What To Serve With Gumbo? (2024)

FAQs

What sides go well with gumbo? ›

Gumbo is traditionally served over steamed white rice (and sometimes potato salad!), with sliced scallions and hot sauce on the side.

Cornbread

A southern staple, this side dish complements the soupy and zesty gumbo. The dense, dry texture of the bread helps absorb all the liquid from the gumbo and make the bread more delicious.

Gumbo is really a soup or stew that's often served over a little rice, while jambalaya is made with the rice cooked into the dish, making the grain an integral part of it.

The Secret Ingredient To Amazing Gumbo Is Chicken Stock, Several Friends Say. When you are going to make a delicious chicken and sausage gumbo, several friends swear by chicken stock as being imperative to making your gumbo great.

Gumbo is a Cajun dish with a whole lot going on. It's spicy and chunky and contains a host of different flavors. While most people enjoy gumbo as a soup, it also goes great on top of your mashed potatoes.

What is gumbo meal? ›

Gumbo is a hearty stew made from combinations of seafood, meat (such as andouille, chicken and ham) or vegetables that's served hot over cooked rice. Gumbo can be thickened with okra, file, or a roux, a French and Creole method of cooking equal parts flour and fat.

The one thing that really defines it, though, is the way it is thickened. Gumbo is much denser than a simple soup; the broth has a thick, almost viscous consistency. And that characteristic is most commonly created by making a roux, cooking flour and oil together until they thicken and darken.

Common Types of Gumbo

Traditional favorites usually include seafood gumbo, sausage gumbo, and chicken gumbo, but it's incredibly versatile.

Creole gumbos most often include tomatoes, shellfish and dark roux and often okra and filé powder, an herb made from ground leaves of sassafras trees. Cajun gumbo doesn't have tomatoes and usually also contains chicken. It's not uncommon for both Creole and Cajun gumbo to include meats such as ham or sausage as well.

Skimming to remove the foam from uncooked roux or particulate is essential in order to develop the full rich flavor of a gumbo. If possible, make gumbo a day ahead.

Cooking the gumbo for a good three to four hours on simmer is imperative. "The long cooking time adds time for flavors to develop and ensures a burst of flavor," says Biffar. Make sure to give it time to let everything mesh together, this is not a dish to be rushed!

In Louisiana gumbos, rice functions more as a garnish than as a starchy pillar of the meal. Don't serve your gumbo atop rice—rather, stir the rice in just before serving. At Prejean's restaurant in Lafayette, LA, it is common for diners to stir potato salad right into the gumbo.

What race eats gumbo? ›

South Louisiana gumbo has been described as an intersection of three cultures: West African, Native American, and European. Each culture contributes to what South Louisianians recognize as its signature dish.

"South Louisiana people put gumbo over potato salad. It's a popular small-town way." Manning's gumbo is 20 years in the making.

Best Oil for a Gumbo Roux

If you are making a Creole gumbo, butter is the most traditional. It will give a delicious flavor in a blond roux. In a Cajun gumbo, you'll want to use an oil that has a neutral flavor with a high smoke point.

Celery, bell pepper, and onions are a part of many Cajun and Creole dishes, often called "The Holy Trinity." These three ingredients amplify the flavor of our gumbo. The classic "Holy Trinity" consists of equal parts of celery, bell pepper, and onion.

The so-called slime is mucilage, which comes from sugar residue and is great for, say, thickening gumbo, but not great when you're biting into a piece of sautéed okra and averse to that viscous texture. There are a bunch of different techniques to try out if you're looking to avoid sliminess.

Authentic Creole flavors and so easy to make! I used pre-cooked/Cajun-seasoned shrimp which made this gumbo with okra that much easier, but you can just use raw shrimp. Adjust the spice to make it as hot or mild as you'd like.

Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, uncovered and stirring occasionally, for 1 hour.

Please note: The meat does not need to be cooked through. It will cook as the gumbo cooks. Also, the chicken does not need to be chopped. Once it has cooked completely, we will pull it from the pan with tongs and shred, then add it back in.

