Duck Andouille And Oyster Gumbo Recipes

Steps:

• Rinse the duck under cold running water both inside and out. Remove any excess fat at the cavity opening and at the neck. Use a sharp boning or butcher's knife to cut the back on either side of the spine. Remove the spine and reserve for stock. Cut through the breastbone of the duck to give you 2 halves. Cut the legs from each half as well as the first 2 digits of the wings. Set the legs aside, and cut the breasts in half horizontally.
• Season the duck with 2 teaspoons of Essence. Place a large Dutch oven over medium heat for 2 minutes, or until hot. Place the seasoned duck, skin side down in the pan and sear until golden brown, about 7 to 8 minutes. Turn the duck over and sear on the second side as well for an additional 7 to 8 minutes. Remove the duck from the pan and place on a platter while you make the roux.
• Add the vegetable oil to the pan as well as the flour. Using a wooden spoon, stir the roux continuously over medium heat until the color of dark chocolate, about 20 to 25 minutes. Add the onions, celery and peppers and garlic to the roux and stir, gently until the vegetables are slightly wilted, about 4 to 5 minutes. Pour the beer over the vegetables and stir to incorporate. Add the stock/water to the pan with the thyme, bay leaves, Essence, cayenne pepper and the remaining 2 teaspoons of salt. Add the sausage. Stir the pot well to ensure that the roux and the stock are well blended. Raise the heat to medium-high and bring the gumbo to a boil; then lower to a simmer. Return the seared duck pieces to the pan and cook (skimming any foam and fat that may rise to the surface), for 1 hour and 30 minutes. After an hour and a half, remove the duck pieces from the gumbo and place on a platter to cool. Once the duck is cool enough to handle, remove the skin and meat from the bones and add the meat to the gumbo. Discard the skin and bones and re-season the gumbo, if necessary.
• To serve the gumbo, ladle 1 cup into a heated soup bowl with 1/4 cup white rice. Garnish with the green onions and chopped parsley.
• Combine all ingredients thoroughly.
• Recipe from "New New Orleans Cooking", by Emeril Lagasse and Jessie Tirsch, published by William Morrow, 1993.

Steps:

• Season the hen generously with salt and cayenne pepper.
• Combine the oil and flour in a large, heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Stirring slowly and constantly, make a roux the color of chocolate. (When I attempted to make my first roux years ago, I remember calling Papa and asking him how long it would take, and he told me "the time it takes to drink two beers." Not being a beer drinker, I had to come up with my own system. I now put on two record albums, and when they have played out my roux is usually just about right.)
• Add the onions, bell peppers, and celery, and cook, stirring, until they are soft, 10 to 12 minutes.
• Add the chicken broth. (I usually warm it up in a pot just a bit before adding it to the roux mixture.) Stir to blend, and bring to a gentle boil.
• Add the chicken. (There are those who will tell you to brown the chicken first, but I put it in raw.) Add the bay leaves and thyme, and cook at a gentle boil for 1 hour.
• Add the andouille and cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is very tender, an hour to an hour and a half longer.
• A few minutes before serving, add the oysters and simmer just until the oysters curl, about three minutes. Adjust seasoning to taste. (If the gumbo becomes too thick during cooking, simply add more chicken broth or water.)

Steps:

• Prepare the roux: In a large Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high. (A large stockpot works, but a Dutch oven is ideally shaped for whisking a roux.) Slowly shake the flour over the oil with one hand while whisking with the other hand. Continue to whisk until the roux darkens to a glossy, dark red-brown, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Reduce the heat to medium and stir the onion, celery and bell peppers into the roux to prevent it from burning, about 3 minutes. Stir in the sausage and cook until coated, a few more minutes.
• Gradually add the stock, stirring constantly as you add the liquid. Add the thyme, oregano, bay leaves and garlic and simmer over medium-low, stirring and skimming every 20 minutes, until the flavors have melded, about 2 hours. For a thinner gumbo, add water, as desired (up to 2 cups).
• Stir in the duck meat just before serving and cook until warmed, 3 to 5 minutes. (An extended cook time would turn the meat mushy.) Add the salt and hot sauce to taste. Serve over rice or potato salad.