¼ C vegetable or olive oil
½ C flour
½-1 LB andouille (or any smoked) sausage (sliced)
1 LG onion (chopped)
6-8 cloves garlic (minced)
½ C (one bunch) green onion
½ C celery (chopped fine)
1 MED bell pepper (chopped)
28 OZ canned crushed tomatoes
3 TBS parsley
¼ TSP thyme
1 TSP cayenne (or to taste)
1 TSP liquid crab boil (or to taste)
2½ TSP salt (or to taste)
½ TSP pepper to taste (or to taste)
5 LB raw peeled shrimp
1 LB crabmeat (white or claw)
1½ QT raw oysters (optional)
2 LB cooked crawfish tails
2 LB raw catfish (cut into chunks) (optional)
Kitchen Bouquet (optional, for color)
In heavy 5-6 QT pot brown the sausage, set aside. Remove any remaining liquid from the pot and make a roux from ¼ C oil and ½ C flour, stirring constantly until sufficiently browned. Add all of the vegetables except the tomatoes to the roux and sauté until onion is clear and soft. Add the tomatoes, parsley, thyme, salt, pepper, cayenne and liquid crab boil. Add 1 QT of water to start and cook 1½ hours over medium heat stirring frequently, adding water as needed to maintain gumbo consistency. Add Kitchen Bouquet in small increments to adjust color if too pale. Add the seafood at the end. Cook for 10 more minutes, only till shrimp, catfish and oysters are done (overcooking makes the shrimp tough). Serve over rice. Even better the next day.