** Updated: 12/8/2020 **
This Seafood Gumbo Recipe is made with the delicious flavors of chicken, smoked sausage, shrimp, crab and aromatic vegetables enveloped in a luscious and savory rich roux.
This recipe is amazing and is one of my family's favorite recipes of all time. For us, seafood gumbo is a celebratory dish that we typically serve on Thanksgiving, Christmas, Birthdays, and other special occasions. It's 100% a crowd-pleaser and is a dish that everyone looks forward to throughout the year.
Ingredients
- Onion
- Celery
- Green bell pepper
- Minced garlic
- Sausage (any combination of beef smoked sausage, beef kielbasa, turkey smoked sausage, turkey kielbasa, pork smoked sausage)
- Chicken drumettes
- Prawns
- Crab
- Roux (fat, flour, chicken broth)
- Tomato sauce
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- Granulated garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Gumbo file
Recipe essentials
- A large boiling pot with a large mouth
- Whisk
Our seafood gumbo recipe is a multi-step process that's typically prepped a day ahead which I highly recommend; however, you can prep and make the gumbo all in the same day if you have the time.
It's an easy recipe but requires a long cooking time in order to develop the true flavor of gumbo. Authentic tasting gumbo cannot be made in just a few hours.
You'll find that this recipe requires patience but is well worth the wait.
I also describe how to clean the crab and prawns. I walk you through each step in detail. So, here we go...
How to make seafood gumbo
Cleaning the shrimp and prawns:
- First, remove the outer shell and legs if attached and discard.
- Use a steak knife or paring knife to cut along the outer surface of the shrimp's back and sometimes its underbelly and remove the black vein and discard.
- Place the de-veined shrimp in a bowl of cold water and move on to the next shrimp until all shrimp have been de-veined.
- When all the shrimp have been de-veined, rinse them really well with cold water.
- Put the cleaned shrimp in a large ziploc bag and place in the fridge until ready to use.
Cleaning the crab:
- Remove all the legs from the crab's body and set aside.
- Break the top shell and remove it from the body. Discard the top shell.
- Remove the gills from the crab's body. Discard the gills.
- Turn the crab over and remove the other layer from the crab's body. Discard that layer.
- Remove the crab's tail and mouth. Discard the tail and mouth.
- Dig out all of the gunk that you see. Discard the gunk.
- Rinse and remove more of the gunk and discard.
- Using a clean stiff chemical-free scrub brush, brush, away any hair and debris on the crab.
- Rinse the edible crab parts well. Put into a large ziploc bag and place in fridge until ready to use.
Chopping the vegetables: Chop the onion, bell pepper, celery, and minced garlic. Put the chopped veggies in an airtight container and place in the fridge until ready to use.
Sausage: Slice the sausages on a bias or diagonal about a ¼ to ½ inch thick. Place in a 400 degree preheated oven to bake until the fat has been rendered.
Frying the chicken drumettes: If frozen, first thaw the drumettes. After thawing, pat dry with paper towels and season with a Cajun spice blend. Dredge each drumette in all purpose flour and place in a frying pan with cooking oil preheated to 350 degrees. Fry until the drumettes are crispy golden brown and are cooked through.
Making the roux: This step is very important and is the base for a really delicious gumbo. Roux is a mixture of fat, flour, and liquid. As a rule of thumb, I think of it this way... 1 part fat, 1 part flour, 2 parts liquid, and I tend to add a little bit more liquid to thin out the roux if necessary.
- Place a skillet on the stove-top over medium heat.
- Add a mixture of butter and the oil (that was used for frying the drumettes being sure to get those brown bits from the oil).
- When the oil is hot, add in a couple tablespoons of the chopped veggies and saute until the veggies begin to soften, add in the flour and cook for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Slowing pour in the chicken broth while whisking vigorously until the roux begins to thicken.
- Add salt and pepper to taste. Start with ½ tsp kosher salt and a dash of black pepper.
- Allow the roux to cool.
- Pour into an airtight container and place in the fridge until ready to use.
Putting it all together: Combine all the ingredients to the pot and allow the gumbo to cook for several hours for the most incredible gumbo flavor. Please read the recipe card below for step-by-step instructions on how this delicious seafood gumbo comes together.
How to serve: Serve gumbo over rice and enjoy with a couple of dashes of hot sauce if you'd like.
How to store
Do not allow the gumbo to sit out for a long period of time as this can potentially cause the gumbo to spoil.
After serving, allow the gumbo to cool, then pour into an airtight container or freezer safe container.
Never put gumbo into the fridge or freezer while hot.
My gumbo has never spoiled although I know of others who have.
From my understanding, when gumbo has spoiled, it starts to foam on the surface as it sits. This is a sign that the gumbo should be thrown away.
*Please use your better judgment as it comes to food safety and to prevent spoiling.
How long is gumbo good in the refrigerator
Dishes that contain seafood is really tricky and gumbo is no exception when it comes to storage. I recommend keeping gumbo in the fridge for no longer than 24 hours. Store it in an airtight container.
