• 6 chicken thighs boneless or bone in.
• 4 tbsp sunflower oil
• 4 smoked sausages, bratwurst works perfectly
• ½ cup of sunflower oil
• ½ cup of plain flour
• 6 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 4 celery sticks
• 2 onions
• 1 bell pepper
• 1 fresh jalapeno pepper
• 250ml beer or white wine
• 1000ml of chicken stock, a stock cube dissolved in hot water is perfect
• 2 bay leaf’s
• 2 sprigs of rosemary
• Salt and pepper
Method:
- To start this epic winter warmer grab a crock pot and place it on a medium heat while you prepare the rest of your ingredients.
- Peel and crush the garlic then set it aside. Dice the onion, celery and peppers, keep them together. When the pot is hot add a splash of oil along with the chicken thighs followed by a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Cook the chicken all over until its charred and golden. Remove and set aside. Now add the ½ cup of oil and allow it to heat up for 2 minutes, add the flour and keep stirring while you make the roux – an essential part of the gumbo. Do not walk away and leave the roux unattended, keep stirring while the roux cooks and darkens. This should take 10 minutes until the roux turns a dark golden colour – almost like caramel.
- Now add the celery, onions and peppers (referred to as the trinity in southern cooking) keep stirring and cook for 5 minutes. Add the beer and stir in, bring to simmer and add the stock. Once boiling add the chicken thighs and chopped up sausages followed by the bay leaf and rosemary sprigs. Cover with a lid and cook on a low heat for at least but the longer the better for a deep dark delicious gumbo.
- When ready the gumbo should be thick, and the chicken should be falling apart. If it reduces too much just add warm water. I love my gumbo served over thick cut sourdough but classically its served over white rice and topped with some chopped scallion or chives.
