Seafood Gumbo
Published Dec. 29, 2021
- Total Time
- 1 hour 35 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 1tablespoon dried oregano
- 1tablespoon dried thyme
- 1teaspoon powdered bay leaf (see Tip 1)
- 1½tablespoons garlic powder
- 1tablespoon onion powder
- ½teaspoon red-pepper flakes, or more to taste
- ½teaspoon ground cayenne, or more to taste
- 2tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2tablespoons smoked paprika
- 1tablespoon kosher salt (Diamond Crystal)
- ½teaspoon black pepper
- 4tablespoons salted butter
- ¼cup vegetable oil
- ½cup all-purpose flour
- 1small onion, finely chopped
- 4garlic cloves, minced
- 1small celery stalk, finely chopped
- ½red bell pepper, finely chopped
- ½cup grape tomatoes, halved
- ½cup dried shrimp (optional; see Tip 2)
- 1tablespoon tomato paste
- 5cups store-bought or homemade chicken stock
- 4ounces fresh or thawed frozen okra, sliced into rounds (1 cup)
- 2tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2lobster tails, shelled and cut into ¾-inch pieces (optional; see Tip 3)
- ¼pound picked crab meat
- ¼pound sea scallops
- ½pound medium shrimp
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- 4cups cooked jasmine rice, for serving
For the Gumbo Spice Mix
For the Seafood Gumbo
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Preparation
- Step 1
Make the spice mix: Place all ingredients in a bowl and stir until combined. Set aside 2 tablespoons to add to the gumbo and reserve the rest for another use in an airtight container.
- Step 2
Make the gumbo: In a heavy 4- to 5-quart pot, heat the butter and oil over medium heat. Once the butter begins to bubble slightly, add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon or heatproof spatula to form a smooth paste.
- Step 3
Cook the mixture, stirring continuously, for 10 to 13 minutes to make a chocolate-colored roux. Make sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the pot to avoid burning. It is important to keep a very close eye on the roux during this step. The roux can go from a nutty color and aroma to burnt beyond repair in a matter of minutes. Lower the heat as needed.
- Step 4
Immediately add the onion, garlic, celery, bell pepper and tomatoes and stir well. The vegetables will stop the roux from overcooking and burning. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables start to stick to the pan, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the dried shrimp, if using, tomato paste and 2 tablespoons spice mix and cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes.
- Step 5
While whisking, slowly add the stock and whisk until the stock is completely blended with the roux and vegetable mixture. Add the okra, lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce and let simmer for 50 minutes over very low heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Add the lobster, crab, scallops and shrimp and simmer just until cooked through, about 10 minutes more.
- Step 6
Season the gumbo to taste with salt and pepper and serve over rice.
- To make powdered bay leaf, finely grind dried bay leaves in a spice grinder. If you don’t have a spice grinder, you can omit this from the spice mix and add 4 dried bay leaves to the gumbo when simmering.
- Whole dried shrimp can be found in most Asian markets and online. Look for ones that are pink or orange and plump and firm.
- If you don’t want to use lobster tail, you can use an additional ½ pound shrimp instead.
Private Notes
Comments
Please please please don’t cook the okra “50” minutes and for all the seafood gods never cook the shrimp 10 minutes or more at medium heat…. I can drop shrimp in boiling water and be perfect in about 2 minutes So 10 plus is rubber….
Cooking okra for 50 minutes pretty much guarantees it will be lifeless and soggy, and "10 minutes or more" will also overcook the shrimp and scallops.
As a native of Louisiana there are two schools of gumbo cooking- those who never use tomatoes and those who do. We never ever use tomatoes in gumbo! Suggest you leave them out for a more authentic taste. Also use oysters instead of lobster- Gulf oysters are plentiful and easy to procure here in Louisiana.
delicious
Delicious! Took out lobster and scallops added wild alaska salmon instead since that’s what we had. I wish I had let the seafood sit for longer before serving to make the seafood taste stronger (like any other stew!. Put in shrimp for far less than a 10 min simmer so as to not overcook. I’m excited to see how it tastes tomorrow! Only other note: needs more heat! Next time I’ll likely add jalapeño to the veg mix that goes in the roux.
Also, used frozen okra, and put it in for the full time and it was excellent. It’s a thickener! Sprinkled filet powder on top with each serving. That really brought it all together
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