The next day, remove the contents from the container and place in a pot over low heat until hot and serve over rice.
Can gumbo be frozen
Yes, gumbo can be frozen and is what I recommend doing if you have leftovers. Depending on how you tend to use the leftovers, after 24 hours of being in the fridge, I suggest storing any remaining leftovers in a freezer safe container and storing it in the freezer.
Gumbo can be stored in the freezer for several months.
Tips
- In case you didn't know, the brown bits from frying the drumettes are full of flavor and enhances the flavor of the roux.
- I recommend prepping all the ingredients the day before since gumbo takes a long time to cook.
- By having the ingredients already prepped ahead of time, saves you so much time (for example, I prep all my ingredients the day before Thanksgiving and store them in large ziploc bags in the fridge then on Thanksgiving day, all I have to do is add everything to the pot and allow it to cook).
- Cook in total for about 5 to 6 hours (while adding more kosher salt, onion powder, garlic powder, and gumbo file throughout the entire cooking process to develop the perfect gumbo flavor).
- Add the prawns at the very last minute since they cook REALLY FAST.
- You can use a combination of different sized shrimp although I prefer using large shrimp or jumbo prawns.
- When purchasing crab from the market, ask the butcher to remove all the crab parts that are not edible so you're left with only the edible parts this will make cleaning easier.
- Some markets have crab parts such as crab claws that are great for adding to gumbo.
- Feel free to add stewed tomatoes or okra if you'd like (I don't care for either one especially okra, so I do not add them).
- To make gumbo thicker, add a roux and allow the gumbo to cook until it reduces.
- Lobster tails are also a great addition and should be added at the end like shrimp.
Without a doubt, gumbo is better the longer it cooks. Although gumbo is relatively easy to prepare, getting that perfect flavor can be challenging which is why it requires a long cooking time for the most delicious flavor. So, patience is definitely a virtue when it comes to making gumbo.
In my opinion, gumbo can’t reach its maximum flavor in less than 5 hours. For optimum flavor, 5 to 6 hours of cooking time is best.
Similar to other soups or stews, gumbo is absolutely better the second day. In fact, we always look forward to having gumbo the next day for lunch or dinner. By this time, the flavors have had even more time to develop for the most incredible and rich flavor.
You might like these other seafood dishes
White Wine Lemon Garlic Shrimp Pasta
NOTE: Depending on your family or background and how you make gumbo may be different from mine. However, if you've never made gumbo you're definitely in the right spot. This recipe is one that I love and standby. If you like okra, feel free to add it in as many people do. I personally do not like okra, so I leave it out.
I walk you through the entire process from cleaning the crab and shrimp to the final product. If you have any questions about the process, please leave them in the comment section below.
Thanks so much for visiting,
Cree
Seafood Gumbo Recipe
Equipment
- Large boiling pot with wide mouth
- Whisk
Ingredients
- 2 small onion (or 1 medium sized onion chopped (plus reserve 1 tablespoon for roux))
- 1 large green bell pepper (chopped (plus reserve 1 tablespoon for roux))
- 5 stalks celery (chopped (plus reserve 1 tablespoon for roux))
- 5 cloves garlic (minced fresh garlic)
- 5 packs smoked sausage (any combination of beef smoked sausage, beef kielbasa, turkey smoked sausage, turkey kielbasa, pork smoked sausage )
- 6 lbs shrimp/prawns (large, jumbo, prawns)
- 12 lbs dungeness crab (about 6 whole grab)
- 5 tbsp kosher salt or seasoned salt (start with 5 tablespoons more will be needed)
- 5 tbsp pure ground gumbo file (start with 5 tablespoons more will be needed)
- 5 tbsp garlic powder (start with 5 tablespoons more will be needed)
- 5 tbsp onion powder (start with 5 tablespoons more will be needed)
- 15 oz tomato sauce
Frying the chicken drumettes
- 1 cup canola oil (or vegetable oil)
- 1 cup all purpose flour (for dredging (coating) drumettes)
- 6 tbsp Cajun seasoning
- 8 lbs chicken drumettes
- 2 tbsp kosher salt (to taste)
- 2 tsp black pepper
Making the roux
- 2 tbsp oil (reserved from fried chicken + THE BROWN BITS)
- 2 tbsp butter
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
- 4 cups chicken broth or stock (plus ¼ cup extra if roux is too thick)
- 1 tbsp onion (chopped - noted above)
- 1 tbsp bell pepper (chopped - noted above)
- 1 tbsp celery (chopped - noted above)
- 2 tsp kosher salt (to taste)
Instructions
- Chop the onion, bell pepper, celery, and minced garlic. Put the chopped veggies in an airtight container and place in the fridge until ready to use.
Cleaning the shrimp and prawns
- First, remove the outer shell and legs if attached and discard.
- Use a steak knife or paring knife to cut along the outer surface of the shrimp's back and sometimes its underbelly and remove the black vein that runs lengthwise and discard.
