Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

Ed gave me a year subscription to Cook's Illustrated for Christmas and it's a game changer.  My goal is to make something new each weekend, so I'm getting good use out of the magazine.  This weekend was chicken and sausage gumbo.  I've never made gumbo before and I'm not even sure I've really had gumbo before, but ya'll...ya need to make this recipe.  I'm telling you...it was so so good.

It takes some time, about 90 minutes, but that's not all active time by any means.  It uses pretty common ingredients.  In fact, we subbed some things because I didn't feel like searching for andouille sausage on this island.  We struck out at Whole Paycheck and decided not to look any further.  Here are the substitutions I made...

chicken thighs - chicken breasts (probably would be even better with thighs though)
andouille sausage - Italian sausage (again, probably awesome with andouille)
fresh thyme - dried thyme
white vinegar - rice vinegar (what the heck, how do I not have white vinegar on hand?)

Despite my lame substitutions, it was great because the secret, I believe, is in the sauce.  It's all about toasting the flour to create a dry roux.  You throw the flour in a cast iron skillet and put it in the oven for about an hour, until it's the color of cinnamon.  That's where all your flavor comes from and holy cow, is it good.  I can't imagine that subbing a gluten free flour would have a negative impact on the final product.  I will say that the gumbo had a velvety texture so it's possible a GF flour would effect that, but I don't know enough about GF to say.

Anyway, here's the recipe.  Give it a shot, I doubt you'll be disappointed.  Oh, one more thing, if you're sensitive to spice, go easy on the cayenne.  I'm pretty sure I measured the cayenne and the final product had some kick to it.  Might be better to go easy and then add more if you need.  Oh and we both thought the addition of hot sauce after serving was awesome.

Ingredients
1 C flour
1 T vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped fine
1 green pepper, chopped fine
2 celery ribs, chopped fine
1 T minced fresh thyme (I used about 3/4 t of dried)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 t paprika
2 bay leaves
1/2 t cayenne
salt and pepper
4 C chicken broth, room temp
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed
8 oz andouille sausage, halved and sliced 1/4 inch thick
6 scallions, sliced thin
1 t distilled white vinegar
hot sauce, to taste for serving

Method

1. Heat oven to 425, adjust rack to middle.  Place flour in 12 inch skillet and bake, stirring occasionally until it's the color of ground cinnamon (approximately 40-55 minutes).  Towards the end it needs to be stirred more frequently.  Transfer to a bowl and let cool.
2. Heat oil in a dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering.  Add onion, pepper, and celery and cook until softened, about 5-7 minutes.  Stir in thyme, garlic, paprika, bay leaves, cayenne, 1/4 t salt, and 1/4 t pepper and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Stir in 2 cups of broth.  Add chicken in a single layer (it won't be completely submerged).  Bring to simmer, reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until chicken is fork tender, about 15-17 minutes.  Transfer chicken to plate.
3. Slowly whisk remaining 2 cups of broth into flour until thick, smooth, batter-like paste forms.  Increase heat to medium and incorporate paste into gumbo, making sure each addition is fully incorporated before adding the next.  Stir in sausage.  Simmer, uncovered, until gumbo thickens slightly, about 20-25 minutes.
4. Shred chicken and put in gumbo with scallions.  Remove pot from heat and stir in vinegar and season with salt to taste (I didn't add any more salt).  Remove bay leaves.  Serve over rice with hot sauce.

It's stick-to-your-ribs good!

Enjoy,

Molly