Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

Summer is a great time for fresh produce and one of my favorite Southern veggies is okra. Fresh okra is like garden candy. While I love eating okra sautéed lightly with a little olive oil and salt, gumbo is probably the most iconic okra dish. The okra acts as a natural thickener, adding body and flavor to the dish. The spiciness and availability of fresh okra makes gumbo a natural fit for summer, but it also makes for a hearty cold weather supper, served over hot rice and alongside a helping of fresh cornbread.

• 8 chicken thighs
• 6 sausages, andouille or Italian
• ½ cup flour
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 26 ounces canned or boxed chopped tomatoes
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 5 celery ribs, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1½ teaspoons dried oregano
• 1½ teaspoons dried thyme
• 1½ teaspoons smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¾ teaspoons cayenne pepper
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 3 cups chopped fresh okra, stem ends discarded (frozen can be used in lieu of fresh, if fresh is 
• unavailable)

Place the chicken thighs skin side down in a room temperature frying pan and then heat the pan to med-high, rendering the fat out of the skin. Flip the chicken thighs to brown the other side and remove the skin from the thighs. Discard the skin. Flip the chicken again to brown the first, now skinless, side.Remove the chicken thighs from the pan and set them in the slow cooker.
Brown the sausages in the pan, then cut the sausages into pieces and add them to the slow cooker. Turn the heat down to low and sprinkle the flour into the rendered fat in the pan, whisking to fully incorporate the flour and create a roux. Gently cook the roux at a bare simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring frequently, until the roux is approximately the color of peanut butter. Scrape the roux into the slow cooker.Add the following ingredients to the slow cooker: chicken stock, chopped tomatoes, onion, celery, green bell pepper, red bell pepper, garlic, oregano, thyme, paprika, salt, cayenne and black pepper. Give the
slow cooker a brief stir, cover and cook on low for 6 hours.At the 6 hour mark, add the okra and turn the heat to high. Cook on high for 2 hours. Once the gumbo has finished cooking, skin the accumulated oil off of the top and serve the gumbo spooned over rice.