Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

Sausage: To a large 6 to 8-quart, heavy-bottomed, enameled, cast iron Dutch oven (or similar), add the sausage, and heat over medium-high heat to brown it. The sausage I use has already bee cooked so I'm not actually "cooking" it, just browning it to develop flavor. If your sausage is raw, you need to fully cook it now. When it's done, remove it and set it aside. Tip - Andouille sausage (smoked pork sausage with a bit of heat) is traditional, but if unavailable, use another smoked sausage with a bit of spice.

Chicken: Don't wipe out the pot from the sausage, just add the chicken (there's likely enough leftover fat/grease from the sausage that you shouldn't need to add any olive oil or cooking oil, but add a bit if you need to), and then brown the chicken for about 3-4 minutes total, flipping once or twice during that time. Remove it and set it aside with the sausage when it's done.Tip - The chicken will continue to cook as the gumbo simmers for an hour later on, so be sure that it just browns now; you don't need to cook it through fully. The pieces are small, so you don’t want to take the risk of over cooking and having tough chicken.

Butter: Reduce the heat to low, add the butter and allow it to melt, scrape up any brown bits and mix them in. It's very important to keep the heat at low so nothing burns or you will have to start over!Notes - Some gumbo purists advocate using vegetable oil because it has a much higher smoking point than butter, so it's less likely to burn, and there's no dairy protein so you're less likely to break/separate/burn the roux - for this reason using clarified butter or ghee is advantageous. You can use vegetable oil, noting that the roux will take much longer to come together, probably about 30-40 minutes, and you'll be stirring nearly continuously.

Flour + Dark Roux: Sprinkle the flour over the butter and whisk constantly until the mixture turns a rich, dark, chocolate brown color, about 5 minutes if your heat is on low. But cook it as long as necessary to bring it to a dark chocolate color similar to Hershey's Syrup, taking care not to burn it or you'll have to start over! Do not leave it unattended and just keep whisking!If you're using oil rather than butter, it may take 30ish minutes for a dark roux to fully develop; whisk nearly constantly. Notes - The dark roux is used to create a rich flavor for the gumbo and is much darker than the color roux you'd make for gravy.

Add the smoked paprika and mix in.

Vegetables: Add the onion, bell pepper, celery, jalapeño, and stir to allow the vegetables to become coated in the roux. Cook until beginning to soften, about 4-5 minutes; stir nearly continuously.

Garlic: Add the garlic and stir constantly for 1 minute.

Tomatoes: Add the can of tomatoes with the juice and stir to combine.

Liquids + Spices: While whisking slowly, add the chicken broth, Worcestershire, bay leaves, thyme, oregano, salt, pepper, cayenne, and stir to combine.Note regarding Spiciness - The spice level with the current proportions is nice. It has warmth and a bit of lingering heat. You can adjust the cayenne and add more jalapeños if you like really spicy gumbo. I would taste test it as you go and as the flavors develop while cooking.

Reincorporate: Add the sausage and chicken back into the pot.

Simmer: Turn up the heat to medium and bring the mixture to a very gentle simmer, and then reduce the heat to low or medium-low, just so that the gumbo is very gently bubbling and allow it to simmer uncovered for 50-60 minutes, or as desired. Tips - The longer the gumbo simmers on a low temperature the more the flavors will develop and this is why leftovers taste even better - the flavors have married over time. If it gets too thick while simmering, add a splash more chicken broth to loosen up.

Okra: In the last 15 minutes, add the okra which is known as a slimy vegetable but in this case, it thickens the gumbo and it's important to not skip it since the dark roux does little to thicken the gumbo and is for flavor. There is also something called filé powder (French, and not common in most parts of the US) and you can add a little bit, very sparingly, at the end to thicken the gumbo but be careful because it can make it overly thick. My advice is to stick with okra unless you're a gumbo expert.

Taste: Remove the bay leaves, add the parsley, and make any necessary flavor tweaks, making sure to properly salt it. If it tastes at all flat, boring, bland, or dull, it likely needs more salt. Add more pepper, cayenne pepper, or other seasonings as desired.

Serve: White rice is classic with gumbo, and cornbread or honey cornbread muffins are great.