Large Batch Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

Make the Roux

1. Heat a skillet over medium heat.
2. Add oil. When warm, add flour.
3. Brown the mixture over medium heat until dark brown, constantly stirring to ensure the flour mixture does not burn. It will smell nutty. (This will take between 30-45 minutes total.)
4. Remove from the heat, and let cool slightly.

Make the Gumbo

1. If making your own instead of using a jarred mix, make the roux. (This took 30-45 minutes.)
2. Dice green bell peppers, yellow onions, jalapeno pepper, celery stalks and garlic. (This took me upwards of 45 minutes.)
3. Bring water to a boil. Add the roux, and simmer, stirring occasionally until the roux has dissolved into the mixture.
4. Sauté half of the onion, celery and bell pepper in the same pan you made the roux, adding 1-2 tablespoons of oil to coat the veggies. Cook until soft.
5. Add to the simmering gumbo pot.
6. Season the chicken with Salt-Free Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning.
7. Pour a tablespoon of oil into the same pan you used for the veggies and the roux. Sear the chicken breasts. When browned (but not necessarily cooked through), drop into the simmering gumbo water.
8. Sear the chicken thighs in the remaining oil until browned. Add to the gumbo water.
9. Add the sausage to the pan. Add 2 tablespoons of water, and cover with a lid to steam. Cook until the outsides have firmed up. (Again: They don’t need to be completely cooked through.) Slice, then drop into the gumbo.
10. 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.
11. Sauté the garlic and the jalapeno in the juices left over from the meats.
12. Add the rest of the onion, celery and bell pepper to the pan. Cook until soft, then deglaze with about ½ cup of the chicken stock. Use a wooden spoon to scrape the browned bits from the bottom of the pan before adding these to the gumbo pot.
13. Add the rest of the chicken stock to the gumbo pot.
14. Raise the heat to medium, and cover partially. Bring to a bubble. (You don’t want it to be a rolling boil, but you’ll want the gumbo to have some movement to start cooking the meats.) This should take anywhere from 15-25 minutes.
15. Simmer for 2-3 hours, or however long you feel led. (We like to think the longer the gumbo cooks, the better it is.)
16. Once the gumbo has finished cooking, shred the chicken using tongs and/or forks, and return the meat to the pot.
17. Serve immediately with rice, green onions and gumbo file, or cover and store until the next day, when you will serve it!