Chicken and Sausage gumbo

I am going to make this recipe real soon.

Pardon my ignorance though, Brad -- is it necessary to use a whole chicken? or could I use some chicken breasts? I don't want to mess with perfection, but 9/10 the grocery store only has whole game hens.

[OLS]

Originally Posted by Darrell

I am going to make this recipe real soon.

Pardon my ignorance though, Brad -- is it necessary to use a whole chicken? or could I use some chicken breasts? I don't want to mess with perfection, but 9/10 the grocery store only has whole game hens.

Of course you can and SHOULD use parts to your liking since not everyone wants to cut up a chicken. I find I like the mix of light and dark meat I get with the whole chicken route, but I pride myself in being a master dislocator of chickens. It goes back to my first job at 14. But hell yeah, use whatever
you want, amounts only matter in how much gumbo you get in the end.

I also reccommend doing it now while there is still some snap in the air. It is really
good in the cool weather.

Brad, growing up my dad always made slow roux, until I introduced him to my oven roux I learned how to make in college. Flour and oil in a pan in the oven, 350 degrees, stir every 20ish minutes, cook until you get the color you are looking for. I love it as I can start the roux as I cut up everything else.... Otherwise, good recipe! Most Cajun chefs consider the holy trinity mandatory (bell pepper, celery, and onion) for people wanting to try it.

[OLS]

Heard about that, never knew the details. For me it is a matter of pride between me and my mama.
I LOVED waking up slow on a Saturday morning with the smell of roux wafting down the hall.
When you cook it for an hour, you get quite a lingering aroma. And for the record, roux cooking
smells better than 80% of the food you will ever throw INTO the roux. It is the perfect aroma.

But with my roux, ain't nobody getting the slow wake-up treatment. I get it done and fast.
I love that my mama refuses to go fast with it, I will miss her terribly when she is gone.
She also still writes letters. (emails, too, but I'm just sayin) She is old school. haha.

[OLS]

Originally Posted by nater

Most Cajun chefs consider the holy trinity mandatory (bell pepper, celery, and onion) for people wanting to try it.

I think you are right on that count. People would scoff at that ingredients list, but I think I leave
them out because I never have them on hand. The way I cook I always seem to have a
bag of onions in the fridge. But with Bell pepper and celery, it's like a special trip for ingredients, which is why I rarely cook by recipes. But that's also why I say add em
if you got em, expecially if you have a garden with these items in it.
They BELONG in there, I just think the taste is sufficient without them.