{"id":38,"date":"2008-05-12T06:34:32","date_gmt":"2008-05-12T06:34:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/patandstacy.com\/blog\/?p=38"},"modified":"2008-05-12T06:34:32","modified_gmt":"2008-05-12T06:34:32","slug":"behold-the-krewe-of-helios-az-gumbo-recipe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/patandstacy.com\/blog\/2008\/05\/12\/behold-the-krewe-of-helios-az-gumbo-recipe\/","title":{"rendered":"Behold: The Krewe of Helios-AZ Gumbo Recipe"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yes, Mardi Gras was months ago, and now that it’s 400 degrees outside, no one feels much like eating gumbo, but we’ve had many requests for this recipe and through trial and error, we finally wrote it down in small words and big type so everyone can understand… Oh, and we added pictures. Woo-hoo!
\nBEHOLD: THE PAT AND STACY \/ KREWE OF HELIOS-ARIZONA GUMBO RECIPE<\/strong>, also known as, a handy way to drink beer and work out your shoulders at the same time…<\/p>\n


\nPat and Stacy\u2019s Krewe of Helios-Arizona Gumbo Recipe<\/strong>
\nServes 4-6 families
\nTOOLS (in order of appearance)<\/strong>
\n\u2022 1 penny \u2013 not a new penny or a bad penny, just an old one that\u2019s been in your pocket for a while and doesn\u2019t have any green spots or scum on it.
\n\u2022 6-pack of beer
\n\u2022 Long-sleeved T-shirt and your most comfortable shoes or clogs
\n\u2022 Your four biggest soup pots, or at least a collection of biggest vessels you\u2019ve got
\n\u2022 Stove with at least 4 burners
\n\u2022 Several bowls to hold chopped vegetables and meat
\n\u2022 Colander
\n\u2022 Trash bag
\n\u2022 Wooden spoons
\n\u2022 Frying pan
\n\u2022 All your Rubbermaid or Tupperware or plastic containers \u2013 WITH MATCHING LIDS!
\nINGREDIENTS<\/strong>
\nFor the stock:
\n\u2022 Skin, bones and neck of leftover Thanksgiving turkey or same from 2 store-bought rotisserie chickens
\n\u2022 1 large white onion, chopped into fourths
\n\u2022 2-4 carrots, cut in thirds
\n\u2022 3-6 stalks of celery, cut in thirds
\n\u2022 2 tablespoons black peppercorns
\n\u2022 1 handful parsley, chopped
\n\u2022 Whatever spices you like to put in stock (rosemary, thyme, etc.)
\nFor the gumbo:
\n\u2022 Meat from leftover Thanksgiving Day turkey or 2 store-bought rotisserie chickens, picked apart into chunks and put it in a big bowl on the side
\n\u2022 8-10 cloves of garlic, chopped
\n\u2022 1 large white onion, chopped
\n\u2022 6 stalks of celery, chopped
\n\u2022 3 green bell peppers, chopped
\n\u2022 1 bunch of green onions, chopped
\n\u2022 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of cooking oil (canola, corn, vegetable), divided
\n\u2022 1 cup flour
\n\u2022 2 15-ounce cans diced tomatoes
\n\u2022 2 pounds andouille sausage, chopped in half-inch slices (grilled if desired)
\n\u2022 2 pounds smoked sausage, chopped in half-inch slices (grilled if desired)
\n\u2022 2 tablespoons (or more) kosher salt
\n\u2022 1 tablespoon (or more) freshly ground black pepper
\n\u2022 1 tablespoon (or more) cayenne pepper
\n\u2022 3 bay leaves
\n\u2022 1 bag of frozen chopped okra, thawed
\n\u2022 Instant rice (but if you insist on being a martyr, you\u2019re welcome to do regular rice)
\nCOOKING INSTRUCTIONS<\/strong>
\nDress for the Occasion:<\/strong><\/em> Put on your long-sleeved T-shirt and most comfy shoes. You\u2019ll thank us later.
\nMake the Stock:<\/strong><\/em> Fire up one burner on high and dump all the stock ingredients in your second-biggest pot, fill with water, cover the pot and don\u2019t watch it because you want it to boil. Put your third-biggest pot in the sink and put a colander on top of it. (Could this be foreshadowing?)
\nDo Your Gumbo Prep Work: <\/strong><\/em>Chop everything up \u2013 all of it. You won\u2019t have time to do it while you\u2019re cooking your roux, so open up a beer and start chopping. Put all the chopped vegetables, including the garlic in one big bowl. Put the sausage in another and the bird meat in yet another. You can grill your sausage if you like a smokier flavor before you cut it up, but it adds a little time to the process.
\nCheck on Your Stock: <\/em><\/strong>By now, it should have been boiling violently for about 10 minutes. You can turn down the heat and let it simmer as long as it cooks for 20 minutes total. Finish your beer. Before you proceed to the next step, strain your stock into the third-biggest container in the sink. That\u2019s what the colander is for \u2013 to strain the stock and catch the solids \u2013 and that\u2019s what the trash bag is for, to contain all the solids so your dogs won\u2019t dig them out of the trash. Suffice it to say, the stock should be clear of debris.
