Chicken gumbo with sausage

For the broth:
• 1 chicken, about 2 kg
• 1 unpeeled onion, quartered
• 1 stick of celery, cut into 5 cm thick
pieces cut
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 l water (or 2 l chicken broth,
Finished product, but may only contain a small
be salted)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper, coarsely ground

For the roux:
• 240 ml sunflower oil
• 120 g flour
• 3 onions, chopped
• 2 celery sticks, diced
• ½ green pepper,
finely diced
• 2 tablespoons garlic, finely chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• ½ tsp cayenne pepper (if you
If you like it spicier, there is more to it)
• 2 smoked minced meat or
Cooked sausages, sliced
cut
• 1 bunch of spring onions,
cut into small rings
• 1 bunch parsley, chopped

For the broth, heat the DO with 10 briquettes under the pot. Add all the ingredients and the water or ready-made chicken broth to the pot; the chicken should be covered with 2.5 cm of water. Close the lid and let the chicken simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the chicken meat falls off the bones.

Skim off the foam that forms on the surface. Then remove the chicken from the broth and let it cool, then pull the meat off the bones. Pour the broth through a sieve and set aside. Now start making the roux by placing 10 briquettes under the Dutch oven. Add the oil and flour to the pot and stir constantly with a whisk. As soon as the flour starts to brown, remove half of the briquettes. Keep stirring until the roux is the color of caramel. If it gets too dark, the fricassee will have a bitter taste. So don't let the flour burn and keep moving.

Now add the onion, celery and pepper pieces and leave to soften for 5-7 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the cooled stock and keep stirring evenly so that no lumps form. Also add the cayenne pepper, bay leaf and garlic. The sauce should simmer for a total of 2 hours until it has reached the desired thickness. If it becomes too thick, simply add a little stock or water. After 2 hours, the fat will have settled on top and can be skimmed off. During the cooking time, remember that the briquettes may need to be replaced so that the sauce can continue to simmer gently. When the sauce is almost ready, remove the lid from the DO and place it upside down on 15 briquettes so that it can be used as a pan. Fry the sausage slices on top until brown and then add to the sauce.

Let everything simmer for another 2 hours and then add the chicken, spring onions and chopped parsley. Let everything simmer for ½ hour and serve the gumbo with rice and Chipotle Tabasco.

FIRE&FOOD Issue 4-2016