Good New Orleans Creole Gumbo

• servings: 20 servings
• active time: 1 hour
• total time: 3 hours 40 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour

¾ cup bacon drippings

1 cup coarsely chopped celery

1 large onion, coarsely chopped

1 large green bell pepper, coarsely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 pound andouille sausage, sliced

3 quarts water

6 cubes beef bouillon

1 tablespoon white sugar

salt to taste

2 tablespoons hot pepper sauce (such as Tabasco®), or to taste

½ teaspoon Cajun seasoning blend (such as Tony Chachere's®), or to taste

4 bay leaves

½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves

1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed tomatoes

1 (6 ounce) can tomato sauce

4 teaspoons file powder, divided

2 tablespoons bacon drippings

2 (10 ounce) packages frozen cut okra, thawed

2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar

1 pound lump crabmeat

3 pounds uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Directions

Gather all ingredients.

Make the roux: Whisk together flour and 3/4 cup bacon drippings in a large, heavy saucepan over medium-low heat until smooth. Cook roux, whisking constantly, until it turns a rich mahogany brown color. This can take 20 to 30 minutes; watch heat carefully and whisk constantly or roux will burn. Remove from heat; continue whisking until mixture stops cooking.

Make the gumbo: Place celery, onion, green bell pepper, and garlic into the work bowl of a food processor, and pulse until all vegetables are very finely chopped.

Stir vegetables into the roux, and mix in sausage. Bring mixture to a simmer over medium-low heat, and cook until vegetables are tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Combine water and beef bouillon cubes in a large Dutch oven or soup pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir until bouillon cubes dissolve, then whisk roux mixture into the boiling water.

Reduce heat to a simmer and mix in sugar, salt, hot pepper sauce, Cajun seasoning, bay leaves, thyme, stewed tomatoes, and tomato sauce. Simmer soup over low heat for 1 hour; mix in 2 teaspoons of file gumbo powder at the 45-minute mark.

Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons bacon drippings in a skillet over medium heat. Add okra and vinegar and cook for 15 minutes; remove okra with a slotted spoon, and stir into the simmering gumbo.

Mix in reserved vegetables, crabmeat, shrimp, and Worcestershire sauce, and simmer until flavors have blended, 45 more minutes. Stir in 2 more teaspoons of file gumbo powder just before serving.

Serve hot and enjoy!