are very versatile and can be changed based on the recipe. A light roux gives a soft nutty flavor, while a dark roux gives your dish a heavy roasted flavor. A light roux (or blonde roux) only cooks for 5- 10 mins or until a pale khaki color is achieved. A dark roux can cook for much longer. For this recipe, I only cooked the roux for 30 mins, but they can cook for an hour or more! Allowing the roux to develop for 30 mins gave a medium brown color (similar in color to peanut butter). True cajun recipes utilize a chocolate roux. Just as the name implies, it is a dark brown color that resembles chocolate and it can take over an hour to achieve this color. You can also control the thickness of you recipe by the amount of flour or oil used. A higher ratio of flour to oil will make the dish heavy and thick. On the other side, a higher ratio of oil to flour will result in a thinner sauce or soup.
For this recipes, I doubled the amount of vegetables I would typically use in a gumbo. As I have mentioned before, Brandon and I are trying to establish a healthy lifestyle that is full of fruits and vegetables. I served the gumbo over brown rice and paired it with a flaxseed cornbread. The cornbread I grew up eating was always made with two ingredients (self-rising corn meal and buttermilk) and cooked in a cast-iron pan. I added flax seed that night to add an extra element of health to the meal.
The recipe for the gumbo is detailed below.
The trick to most creole/ cajun recipes is the roux. A roux is combination of oil and flour that is heated in a stock pot before making a sauce of soup. Roux's are very versatile and can be changed based on the recipe. A light roux gives a soft nutty flavor, while a dark roux gives your dish a heavy roasted flavor. A light roux (or blonde roux) only cooks for 5- 10 mins or until a pale khaki color is achieved. A dark roux can cook for much longer. For this recipe, I only cooked the roux for 30 mins, but they can cook for an hour or more! Allowing the roux to develop for 30 mins gave a medium brown color (similar in color to peanut butter). True cajun recipes utilize a chocolate roux. Just as the name implies, it is a dark brown color that resembles chocolate and it can take over an hour to achieve this color. You can also control the thickness of you recipe by the amount of flour or oil used. A higher ratio of flour to oil will make the dish heavy and thick. On the other side, a higher ratio of oil to flour will result in a thinner sauce or soup.
For this recipes, I doubled the amount of vegetables I would typically use in a gumbo. As I have mentioned before, Brandon and I are trying to establish a healthy lifestyle that is full of fruits and vegetables. I served the gumbo over brown rice and paired it with a flaxseed cornbread. The cornbread I grew up eating was always made with two ingredients (self-rising corn meal and buttermilk) and cooked in a cast-iron pan. I added flax seed that night to add an extra element of health to the meal.
The recipe for the gumbo is detailed below.
Venison and Shrimp Gumbo
1/4 cup oil
4 TBS flour
diced medium yellow onion
2 diced green bell peppers
6 stalks of celery chopped.
2 TBS chicken boullion paste
2 TBS cajun seasoning
1 TBS garlic powder
2 TBS tomato paste
3-4 cups of water
1 cup chopped deer sausage
1-2 cups of frozen shrimp
1 cup of chopped okra
1 TBS gumbo file (optional, but really makes the dish)
Hot sauce to taste
1 cup brown rice
1 TBS oil
2 cups of water
Add the 1/4 cup of oil to a heavy bottom stock pot. Turn on to medium heat and slowly whisk in the 4 TBS of flour. Once the pan is heated, turn the heat to low. Allow the roux to cook for 20 min. Stir every so often to prevent any burning or sticking. After 20 min, add the diced onion. Once the onion pieces begin to look translucent, add the chopped bell pepper. After the bell pepper has began to soften, add the chopped. You want to add each vegetable individually to allow to cook. If you were to add all of the vegetables at once, there would be too much water added to the roux at once. This excess water would cause the vegetables to steam rather than caramelize.