- Place the de-veined shrimp in a bowl of cold water and move on to the next shrimp until all shrimp have been de-veined.
- When all the shrimp have been de-veined, rinse them really well with cold water. Put the cleaned shrimp in a large ziploc bag and place in the fridge until ready to use.
Cleaning the crab
- Remove all the legs from the crab's body and set aside.
- Break the top shell and remove it from the body. Discard the top shell.
- Remove the gills from the crab's body. Discard the gills.
- Turn the crab over and remove the other layer from the crab's body. Discard that layer.
- Remove the crab's tail and mouth. Discard the tail and mouth.
- Dig out all of the gunk that you see. Discard the gunk. Rinse and remove more of the gunk and discard. Using a clean stiff chemical-free scrub brush, brush, away any hair and debris on the crab.
- Rinse the edible crab parts well. Put into a large ziploc bag and place in fridge until ready to use.
Baking the sausage
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Slice the sausages on a bias or diagonal about a ¼ to ½ inch thick. Place them on a baking sheet (lined with foil paper and a mist of cooking spray to prevent them from sticking) in a single layer. Use 2 baking sheets if necessary. Bake until the fat has rendered about 20 to 25 minutes. Place sausage on a plate lined with layers of paper towel to absorb any excess oil.
Frying the chicken drumettes
- If frozen, first thaw the drumettes. After thawing, pat dry with paper towels and season with Cajun seasoning, kosher salt, and black pepper.
- Add oil to a frying skillet. The size and depth of the skillet will determine how much cooking oil to use. The oil should be a couple of inches high in the skillet coming about halfway up the drumettes. The cooking oil should reach a temperature of 350 degrees F.
- Add flour to shallow dish and dredge each drumette in the flour gently shaking off any excess flour and place in skillet to fry until the drumettes are crispy golden brown and are cooked through. NOTE: fry the chicken drumettes in batches to prevent over-crowding in the skillet.
- Remove drumettes from hot oil and place on a baking sheet lined with layers of paper towels to absorb the oil.
Making the roux
- Place a skillet on the stove-top over medium heat. Add a mixture of butter and the oil (that was used for frying the drumettes being sure to get those brown bits from the oil).
- When the butter/oil is hot, add in a couple tablespoons of the chopped veggies and saute until the veggies begin to soften, add in the flour and cook for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Slowing pour in the chicken broth while whisking vigorously until the roux begins to thicken. Lower the heat. Add salt and pepper to taste. Start with ½ tsp kosher salt and a dash of black pepper.
- Allow the roux to cool. Pour into an airtight container and place in the fridge until ready to use.
Bringing it all together... A big pot of gumbo
- Remove all ingredients from the fridge.
- Fill the pot a little more than ¾ full of water. Add the chopped veggies, kosher salt, garlic powder, onion powder, minced garlic, tomato sauce, gumbo file, and crab. Place on stove-top over medium high heat and stir. When the pot comes to a boil, add the sausage and continue to cook.
- Meanwhile, heat up the roux in a small pot. After it's heated through, pour the roux into the larger pot with the other ingredients and allow it to continue cooking.
- At about the 3 hour mark, add the fried drumettes to the pot and continue to cook. During this time, taste test and add more kosher salt, gumbo file, garlic powder and onion powder to continue to develop the perfect gumbo flavor. This should be done throughout the cooking process.
- Cook for about 5 to 6 hours. Add the shrimp to the pot at the very last minute as shrimp cooks really fast. This is also the time to add lobster if you'd like.
- When done, serve over a bed of white rice and enjoy while hot.
Notes
- In case you didn't know, those brown bits from frying the drumettes are full of flavor and enhances the flavor of the roux.
- I recommend prepping all the ingredients the day before since gumbo takes a long time to cook.
- By having the ingredients already prepped ahead of time, saves you so much time (for example, I prep all my ingredients the day before Thanksgiving and store them in large ziploc bags in the fridge then on Thanksgiving day, all I have to do is add everything to the pot and allow it to cook).
- Cook in total for about 5 to 6 hours (while adding more kosher salt, onion powder, garlic powder, and gumbo file throughout the entire cooking process to develop the perfect gumbo flavor).
- Add the prawns at the very last minute since they cook REALLY FAST.
- You can use a combination of different sized shrimp although I prefer using large shrimp or jumbo prawns.
- When purchasing crab from the market, ask the butcher to remove all the crab parts that are not edible so you're left with only the edible parts this will make cleaning easier.
- Some markets have crab parts such as crab claws that are great for adding to gumbo.
- Feel free to add stewed tomatoes or okra if you'd like (I don't care for either one especially okra, so I do not add them).
- To make gumbo thicker, add a roux and allow the gumbo to cook until it reduces.
- Lobster tails are also a great addition and should be added at the end like shrimp.
Yvonne
Making this again soon, maybe for New Years. Its flavorful and delicious!