\nMAKE YOUR ROUX (the Most Important Part): <\/strong><\/em>First, you find your penny and another bottle of beer. Put the penny beside the stove where you can see it. Open your (second\u2026 or third) beer. Put your biggest pot on your biggest burner, turned on medium heat. Dump the cup of flour and cup of oil into the pot. Grab your wooden spoon and start stirring. Sip your beer. Keep stirring or else it will burn. You will rue the day you burn your roux because it will stink up your kitchen and you\u2019ll have to start over. By the time you’re done drinking your beer, the roux should be the color of the penny. (But if you drink like Pat and Stacy, it may be after your second beer.) Regardless, you\u2019re gonna stir for anywhere from 25 minutes to an hour \u2013 I always lose track of time \u2013 and this is where you thank us for making you wear comfortable shoes. Cooking times vary depending on the cooking surface \u2013 we use a cast-iron pot which cooks a little more slowly and evenly. We\u2019re also using an electric stove, which is not my preference but I’m not running a gas line just to make a better gumbo recipe. I\u2019ve used a stainless pot and it tends to burn in a hurry. The moral of the story is: You have to KEEP STIRRING. The flour mixture will go from vanilla to beige to caramel to dark caramel to penny. Do not stop stirring, and keep an eye on that heat \u2013 adjust downward as necessary, especially when you hit caramel-colored. Behold, the pictures:
\n\"gumbolicious.jpg\"
\nDUMP YOUR VEGGIES!<\/strong><\/em> As soon as you hit the penny, empty all the vegetables into the roux-pot. Don\u2019t wait! Dump and stir! This is where you thank us for making you wear a long-sleeved T-shirt because, along with random splatter from stray veggies, you\u2019ll get a major steam up when the cold veggies hit the hot roux.
\nDon\u2019t Panic: <\/strong><\/em>Keep stirring until the onions become translucent and soft, about 5 minutes. Add in that wonderful stock you made earlier, but only enough to cover the veggies. Give everything a good stir! Don\u2019t worry if the roux separates and looks a little sandy, it’ll all come back together in a moment\u2026 After the initial blast of steam-and-stir, add both of cans of tomatoes including juice, sausage, salt, black pepper, cayenne, bay leaves and the rest of the stock \u2013 about 3\/4s of the way to the rim \u2013 if you have that much stock and space. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer. Freeze whatever stock you\u2019ve got leftover (see Rubbermaid, Tupperware, et al).
\n\"veggie
\nSling Some Snot (or Let Good Times Roll with Okra): <\/strong><\/em>While the pot is simmering away, heat a large, nonstick skillet over medium heat with the rest of the oil, about 2 tablespoons. Add the okra to the skillet to heat it up. The okra will shed a slimy-looking substance \u2013 it\u2019s OK, you can call it \u201csnot.\u201d Keep stirring until it starts to dry up and get stringy \u2013 about 10-15 minutes \u2013 just be aware that it won’t go away completely. You’re just trying to blow the okra\u2019s nose so it doesn\u2019t smear your gumbo.
\n
\nBoil Some Water \/ Make Some Rice: <\/strong><\/em>If you plan on eating this now, throw your smallest pot on the least-splattered remaining burner and follow instructions for instant rice (or regular rice, if you\u2019re a martyr).
\nAdd the Okra, Add the Bird, Call it a Day: <\/strong><\/em>When the okra is done, add it to the pot and quickly bring everything back up to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer. Taste and decide whether you need more spice. Add turkey or chicken and simmer until heated through. At this point, the gumbo is basically done, but it will only get better the longer it cooks down (2 hours). Drink a beer to toast your achievement.
\nWORD OF CAUTION, Part 1: <\/strong><\/em>If you want to cook it down or won’t be serving it right away, be careful adding spices because it becomes more concentrated as it cooks down, and hold off on adding the turkey meat until you\u2019re a half-hour from being ready to serve so it doesn’t disintegrate on you. If using a brined turkey, it’s better to err on the side of caution with the salt. Please note, Pat and I use a LOT more pain \/ heat when cooking for ourselves.
\n
\nWORD OF CAUTION, Part 2: <\/strong><\/em>Remember, you eat gumbo with rice, but you let the individual person scoop as much rice and gumbo as they want. Do not even think about mixing the rice and gumbo altogether in the big pot. Then this entire exercise would all be for naught. When you\u2019re done, store whatever is left (see Rubbermaid, Tupperware, et al) Enjoy. Laissez les bon temps rouler!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yes, Mardi Gras was months ago, and now that it’s 400 degrees outside, no one feels much like eating gumbo, but we’ve had many requests for this recipe and through trial and error, we finally wrote it down in small words and big type so everyone can understand… Oh, and we added pictures. Woo-hoo! BEHOLD: … Continue reading Behold: The Krewe of Helios-AZ Gumbo Recipe<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-food"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/patandstacy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/patandstacy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/patandstacy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/patandstacy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/patandstacy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/patandstacy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/patandstacy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/patandstacy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/patandstacy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}