Cajun Crab Shrimp and Okra Gumbo Recipe

Serves/Makes: 4

Ingredients:

• 1 pound uncooked medium-sized shrimp (about 20 to 24 per pound)
• 10 live blue crabs (about 8 ounces each)
• 7 quarts water
• 5 dried hot chilies, each about 2 inches long
• 1 lemon, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch thick slices
• 3 large bay leaves
• 1 1/2 teaspoons crumbled, dried thyme
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons brown roux
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped onions
• 1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
• 1/2 pound fresh okra, trimmed, washed and cut into 1-inch chunks
• 3/4 cup coarsely chopped green pepper
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
• 4 to 6 cups freshly cooked long-grain rice, to serve

How to cook Cajun Crab Shrimp and Okra Gumbo:

• Shell the shrimp. Devein them by making a shallow incision down their backs with a small knife and lifting out the intestinal vein with the point of the knife. Wash the shrimp briefly and set them aside.
• In a 10 to 12-quart pot, bring the water, chilies, lemon slices, 2 bay leaves, 1 teaspoon thyme and 1 tablespoon salt to a boil over high heat. Drop in the crabs and boil briskly, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Remove the crabs from the stock with tongs, and set them aside to cool.
• Drop the shrimp into the stock remaining in the pot and cook uncovered for 3 to 5 minutes, or until they are pink and firm to the touch. With tongs, transfer the shrimp to a plate. Then boil the stock, uncovered, until it is reduced to 3 quarts. Strain the stock through a fine sieve set over a large pot, and discard the seasonings. Cover the pot to keep the stock warm until you are ready to use it.
• When the crabs are cool enough to handle, shell them in the following fashion:
• Grasping the body of the crab firmly in one hand, break off the large claws and the legs close to the body. With the point of a sharp knife, pry off the pointed shell, or apron, and loosen the large bottom shell from around the meat and cartilage, cutting near the edges where the legs are joined to the shell. Lift the body of the crab, break it in half lengthwise, then with the knife pick out the firm white pieces of meat. Discard the gray featherlike gills and tough bits of cartilage but save the morsels of yellow liver and “fat” as well as any pieces of orange roe. Leave the large claws in their shells, but crack the legs lengthwise with a cleaver and pick out the meat. Reserve the meat, claws and roe (if any).
• In a heavy 5 to 6 quart casserole, warm the roux over low heat, stirring constantly. Add the onions and garlic and stir for about 5 minutes, or until they are soft. Add the okra and green peppers and mix well.
• Stirring constantly, pour in the reserved warm stock in a slow, thin stream and bring to a boil over high heat. (If the stock has cooled, reheat it before adding it.) Add the red pepper, Tabasco, the remaining bay leaf, 1/2 teaspoon thyme and 1 teaspoon of salt. Stir in the crab meat and claws, reduce the heat to low and simmer, partially covered, for 1 hour.
• Add the shrimp and simmer a few minutes longer, then taste for seasoning. They gumbo may require more Tabasco or red pepper.
• Ladle the gumbo into a heated tureen and serve at once, accompanied by the rice in a separate bowl. Traditionally, a cupful of rice is mounded in a heated soup plate and the gumbo spooned around it. Give each diner a nutcracker so that the claws can be cracked easily at the table.

Note:
The Cajun Crab Shrimp and Okra Gumbo recipe easy to prepare and so good!

Comments:
Gumbo is a stew or soup originating in Louisiana which is popular across the Gulf Coast of the United States and into the U.S. South. It consists primarily of a strong stock, meat and/or shellfish, a thickener, and the vegetable “holy trinity” of celery, bell peppers, and onion. The soup is traditionally served over rice.

This recipe for Cajun Crab Shrimp and Okra Gumbo serves/makes: 4

Main Ingredient: Seafood Mix
Preparation Method: Poached/Simmered
Cuisine: Cajun