Seafood Gumbo
Published December 28, 2021
Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Monica Pierini.
- Total Time
- 1 hour 35 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
FOR THE GUMBO SPICE MIX
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon powdered bay leaf (see Tip 1)
1 ½ tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
½ teaspoon red-pepper flakes, or more to taste
½ teaspoon ground cayenne, or more to taste
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons smoked paprika
1 tablespoon kosher salt (Diamond Crystal)
½ teaspoon black pepper
FOR THE SEAFOOD GUMBO
4 tablespoons salted butter
¼ cup vegetable oil
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 small onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 small celery stalk, finely chopped
½ red bell pepper, finely chopped
½ cup grape tomatoes, halved
½ cup dried shrimp (optional; see Tip 2)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
5 cups store-bought or homemade chicken stock
4 ounces fresh or thawed frozen okra, sliced into rounds (1 cup)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 lobster tails, shelled and cut into ¾-inch pieces (optional; see Tip 3)
¼ pound picked crab meat
¼ pound sea scallops
½ pound medium shrimp
Kosher salt and black pepper
4 cups cooked jasmine rice, for serving
Preparation
- Step 1
Make the spice mix: Place all ingredients in a bowl and stir until combined. Set aside 2 tablespoons to add to the gumbo and reserve the rest for another use in an airtight container.
- Step 2
Make the gumbo: In a heavy 4- to 5-quart pot, heat the butter and oil over medium heat. Once the butter begins to bubble slightly, add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon or heatproof spatula to form a smooth paste.
- Step 3
Cook the mixture, stirring continuously, for 10 to 13 minutes to make a chocolate-colored roux. Make sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the pot to avoid burning. It is important to keep a very close eye on the roux during this step. The roux can go from a nutty color and aroma to burnt beyond repair in a matter of minutes. Lower the heat as needed.
- Step 4
Immediately add the onion, garlic, celery, bell pepper and tomatoes and stir well. The vegetables will stop the roux from overcooking and burning. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables start to stick to the pan, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the dried shrimp, if using, tomato paste and 2 tablespoons spice mix and cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes.
- Step 5
While whisking, slowly add the stock and whisk until the stock is completely blended with the roux and vegetable mixture. Add the okra, lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce and let simmer for 50 minutes over very low heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Add the lobster, crab, scallops and shrimp and simmer just until cooked through, about 10 minutes more.
- Step 6
Season the gumbo to taste with salt and pepper and serve over rice.
To make powdered bay leaf, finely grind dried bay leaves in a spice grinder. If you don’t have a spice grinder, you can omit this from the spice mix and add 4 dried bay leaves to the gumbo when simmering.
Whole dried shrimp can be found in most Asian markets and online. Look for ones that are pink or orange and plump and firm.
If you don’t want to use lobster tail, you can use an additional ½ pound shrimp instead.
Private Notes
Comments
Please please please don’t cook the okra “50” minutes and for all the seafood gods never cook the shrimp 10 minutes or more at medium heat…. I can drop shrimp in boiling water and be perfect in about 2 minutes So 10 plus is rubber….
Cooking okra for 50 minutes pretty much guarantees it will be lifeless and soggy, and "10 minutes or more" will also overcook the shrimp and scallops.
As a native of Louisiana there are two schools of gumbo cooking- those who never use tomatoes and those who do. We never ever use tomatoes in gumbo! Suggest you leave them out for a more authentic taste. Also use oysters instead of lobster- Gulf oysters are plentiful and easy to procure here in Louisiana.
For me a big secret of a great seafood gumbo is to make my own crab stock the night before. I steam crab legs for dinner, then save that water and simmer it with the remaining crab bodies for an hour or two. When water or stock is called for, use the crab stock. It’s amazing and rivals the gumbo I had in this New Orleans restaurant 25 years ago.
fantastic!!!
This has now become a traditional holiday meal for our family. It is not New Years Eve without it. I don't add the lobster, but everything else I make exactly as written.