Here's the short answer. The best dishes to serve with gumbo are cilantro-lime black bean rice, potato salad, french bread rolls, or healthy slaw. Try pickled jalapenos, green bean salad, quinoa salad, and roasted veggies for a healthier option. You can also try cornbread, hushpuppies, fried okras, or potato wedges.

What are the balls in gumbo? ›

The balls consist of a dark roux batter loaded with shrimp, stewed chicken, crab meat, and andouille sausage, then rolled in saltine and breadcrumb crust and deep fried. The gumbo balls are served with a side of roux dipping sauce.

Great gumbo starts with roux, a flavorful thickening agent made from equal parts fat and flour. Once the roux is a deep golden color, add diced veggies and sausage to the mix. Then, incorporate beef bouillon, hot sauce, tomatoes, and seasonings to intensify the flavor.

Once the roux is made all you need to do is let the gumbo simmer for a few hours. I let mine cook low and slow all day long. The longer it cooks, the better the flavor.

Derouen theorizes that adding cold water at the end of the cooking process shocks the fresh gumbo into mimicking the superior flavor of leftover gumbo.

No matter how much you might be tempted to, do not skim the little oil slick of chicken fat off the top of your gumbo . Taste that! That's what rice is for, to soak all that flavor up.

Gumbo broth or gravy derives from three primary thickeners: okra, filé powder, and roux. Traditionally, okra and filé powder are not used in the same dish, although this rule is sometimes broken.

Gumbo (gum-boe)

A thick, robust, roux-based soup prepared with seafood or game and often thickened with okra or filé.

Although ingredients might vary greatly from one cook to the next, and from one part of the state to another, a steaming bowl of fragrant gumbo is one of life's cherished pleasures, as emblematic of Louisiana as chili is of Texas.

Stir in celery, green onions, tomato, green and red peppers, okra, bay leaf, thyme, salt, pepper, and cayenne. Simmer for 1 hour. Add shrimp and hard boiled eggs; simmer 15 to 20 minutes longer.

For Cajuns were—and are—a subset of Louisiana Creoles. Today, common understanding holds that Cajuns are white and Creoles are Black or mixed race; Creoles are from New Orleans, while Cajuns populate the rural parts of South Louisiana.

What is the thickener in gumbo? ›

Filé can provide thickening when okra is not in season, in types of gumbo that use okra or a roux as a thickener for gumbo instead of filé. Sprinkled sparingly over gumbo as a seasoning and a thickening agent, filé powder adds a distinctive, earthy flavor and texture.

Gumbo. A true Cajun star, gumbo is the official state cuisine of Louisiana. It's usually made with a dark gravy or roux, along with shellfish or game. It's very common to also throw some sausage or ham and the whole thing melds delightfully thanks to several hours of simmering during preparation.

Gumbo (guhm-boh)

Fun fact: gumbo is the official dish of Louisiana.

New Orleans is famous for a lot of foods, and chief among them is the traditional rice dish known as jambalaya.

The “holy trinity” in Cajun cuisine and Louisiana Creole cuisine is the base for several dishes in the regional cuisines of Louisiana and consists of onions, bell peppers and celery. The preparation of Cajun/Creole dishes such as crawfish étouffée, gumbo, and jambalaya all start from this base.

Not to be outdone by Chackbay, Bridge City boasts its title as the “Gumbo Capital of the World.” The Bridge City Gumbo Festival has grown into one of the New Orleans area's premier food events (of which there are plenty), with annual visitation numbers topping 60,000 attendees.

Gumbo is much denser than a simple soup; the broth has a thick, almost viscous consistency. And that characteristic is most commonly created by making a roux, cooking flour and oil together until they thicken and darken. Otherwise, gumbo can be thickened with file, which is just powdered dried sassafras leaves.

Both start with a roux and might incorporate okra or filé powder, but Cajun gumbo usually includes chicken or sausage, while Creole gumbo often uses shellfish. The acidity of tomatoes complements seafood, which might be why tomatoes were initially used in shellfish gumbo but skipped in chicken-and-sausage gumbo.