Gumbi

(I am too tired to go get a photo of my finished dish, so I chose a photo of some sunflowers instead.)

Gumbi is a version of gumbo using what we had in the house. This included using chorizo instead of andouille, so it is Mexicali Gumbo, or "Gumbi".

The heart of traditional gumbo is just that: using what you have in the kitchen or back yard to make a yummy stew/soup.

I started by roasting a cut up chicken in the uncovered roaster pan yesterday. I let it cool a little, then removed the chicken from the bones and put the meat in the fridge. I added water to the bones in the roaster (enough to cover) put the lid on, and continued cooking it low and slow in the oven a few more hours.

I poured the resulting broth through a fine mesh strainer and put the broth into the fridge, throwing away the bones.

I also got two packages of Cajun miripoix (peppers, onions and celery) out to thaw.

Today, I skimmed off the chicken fat and added it and enough olive oil to make a total of 2 cups of oil in the cast iron pan and let it heat. A little broth got in with the chicken fat so I let the moisture cook off.

I put the lovely gelatinized chicken broth into the big soup kettle, and added a container (4 cups) of kitchen basics chicken stock. I squeezed out all the moisture from the mirepoix and added the liquid to the broth kettle. (reserving the veg for later). I also added a tsp of my Dad's Cajun seasoning and a shot of smoky whiskey (to replace the smoke the andouille sausage would have brought).

Meanwhile, the oil and chicken fat blend is all melty. I put 1 3/4 cups of flour into a sifter, and while stirring, slowly sifted the flour into the oil. I kept stirring the roux until it turned dark caramel brown and smelled all toasty roasty (about half an hour of steady stirring).

Meanwhile, into the crock pot Oscar added some southern soup veggie mix (included okra) some green beans, and the chicken. We also sprinkled more of Dad's Cajun seasoning in there and let it all cook on medium.

I turned the heat on under the soup kettle filled with broth, then Oscar helped pour the roux into the broth. I let that cook on medium with an occasional stir.

Meanwhile I put the drained holy trinity (Cajun Mirepoix mix) vegetables into the emptied roux pan. I added two chorizo sausages, and about 1/3 rd cup of minced garlic, then chopped up the chorizo mush into burger-like bits.

When it was fully cooked out and a bit browned, We added the chorizo veggie mix and the broth-turned-gravy to the crock pot.
We let that cook another 45 minutes to an hour, then served it over rice.

YUM! With plenty left over for Oscar to use for lunches.