Mean Chef Chicken, Andouille, Ham And Okra Gumbo

Total Time: 1 hr 30 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 cups chopped yellow onions
• 1 1/2 cups chopped celery
• 1 1/2 cups chopped green bell peppers
• 1 lb okra, either fresh or frozen and cut into pieces
• 1 1/2 lbs hot smoked sausage, such as andouille or kielbasa, cut crosswise into 1/2 inch slices
• 3/4 lb smoked ham, cut into small cubes or 3/4 lb ham, nugget cut into small cubes
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
• 3/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 3 bay leaves
• 3 quarts chicken stock or 3 quarts chicken broth
• 3 cups cooked chicken meat
• 1 tablespoon pickapeppa sauce
• 1 cup chopped parsley
• 2 bunches chopped green onions
• hot sauce, to taste (optional)
• 4 cups cooked long-grain rice, accompaniment

Recipe

• 1 in a large pot or dutch oven, heat the oil over medium heat and stir in the flour, sprinkling a little at a time and whisking inches whisk slowly and constantly for 20 to 25 minutes to make a dark brown roux, the color of chocolate.
• 2 if you get black specks in your roux it is burned and you will have to start over.
• 3 add the onions, celery, okra and bell peppers and continue to stir for 4 to 5 minutes, or until wilted.
• 4 the mixture will be pasty and fairly dry.
• 5 add the sausage, ham, salt, cayenne, pepper, and bay leaves and stir well.
• 6 cook, stirring, for 3 to 4 minutes.
• 7 add the stock or broth and stir well to combine with the roux mixture.
• 8 bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low.
• 9 cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour.
• 10 add the chicken and cook just until the chicken is heated through, about 5 minutes.
• 11 remove from the heat and stir in the parsley, pickapeppa sauce and green onions.
• 12 ladle into deep soup bowls over rice.
• 13 serve with hot sauce, if desired.