HAM, CHICKEN, AND SHRIMP GUMBO
Ingredients:
2 smoked ham hocks
6 quarts water
2 whole chicken breasts
1-1/2 quarts water
aromatics: 1 bay leaf, 4 springs parsley, 1 cup sliced onion
1 sliced carrot
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup unbleached white flour
1 large onion (2 cups chopped)
1 green bell pepper
3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
3 cloves minced garlic
1 pound chopped tomatoes
1 pound sliced fresh okra (or 1 - 10 ounce package, frozen)
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves (or 1 teaspoon dried)
1 tablespoon Chesapeake Bay style McCormack Seafood seasoning
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1-1/4 pounds medium shrimp (30+ count per pound)
Directions:
Cook the ham, chicken and vegetable ingredients the day before you plan to serve this gumbo:
Cook the ham in six quarts of water for two hours. Reserve the hocks with five cups of cooking liquid.
Heat the chicken in water and aromatics in a three quart pan. Simmer for 20 minutes and let the chicken cool in this broth for another 30 minutes before removing the meat to cool. Reduce the poaching broth to three cup and reserve.
Melt the oil in a heavy six quart pot or casserole. Stir in the flour and cook this roux slowly, stirring constantly, until it is a rich dark brown, at least 15 minutes. Stir in the onion, pepper, parsley, garlic and continue cooking and stirring frequently for another 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes, okra, salt, pepper, and thyme to the pot as well as the cooked ham, and pour on the reserved liquids from cooking the ham and chicken (2 quarts total). Cook this mixture for one hour. As it cools, add the chicken breasts to the pot. Refrigerate the gumbo overnight.
The next day warm the gumbo and remove the hocks and chicken pieces. Separate fat and bones, then cut the meat into bite-sized pieces and return them to the pot.
Combine seafood seasoning, water, vinegar and salt in a deep 8" skillet. Rinse and drain the shrimp and add to the pan pouring in more water as needed to just cover the shrimp. Bring the liquid to a boil. Shake the pan and watch for the shrimp to change color. When they have just turned pink, take the skillet off the heat and let them steep for 10 minutes.
Scoop out the cooked shrimp with a slotted spoon, and when they are cool enough to handle, strip off their shells. Place shrimp in the gumbo pot and pour in two cups of crab boil liquid.
Bring gumbo to a boil and serve piping hot in large warm soup bowls over Texmati rice.
Yield: 8 servings
This recipe is adapted from one by Paula Wolfert that appeared many years ago in The Pleasures of Cooking magazine.