Once the onions, bell peppers and celery have been added, add the water, chicken bouillon, garlic powder, cajun seasoning, and tomato paste. Make sure the chicken bouillon is completely dissolved and dispersed. Taste the gumbo to ensure it has an adequate amount of salt. Then add the chopped deer sausage and frozen shrimp.
Allow the gumbo to cook for at least 1 hour, but it is best to allow to cook on low for 2 hours or more. This allows the flavors to develop. Stir the gumbo frequently to ensure that the soup does not stick and burn to the bottom of the pot.
A half hour before you want to eat, prep the rice. Warm the TBS of oil in a sauce pot. Add the cup of rice. Mix thoroughly with the oil. Then add the 2 cups of water. Turn the heat to medium. No need to cover the rice at this point, Stir the rice often. Once the water has evaporated, remove the rice from the heat and cover the pot for 5 min.
While your rice finishes steaming for the last 5 mins, add the chopped okra to the gumbo. Adding the okra at the end of the cook time allows the okra to keep its crisp texture. The gel created within the okra cooks into the gumbo giving the gumbo a thicker consistency. At this point you will add the gumbo file as well. Gumbo file is a sassafras leaves. This is a traditional spice added to gumbo and it too helps to give gumbo body and thickness.
After allowing the okra to cook for 5 min, remove the gumbo from the heat. At this point, you can add hot sauce to taste. Brandon and I love spicy dishes, so we use it very generously.
Serve the gumbo over a bowl of brown rice and enjoy!!
1/4 cup oil
4 TBS flour
diced medium yellow onion
2 diced green bell peppers
6 stalks of celery chopped.
2 TBS chicken boullion paste
2 TBS cajun seasoning
1 TBS garlic powder
2 TBS tomato paste
3-4 cups of water
1 cup chopped deer sausage
1-2 cups of frozen shrimp
1 cup of chopped okra
1 TBS gumbo file (optional, but really makes the dish)
Hot sauce to taste
1 cup brown rice
1 TBS oil
2 cups of water
Add the 1/4 cup of oil to a heavy bottom stock pot. Turn on to medium heat and slowly whisk in the 4 TBS of flour. Once the pan is heated, turn the heat to low. Allow the roux to cook for 20 min. Stir every so often to prevent any burning or sticking. After 20 min, add the diced onion. Once the onion pieces begin to look translucent, add the chopped bell pepper. After the bell pepper has began to soften, add the chopped. You want to add each vegetable individually to allow to cook. If you were to add all of the vegetables at once, there would be too much water added to the roux at once. This excess water would cause the vegetables to steam rather than caramelize.
Once the onions, bell peppers and celery have been added, add the water, chicken bouillon, garlic powder, cajun seasoning, and tomato paste. Make sure the chicken bouillon is completely dissolved and dispersed. Taste the gumbo to ensure it has an adequate amount of salt. Then add the chopped deer sausage and frozen shrimp.
Allow the gumbo to cook for at least 1 hour, but it is best to allow to cook on low for 2 hours or more. This allows the flavors to develop. Stir the gumbo frequently to ensure that the soup does not stick and burn to the bottom of the pot.
A half hour before you want to eat, prep the rice. Warm the TBS of oil in a sauce pot. Add the cup of rice. Mix thoroughly with the oil. Then add the 2 cups of water. Turn the heat to medium. No need to cover the rice at this point, Stir the rice often. Once the water has evaporated, remove the rice from the heat and cover the pot for 5 min.
While your rice finishes steaming for the last 5 mins, add the chopped okra to the gumbo. Adding the okra at the end of the cook time allows the okra to keep its crisp texture. The gel created within the okra cooks into the gumbo giving the gumbo a thicker consistency. At this point you will add the gumbo file as well. Gumbo file is a sassafras leaves. This is a traditional spice added to gumbo and it too helps to give gumbo body and thickness.
After allowing the okra to cook for 5 min, remove the gumbo from the heat. At this point, you can add hot sauce to taste. Brandon and I love spicy dishes, so we use it very generously.
Serve the gumbo over a bowl of brown rice and enjoy!!