Chicken or Turkey Gumbo

My very good friend, Andi, from Houston, TX sent me her tried and true recipe for gumbo. I've added okra to this as well. This is quoted from an email she sent me, so it's not exact! Enjoy!

Chicken gumbo (or turkey)
Usually i roast a turkey or chicken, serve it up, eat as much as i want and save a tiny bit of white meat but mostly the dark meat since we don't eat that. (some people just use chicken parts specifically for gumbo but i like getting two meals out of it) Pull all the excess meat from the carcass and set it aside. Place carcass or carcasses (if you make chicken gumbo i like to use two carcasses), fill pot with water and canned broth to cover the carcass (4 cans water 4 cans broth might do it but i'm not sure if that's one chicken carcass or two, so you might double it). Bring to a boil then simmer 2 hours or maybe 3 with the lid on until the water is flavored. You want to cook alot of the flavor out of the bones, but if you cook too long you'll decompose the little joints holding everything together and have the worlds tiniest bones and cartilage to sift through, if you try to salvage any of the meat that boils off the carcass.Strain the liquid into a seperate container and set aside.

I usually do the broth/stock the night before i make gumbo.

In a very large stock pot (we're talking not super huge like crawfish boiling or turkey frying but big enough to fit most of the turkey carcass in it when you made the stock). 1 large heaping spoon (we mean the spoon you use to stir or serve spaghetti and things like that not a tablespoon something bigger) of flour, and 1 large spoon of olive oil. Medium Low heat stirring constantly until a mahoghany color. You can't stop stirring be careful of splashups and if you do get splashed run cold water over it immediately.The roux goes through phases, you have oak, peanut butter, walnut color and when you get a distinct reddish brown tint it's mahoghany that's where you want it for gumbo.

When the roux is ready, remove from heat and quickly mix in chopped onion, chopped celery, and garlic. I think i use 1 onion , 4 stalks celery sliced (the heart is the best), the white part of a bunch of green onions, and 3 cloves garlic (again this might all be double i can't recall if this is the small recipe or the large).

You can tweak it. I usually eyeball it gumbo is intuitive not scientific. stir these in, then place it back over the heat and cook stirring frequently in the roux until onions are soft. Add the stock and cook for 2-3 hours (i think covered i can't recall).

30minutes from being done toss in chopped celery leaves, a bunch of chopped green onions green part, 1 bellpepper chopped, and a bunch of parsley chopped. Add back in the turkey or chicken meat (if you add it too soon it'd get tough)serve over steamed rice (i like a little rice and lots of liquid some people like lots of rice little liquid), and you absolutely MUST add gumbo file (sassafrass powder. i like lots of it but at least a little is sprinkled ontop of each bowl in addition that some is sprinkled into the pot).

If you can't find File let me know and i'll send you some. It should be in the spice section Zatarans as an example sells it in a little glass jar. I also add salt and pepper to taste to the gumbo before and when serving. you can add to the pot leftover chicken or turkey gravy made from deglazing the pan (not the mix that sucks), but be careful not to add too much or it gets greasy and nasty (unless you really strain your gravy).